UK Fans of the Day want to know where Kentucky stands in CBS Sports' Preseason Rankings

Kentucky was not included in the preseason Coaches Top 25 earlier this week, not even among the 51 teams to receive a vote; however, we do have some inkling of where the Cats stand among their peers thanks to another poll.

CBS Sports’ college football staff released its first ranking of all 136 teams in the FBS today. Kentucky came in at No. 57, above only one team in the SEC, Mississippi State. The Bulldogs rank No. 70, one spot behind Toledo (No. 69), Kentucky’s first opponent. Aside from Eastern Michigan (No. 107) and Tennessee Tech, which competes in the FCS, all of the Cats’ foes rank ahead of them in the poll, which will be updated weekly.

As with the Coaches Poll, Texas is No. 1 in CBS Sports’ rankings. Georgia, No. 4 in the Coaches Poll, is No. 5. From there, there are some significant differences. In CBS Sports’ rankings, Florida is the next highest-ranked team Kentucky will face this fall at No. 13, followed by South Carolina (No. 16), Tennessee (No. 20), and Ole Miss (No. 22). The coaches had the Rebels, who come to Kroger Field in week two, seven spots higher.

When you look at the schedule chronologically with CBS Sports’ rankings, the six-game midseason stretch starting with South Carolina in Columbia and ending with Florida at Kroger Field could be brutal. That makes taking care of business in the games you’re supposed to win doubly important. Toledo only being 12 spots lower than Kentucky tells you everything you need to know about the season opener. The Cats better be ready to roll on August 30.

• Aug. 30 (Home): Toledo – No. 69
• Sep. 6 (Home): Ole Miss – No. 22
• Sep. 13 (Home): Eastern Michigan – No. 107
• Sep. 27 (Away): South Carolina – No. 16
• Oct. 4 (Away): Georgia – No. 5
• Oct. 18 (Home): Texas – No. 1
• Oct. 25 (Home): Tennessee – No. 20
• Nov. 1 (Away): Auburn – No. 32
• Nov. 8 (Home): Florida – No. 13
• Nov. 15 (Home): Tennessee Tech – N/A
• Nov. 22 (Away): Vanderbilt – No. 47
• Nov. 29 (Away): Louisville – No. 27

This is, of course, only one outlet’s opinion. As the slow march to kickoff continues, we’ll get more and more rankings. Earlier this summer, Phil Steele put Kentucky No. 50 in his ranking of the 136 teams in FBS. We’ll get the Preseason AP Poll on Monday, although I doubt the Cats will receive any votes.

Where Zach Calzada stands in the QB Rankings

In years past, The Athletic has also released 136-team rankings. This year’s list isn’t out yet, but last month, Sam Khan Jr. and Antonio Morales ranked all 136 quarterbacks in the FBS. Kentucky’s Zach Calzada is No. 63, which is in Tier 5, which Khan and Morales define as veteran signal callers who have played well in college before but haven’t put it together consistently yet.

In the writeup, the two mentioned Calzada leading Texas A&M to the upset over Alabama in 2021, but also his shoulder surgery after transferring to Auburn in 2022. This quote from an anonymous SEC assistant coach could get you excited about Calzada’s potential as a Cat.

“He has one of the strongest arms in the country,” an SEC assistant said. “He’ll have to clean up some things from a touch and accuracy standpoint, but he can absolutely rip the ball.”

We’ll find out for sure enough.

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