The Kentucky Wildcats
could make the College Football Playoff for the first time in their history this season, and with just one loss, they likely don't even need to win out to be among the 12 best teams in the country come the new year. Will Stein has resurrected this program and has them competing at an ultra-high level. The Cats' lone loss of the season was to the Alabama Crimson Tide at home, a game in which Kentucky led at halftime as well.That said, the Cats are starting to get some national attention, and ESPN columnists Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach recently gave their updated predictions. Both Schlabach and Bonagura have the Cats making it into the College Football Playoff and advancing through the first round.
For Bonagura, he has
Kentucky finishing the season at the No. 8 seed, which likely would mean it would drop one of its final games. The Cats have Missouri, Florida, Louisville, and Tennessee to round out the season, with their battle against the No. 16 Vols this Saturday. Schlabach has the Cats at No. 5, which seems to indicate he thinks they could win out. They would be on the brink of a first-round bye in that scenario, which is certainly likely if they end with one loss.
The former then has Kentucky losing to Miami, while the latter has them dropping their quarterfinal matchup to Utah. Nonetheless, a second-round exit would still be a huge accomplishment for Stein in his first season as the Cats leader.
According to ESPN's FPI, Kentucky now has a 52.2% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) October 25, 2026
That is the ninth-strongest chance in the country and the fourth-strongest in the SEC.
It is currently more likely than not that Kentucky makes the CFP. pic.twitter.com/HT24orIrpv
Kentucky is going to have a huge challenge on its plate this upcoming weekend as it heads to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to face the top-20 Volunteers. While Tennessee's offense has been frail, its defense is among the best in the conference and will test Kenny Minchey and company.
The Cats don't have a top-15 team left on their schedule, so they undoubtedly control their destiny heading into the last few months of the season.
This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: ESPN columnist has uplifting CFP outcome for Kentucky Wildcats
