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In what may become a regular feature (if work rears its ugly head it’ll probably disappear), Allenby For Heisman! hopes to take a weekly look at the University of Kentucky’s place in the world of college football.

Well, we all know what the University of Kentucky football team did in Week 3, and the victory over then-No. 9 Louisville has put the Wildcats on the national scene, and some pundits are already forecasting a New Year’s Day bowl and another major upset. Let’s get to it.

The polls. Despite our fears to the contrary, the Cats’ upset victory was enough to get Kentucky into both polls. The Associated Press Poll, in which the Cats received no votes last week, ranks Kentucky at No. 21. [Link] The USA Today Coaches’ Poll, which had the Cats at No. 37 if you tally the ‘others receiving votes’ column, ranks Kentucky at No. 23. [Link] The Cats’ opponent in Week 4, Arkansas, was unlucky to drop out of both polls after losing to then-unranked Alabama. (If you’re curious about who voted Louisville ahead of Kentucky in this week’s AP Poll, check A Pudge Is A Sandwich, which we saw linked at KentuckySportsRadio.com.)

CBSSports. The Cats rose from No. 30 to No. 20 in the CBSSports.com 120. [Link] Arkansas is No. 27. CBSSports.com projects Kentucky will face Boston College in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 31.

SI.com. For the second straight week, Kentucky made a big move in the SI.com Power Rankings, jumping from No. 37 to No. 20. Arkansas is No. 17. [Link] Kentucky remains absent from SI.com’s bowl predictions, which haven’t been updated since preseason.

FoxSports. Kentucky rose from No. 32 to No. 19 in the CollegeFootballNews.com Rankings at FoxSports.com.  Arkansas is No. 28.

ESPN.com. In their updated bowl projections, Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach both have Kentucky in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, on January 1. Maisel sees the Cats battling Michigan State while Schlabach sees Kentucky battling Michigan. [Link] Kentucky leads the ‘others receiving votes’ column of the Power 16 with nine points, four behind No. 16 South Florida. [Link]

Sagarin Ratings. Kentucky rose from No. 30 to No. 19. Arkansas is at No. 14. [Link] 

In other news, at least one national writer has Kentucky picked for big things. Matt Hayes of the Sporting News sees Kentucky posting a 10-win season, which seems a bit crazy to us, but we like the optimism:

Look, I told you earlier this summer the ‘Cats would beat Louisville. This is a case of a talented quarterback growing up with the same skill guys around him for three or four years. And finally, UK can block someone on the offensive line.

That adds up to one explosive offense.

Don’t think Kentucky is finished, either. This team is destined for a New Year’s Day bowl. The ‘Cats won’t beat the big boys in the SEC because, eventually, they’ll need a stop from their defense.

An upcoming run of games against South Carolina (in Columbia on Thursday night) and LSU and Florida at home, will dictate the season. UK could lose all three, finish 9-3 and play an overblown Big Ten team in the Outback Bowl. At that point, we’ll see win No.10 — the first 10-win season in 30 years.

[Link] (We saw this linked at the UK Blogger’s page at the CJ. And speaking of the CJ, yes, we saw the paper once again take another pop at UK for switchig the game, and we’ll have more to saw about that tomorrow.)

Finally, he may not be a national writer, but Tony Barnhart knows his football. He sees big things for the Cats as well (and he did pick Kentucky to beat Louisville):

Kentucky is going to record a major upset in the SEC: After knocking off No. 9 Louisville Saturday night in Lexington, the Wildcats have now won eight of their last nine games dating back to last season. The only loss in that stretch was to Tennessee (17-12) in a game Kentucky had several chances to win. Kentucky has SEC home games with LSU, Florida, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. The Wildcats will win at least two of those.

[Link]

To wrap up, most everybody sees the Cats at a top-25 team with a bona fide shot at a New Year’s Day bowl. Of course, a loss at Arkansas this weekend (and we’re 6.5-point dogs last we checked), and we slip right back down. Here’s hoping we get it done in Fayetteville.

Onward and upward!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 8:45 pm and is filed under Allenby for Heisman!, College Football, UK. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.