UK football has eight wins. Here’s how rarely that happens.

It wasn’t the prettiest way to earn an eighth win.

But with a 34-23 victory over Middle Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon, this Kentucky team made its way into rare air, becoming just the fourth UK team to win eight regular-season games in the past 57 years.

It’s the first time Kentucky has had eight wins in the regular season in 34 years when the 1984 Cars did it. The only other times it has been done is 1976 and 1977.

That 1977 group had 10 regular-season wins. UK won’t reach that milestone this year. With one game left before the postseason, the Cats could get to nine regular-season victories with a win at Louisville next weekend.

Kentucky has had quite a run in the last 25 games, improving to 17-8, the best 25-game stretch since Nov. 6, 1976, and the end of the 1978 season.

This is part of the reason many of the 16 seniors honored on Saturday before the game signed with Kentucky in the first place, senior Derrick Baity said on Wednesday.

“Just to change the program,” the cornerback said. “I knew we weren’t like just winning and winning when I came in. … Came in with a wave of guys who wanted to change the program and we’re on a turnpike.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2018 at 3:11 PM.