Kentucky football just outside of Week 4 Coaches Poll Top 25

Just keep on winning is the Kentucky football motto at this early stage in the season. The Wildcats remain undefeated at 3-0 following Saturday’s 35-3 smashing of the Akron Zips, but as has been the case in the previous two weeks, there were plenty of reasons for concern along the way.

Which is why Kentucky continues to sit just outside the latest Coaches Poll Top 25 rankings. On Sunday afternoon, the Wildcats received 28 points in the Week 4 Coaches Poll, good enough for 30th in the country. That’s a three-spot drop for UK, which entered this weekend ranked No. 27 in the Week 3 Coaches Poll.

It was another semi-slow start for the Wildcats against Akron on Saturday at Kroger Field. Despite scoring on the opening drive, Kentucky led just 14-0 at the halftime break. But once the second half picked up, so did Liam Coen’s offense. Akron made just one field goal while the ‘Cats tacked on three more touchdowns — all of them coming in the final 17 minutes of game time. Regardless, it wasn’t the start-to-finish performance fans were hoping for.

NEW: Week 4 College Football Coaches Poll👀

More: https://t.co/pR0OKbxKYw pic.twitter.com/ad4UiKAy2K

— On3 (@On3sports) September 17, 2023

The Week 4 AP Poll will be released later this afternoon. Kentucky came into Saturday’s game receiving five total points in the Week 3 AP Poll, placing them at 32nd in the country.

Week 4 Coaches Poll

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State
5. Southern California
6. Texas
7. Penn State
8. Washington
9. Notre Dame (+2)
10. Utah (+2)
11. Oregon (+2)
12. Alabama (-2)
13. LSU (+1)
14. Oklahoma (+2)
15. Oregon State (+2)
16. Ole Miss (+3)
17. North Carolina (+1)
18. Duke (+2)
19. Colorado (+2)
20. Tennessee (-11)
21. Miami [FL] (+2)
22. Iowa (+2)
23. Clemson (-1)
24. Washington State (+2)
25. UCLA

Schools Dropped Out: No. 15 Kansas State

Others Receiving Votes: Kansas State 114; Missouri 44; Fresno State 43; Florida 41; Kentucky 28; Texas Christian 26; Maryland 19; Kansas 17; Auburn 16; Texas A&M 11; Syracuse 10; Air Force 9; Tulane 7; Central Florida 5; Wyoming 3; Ohio 3; James Madison 3; Wake Forest 2; Louisville 2; Memphis 1; Brigham Young 1; Arkansas 1

ESPN’s updated FPI projections

With another week in the books, ESPN has updated its Football Power Index (FPI) rankings. Kentucky plummeted in the FPI following last week’s 28-17 win over EKU, falling from No. 26 all the way down to No. 41. But after beating Akron by 32 points, the Wildcats are back on the rise — although just barely. The FPI now has UK ranked 40th in the country.

According to ESPN’s analytics, Kentucky is trending back in the right direction when it comes to season-long projections. The FPI now has UK’s projected average win-loss record at 6.7-5.3 after it dropped to 6.5-5.5 this time last week. Additionally, the FPI now has Kentucky at a 77.3 percent chance to win at least six games (up from 73.1 percent last week) with a 2.3 percent chance to win the SEC East (1.9 percent last week).

Kentucky’s next opponent, the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2), moved down five spots to No. 93 in the latest FPI update after losing on the road 40-37 to UNLV on Saturday. The ‘Dores began the season with two wins against Hawaii and Alabama A&M, but have since lost in back-to-back weeks to Wake Forest and UNLV. Vandy is far and away the worst team in the SEC when it comes to FPI — the second-closest school being Arkansas at No. 42.

Kickoff between Kentucky and Vanderbilt is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23 at noon EST in Nashville on the SEC Network.