Kentucky football missing from early 2023 top 25 rankings, but is that a good thing?
Kentucky football’s disappointing 2022 season appears to have dropped the Wildcats off the national radar entering the offseason.
A year after Kentucky was ranked in the preseason Associated Press top 25 for just the fifth time in program history, the Wildcats are largely absent from the group of “too early top 25s” published this week to coincide with the official end of the 2022 season.
The reasons for UK’s absence are clear.
Kentucky must replace quarterback Will Levis, a likely first-round pick, and running back Chris Rodriguez, who ended his career ranked third on Kentucky’s career rushing yards list. Mark Stoops’ team fell back to the pack in the SEC East last season, losing home games to South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Georgia while getting blown out on the road at Tennessee. Perhaps most importantly, the Wildcats failed to back up last season’s summer hype after years of claiming a lack of respect in preseason polls.
The good news is Stoops and company have plenty of experience using perceived summer slights as motivation.
And there are reasons to be optimistic about the program’s ability to bounce back quickly from a 7-6 season that was capped with a 21-0 loss to Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
Former North Carolina State quarterback Devin Leary committed to Kentucky as the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal at the time of his pledge. The staff also filled holes at offensive line, running back and defensive back with transfer additions. A group of talented 2022 freshmen led by Barion Brown, Dane Key and Deone Walker can be expected to take another step forward with a full offseason in the program.
But if the “too early rankings” are any indication, Kentucky’s 2023 schedule might be an issue.
Leary and company should have time to adapt with a September schedule that features non-conference home games against Ball State, Eastern Kentucky and Akron before the SEC opener at Vanderbilt. From there, things get more difficult with five of the final eight opponents included in at least one of the early rankings.
Here is a look at where Kentucky’s 2023 opponents are slotted in the various national early rankings:
▪ 247Sports: Georgia (1), Alabama (2), Tennessee (12), South Carolina (21).
▪ Action Network: Georgia (1), Alabama (2), Tennessee (18), Louisville (20).
▪ Athlon: Georgia (1), Alabama (5), Tennessee (9), South Carolina (25), Louisville (31), Mississippi State (32).
▪ The Athletic: Georgia (1), Alabama (5), Tennessee (14).
▪ Bleacher Report: Georgia (1), Alabama (2), Tennessee (14), South Carolina (21).
▪ ESPN: Georgia (1), Alabama (5), Tennessee (10).
▪ Fox Sports: Georgia (1), Tennessee (5), Alabama (6).
▪ Sports Illustrated: Georgia (1), Alabama (7), Tennessee (12), South Carolina (19).
▪ The Sporting News: Georgia (1), Alabama (2), Tennessee (5), South Carolina (25).
▪ USA Today: Georgia (1), Alabama (3), Tennessee (14).
▪ Yahoo Sports: Georgia (1), Alabama (2), Tennessee (10), South Carolina (24).
Of those rankings, the only one that even mentioned Kentucky was Athlon, including the Wildcats in a group of “other teams to watch” outside its top 32.
Perhaps Leary shows in spring practice he has regained the 2021 form that saw him throw 35 touchdowns with just five interceptions after a torn pectoral muscle ended his 2022 season after just six games. Stoops and company could increase the summer hype with a few more transfer portal additions from the wave of players expected to look for new schools in May. The expected return to Lexington of Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen should bring some buzz.
It seems like a safe bet Kentucky will arrive at SEC Media Days in July once again projected to finish in the middle of the division though.
After failing to handle the praise of last summer, maybe that is a good thing for Kentucky next season.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 11:37 AM.