Kentucky football jumps back into ESPN's Top 25 Power Rankings

After two weeks of slipping in the national rankings, Kentucky football is back on the rise.

Following this weekend’s Week 7 slate of college football action, the Wildcats have been bumped back into ESPN’s Top 25 Power Rankings after falling out the week prior. Kentucky is coming off an impressive 27-17 win over Mississippi State on Saturday, moving the ‘Cats to 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in SEC action. ESPN now has UK ranked No. 18 overall in its updated Power rankings.

With the loss, Mississippi State falls from No. 16 to No. 23 in the Power Rankings. Below is what ESPN’s Chris Low had to say about Kentucky after the team’s big victory.

The Wildcats were in a must-win situation against visiting Mississippi State after consecutive losses and got it done with a 27-17 win. Keeping quarterback Will Levis healthy the rest of the way will be key, but Kentucky also has to find a way to protect the quarterback better, period. Levis has taken way too many hits, and he also has turned the ball over more than anybody in blue would like to see. The defense has played well enough to keep Kentucky in every game, but the Cats will look back at both of their losses to this point and kick themselves over some of their mistakes.

Chris Low, ESPN

Kentucky also saw a rise in ESPN’s updated Football Power Index, jumping five spots to No. 31. Notably, the Wildcats’ projected win-loss total received a nifty bump — the FPI had it set at 6.7-5.3 following last weekend’s loss to South Carolina, but now has it set at 7.4-4.6. Kentucky now has a 98.9 percent chance to reach the six-win threshold, per the FPI, but just a 0.3 percent chance to win the SEC East.

Looking at the national polls, Kentucky came into the week ranked No. 22 by both the AP and Coaches Polls. The Wildcats will surely leap back into the top 20 after taking down a ranked Mississippi State team. Those rankings will be released Sunday afternoon.