Kentucky falls to No. 12 in ESPN's power rankings following Ole Miss loss

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After taking its first loss of the season, Kentucky football is going to slide a bit in the updated national rankings. ESPN was the first to drop the Wildcats, moving UK down six spots from No. 6 to No. 12 in the website’s updated Week 5 power rankings.

Kentucky lost a tight one 22-19 on the road to Ole Miss Saturday afternoon. The ‘Cats played well enough to come back to Lexington with a win, but some untimely mistakes in the fourth quarter (and a multitude of special teams mishaps) doomed UK in the end.

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Ole Miss moved up to No. 9 as a result of the victory. It was the Rebels’ first top 10 win since 2016.

Here’s what ESPN’s Chris Low had to say about the now 4-1 Wildcats.

The Wildcats got star running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. back on Saturday, and he added a boost to their running game. But it was their shoddy pass protection and two crippling fourth-quarter fumbles by quarterback Will Levis that got them beat in a 22-19 road loss to Ole Miss. The Wildcats also had a touchdown pass in the final minutes nullified by a false start penalty in their first loss of the season. Levis was sacked three more times, including an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone that resulted in a safety for Kentucky. He already has been sacked 19 times this season.
Chris Low, ESPN

Kentucky is one of six SEC programs among the updated top 25 power rankings. Georgia and Alabama continue to hold down the top two spots, respectively, with Tennessee coming in at No. 7, Ole Miss at No. 9, and Kentucky at No. 12. Arkansas rounds out the SEC teams at No. 23 following a loss to Alabama on Saturday.