Kentucky Climbs to No. 7 in the Coaches Poll Without Playing a Snap

Kentucky climbs to No. 7 in the Coaches Poll without playing a snap. The Wildcats moved up one spot to No. 7 in the Week 10 AFCA Coaches Poll released Sunday, Nov. 1, via ESPN, after spending Saturday on their bye week.

UK stays at 7-1 and picked up 1,344 poll points, plus one first-place vote. It was No. 8 a week ago, when it jumped four spots after the 34-17 win over Vanderbilt on Oct. 24.

The move came from chaos above the Wildcats. Ohio State fell from No. 2 to No. 10, and UCLA rose from No. 7 to No. 5. Miami stays No. 1, with Georgia at No. 2, Indiana at No. 3, Utah at No. 4 and Notre Dame at No. 6. BYU sits right behind Kentucky at No. 8. Georgia is still the only SEC team ranked ahead of UK, with Alabama at No. 9, Texas at No. 11 and Ole Miss at No. 12.

Our Take: Climbing on a bye is a nice bonus, but nobody in Lexington should get comfortable. Will Stein's team has won six straight since the Alabama loss, and the voters are clearly buying it. The real test comes Saturday, Nov. 7, at Tennessee (6:15 PM ET kickoff). Win in Knoxville and No. 7 starts to look low. Lose, and all of this goes away fast.

UPDATE (Nov. 1, 2:25 PM ET): The AP Top 25 is out, and Kentucky moved up one spot to No. 8 with 1,253 points, per ESPN. Ohio State's loss to USC dropped the Buckeyes from No. 2 to No. 11, and the Wildcats slid up behind BYU. It's UK's best AP spot since it sat at No. 7 in September 2022, according to the Herald-Leader. Tennessee is No. 16, so Saturday in Knoxville is a ranked rivalry game, and No. 25 Florida comes to Lexington the week after.

Sources: ESPN rankings (AFCA Coaches Poll and AP Top 25, Week 10), Lexington Herald-Leader, AP Top 25, USA Today Coaches Poll, ESPN Kentucky schedule