Kentucky vs. No. 1: Are Wildcats Due for an Upset?

Mark Stoops has a chance to do the funniest thing. The 2024 Kentucky football season has been wildly unpredictable, which is why the most unlikely outcome of Saturday’s game might actually happen.

Alabama’s success under Nick Saban was unprecedented, but Kirby Smart is giving him a run for his money. Georgia has won 41 regular season games in a row. A 3-point loss in the SEC Championship Game to Alabama prevented the Dawgs from a 3-peat. Kirby’s first title was won with the most dominant defense the sport has seen in quite some time. Now they have a quarterback who might be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft.

Georgia is playing a different sport than almost everyone in the FBS. Asking for a Kentucky win, under any circumstance, is a stretch, but things feel more dire today than at any point over the last eight years. As a 9-point favorite against South Carolina, Kentucky only scored six points in a rivalry game where they were owned so badly in the trenches that they couldn’t call pass plays.

As ugly as it may feel for fans right now, some may be asking, “Are the Cats due?”

History vs. No. 1 Teams

This will be the 21st time Kentucky has played the No. 1 team in the country. The Wildcats are 3-17 all-time against the top-ranked team in the AP Poll.

The first Kentucky victory over No. 1 was in the 1951 Sugar Bowl. Bear Bryant put one of his best offensive players on defense to slow the Oklahoma Sooners, who were stunned in a 10-7 loss to snap a 31-game losing streak.

Kentucky lost four straight contests to No. 1 teams, then in 1964 they snapped Ole Miss’ 21-game win streak. Wildcat wide receiver Rick Kestner set school records by catching nine passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-21 upset.

Between 1964 and 2007, Kentucky only played four top-ranked teams. That’s when Les Miles and the LSU Tigers ran into a big blue buzzsaw. Kentucky trailed 27-14 with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter when Andre Woodson orchestrated an unforgettable comeback that was capped off by a Stevie Johnson touchdown in the third overtime.

There have been nine games against No. 1 teams since the historic victory in 2007. That means the Cats are due.

What will it take to beat No. 1 Georgia? Kentucky covered in four straight against the Dawgs before last season’s blowout in Athens. Mark Stoops has mucked it up enough to keep it close. They’ll have to do that by creating turnovers. The offense needs a special performance from at least one skill player. Oh, and the most important thing the Cats need against Georgia — a whole lotta luck.

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