The Davis Rankings

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#6 Kentucky

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5-1 in SEC play, 1st in the SEC

Up 5 spots (#11 to #6) after a home win over #109 Vanderbilt (34-17). As expected: Kentucky entered with 82.0 TDR points to Vanderbilt's 34.7. Now 7-1, sixth straight win. AP: #12 to #9. TDR score +0.9: win/loss record +1.0.

Trophy case

1 award in 2026 · 3 in all seasons · Every award winner
Yodely Team, week 4, 2026
Tap or hover a sticker for the award and week.
  • Yodely Team ×1
Award history, Kentucky, 2026
AwardWeekWhy
Yodely TeamWeek 4Biggest two-week rise, up both weeks

2026 season recap (through week 8)

Kentucky (SEC) is ranked 6th in The Davis Rankings after week 8 of 2026, with a record of 7-1 and a score of 82.9 out of 100. That is up 5 from week 7. That puts it in the Winning tier (ranks 1-25). Its strongest factor is recent results (100.0 out of 100). Its weakest is opponent record at game time (70.2 out of 100).

The best win on the résumé came in week 6, 35-34 over #17 LSU at home. The defeat that hurts the score most is the week 2 loss, 45-17 to #15 Alabama at home.

Kentucky has won its last 6 games in a row. On the road it is 3-0. The average margin is +8.1 points per game, with a biggest win of 32 points. 2 of 8 games were decided by a touchdown or less.

Kentucky is 9th in the AP poll (3 spots lower than the Davis Rankings); 8th in the Coaches poll (2 spots lower than the Davis Rankings).

Next up is #62 Tennessee in week 10, on the road. The toughest game left on the schedule by current rank is week 11 against #22 Florida. 1 of the 4 games left are against teams currently in the top 25.

Schedule

WeekOpponentResult
1Youngstown State (home)W 45-13
2Alabama (home, conference game)L 17-45
3Texas A&M (away, conference game)W 31-21
4South Alabama (home)W 45-21
5South Carolina (away, conference game)W 35-34
6LSU (home, conference game)W 35-34
7Oklahoma (away, conference game)W 21-13
8Vanderbilt (home, conference game)W 34-17

Upcoming games

WeekOpponentDate
10Tennessee (away, conference game) (ESPN)
11Florida (home, conference game)Sat Nov 14, time TBD
12Missouri (away, conference game)Sat Nov 21, time TBD
13Louisville (home)Sat Nov 28, time TBD

Ranking history 2026

Now #6, Winning (week 8). Best #6 (week 8). Lowest #105 (week 2). Higher on the chart is a better rank. The shaded bands are rank tiers, with each tier's sticker at its left. A poll is a top 25, so its line breaks in the weeks the team is not in it. The poll lines are drawn a little apart so equal ranks do not hide each other: point at a week for the exact ranks.

TDR

Week 8 TDR #6 (82.9, 7-1) Winning AP #9 Coaches #8

Winning (ranks 1-25)Feeling Good (ranks 26-50)Character Building (ranks 51-75)Do We Need to Talk? (ranks 76-100)Sick of It (ranks 101-125)#1#25#50#75#10012345678WkWinning (ranks 1-25)#6
Week by week
WeekTDRScoreRecordTierAPCoaches
1#4589.51-0-NRNR
2#10534.51-1-NRNR
3#4367.62-1Feeling GoodNRNR
4#3473.53-1Feeling Good#24NR
5#2177.74-1WinningNR#25
6#1680.05-1Winning#15#17
7#1182.06-1Winning#12#12
8#682.97-1Winning#9#8

Score breakdown

Each factor is scored 0–100, then weighted into the composite score. Full methodology & weights

FactorScore (0-100)
win/loss record87.5
recent results100.0
road-win bonus81.0
opponent record at game time70.2
opponent record today72.1

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