Kentucky Football drops to No. 14 in updated ESPN Power Rankings

Losing to the definitive best team in college football isn’t anything for Kentucky fans to get upset over. Sure, it would have been nice to win and dream of making the College Football Playoff, but the prospect of a special season is still very much alive. Kentucky could easily go 10-2 to finish the 2021 season and there is no reason to believe the ‘Cats can’t win out and finish 11-1.

The updated AP and Coaches Poll rankings come out later on Sunday, and Kentucky shouldn’t drop too far from its No. 11 spot after the 30-13 loss to Georgia. Plenty of Top 25 programs also lost on Saturday, so UK might not slip too far. ESPN still has Kentucky among its Top 15 teams in the outlet’s updated Power Rankings, which came out late Saturday night.

After jumping all the way up to No. 9 following the win over LSU the previous weekend, Kentucky (6-1) fell down to No. 14 in the updated ESPN Power Rankings following the loss to UGA.

Here’s what Mark Schlabach had to say about the ‘Cats:

The Wildcats put up a valiant fight against the Bulldogs for two quarters, but couldn’t muster much offense in the final two quarters and lost for the first time this season. Kentucky had a good game plan on offense and controlled time of possession in the first half. But much of its production came on trick plays and throwbacks, and the Bulldogs’ stingy defense adjusted at the half. The Wildcats had a few too many dropped passes to give Georgia a real scare. Kentucky can take consolation in that it is the first team this season to score two touchdowns against the Bulldogs. Quarterback Will Levis threw for 192 yards with two touchdowns, but didn’t get much help at all from the running game. Georgia limited the Wildcats to 51 yards on 27 carries. Kentucky gets a week off before playing at Mississippi State on Oct. 30 .

Mark Schlabach, ESPN

With a much-needed BYE week this weekend, Kentucky will have time to regroup ahead of a road trip to Mississippi State to close out the month of October.

Below are the complete Power Rankings from ESPN:

1. Georgia
2. Cincinnati
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Michigan
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan State
8. Oklahoma State
9. Penn State
10. Iowa
11. Oregon
12. Ole Miss
13. Notre Dame
14. Kentucky
15. Wake Forest
16. Coastal Carolina
17. Texas A&M
18. N.C. State
19. SMU
20. Baylor
21. San Diego State
22. Auburn
23. Pittsburgh
24. UTSA
25. Clemson