Kentucky Football Ranked in the Top 25 of 2022 ESPN SP+ Projections

Offseason momentum for the Kentucky football program is not just an intangible feeling. There is statistically backed, algorithmic evidence that the Wildcats can turn a 10-win season into another exceptional year of football in the Bluegrass. ESPN’s initial SP+ rankings predict Mark Stoops will have a Top 25 football team in 2022.

The Kentucky football team ranks No. 21 in the first preseason SP+ rankings. The Wildcats finished No. 22 in the final 2021 rankings. Kentucky has not been featured in the preseason SP+ Top 25 since the pandemic-plagued 2020 season.

Created by Bill Connelly, SP+ is a forward-thinking metric that projects how a team will perform, rather than simply crunching numbers from past games. It’s calculated based on three primary factors: returning production, recent recruiting and recent history. It’s much more complicated than that; this will explain exactly how the rankings are calculated.

2022 SP+ Kentucky Football Spread Projections

SP+ is a predictive, forward-facing metric. Therefore, you can crunch the numbers to roughly calculate what the Vegas spreads will be for each game this fall, giving teams 2.5 points for home-field advantage.

Kentucky has five 2022 opponents inside the preseason Top 25, with Louisville just on the outside looking in at No. 29. Including the FCS opponent, the Wildcats are expected to be the favorite in seven games, in addition to a pick ’em against Mississippi State.

Opponent	Ranking (SP+ Proj. Total)	Spread
Miami (Oh.)	80 (-1.7)	UK -18.5
at Florida	18 (15)	Florida -3
Youngstown State	N/A (FCS)	N/A
Northern Illinois	88 (-4.1)	UK -21
at Ole Miss	22 (14.4)	Ole Miss -2.5
South Carolina	49 (7.2)	UK -10
Mississippi State	12 (16.8)	Pick Em
at Tennessee	9 (18.7)	UT -6.5
at Missouri	54 (5.3)	UK -6.5
Vanderbilt	113 (-12.1)	UK -29.5
Georgia	2 (28.7)	UGA -11.5
Louisville	29 (12.7)	UK -4.5

[ESPN 2022 Preseason SP+ Rankings]