Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 70. Kentucky
Big Blue Nation
Surprise! Were you expecting Kentucky?? The Wildcats have been a pretty innocuous team throughout the past few decades, with the majority of their seasons falling in the 5-7 win range. Known for their basketball program, the football team’s come on strong in recent years under Mark Stoops, and now routinely fights for the 2nd/3rd place spot in the SEC East. But a lack of stellar seasons keeps them low on the list, perhaps lower than some might have anticipated.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
| 14 | Kentucky | 2018 | 24.842 | 10-3 |
| 24 | Kentucky | 2021 | 18.396 | 10-3 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 1984 | 16.829 | 9-3 |
| 32 | Kentucky | 2007 | 11.635 | 8-5 |
| 38 | Kentucky | 2006 | 7.182 | 8-5 |
| 36 | Kentucky | 2019 | 6.578 | 8-5 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 1998 | -0.252 | 7-5 |
| 51 | Kentucky | 2022 | -0.279 | 7-6 |
| 49 | Kentucky | 2002 | -1.28 | 7-5 |
| 51 | Kentucky | 2017 | -2.296 | 7-6 |
| 56 | Kentucky | 2009 | -2.803 | 7-6 |
| 45 | Kentucky | 1983 | -2.871 | 6-5-1 |
| 56 | Kentucky | 2016 | -4.038 | 7-6 |
| 46 | Kentucky | 1986 | -4.855 | 5-5-1 |
| 50 | Kentucky | 1988 | -5.655 | 5-6 |
| 56 | Kentucky | 2008 | -5.784 | 7-6 |
| 49 | Kentucky | 1989 | -6.914 | 6-5 |
| 48 | Kentucky | 1987 | -8.103 | 5-6 |
| 50 | Kentucky | 1993 | -9.159 | 6-6 |
| 49 | Kentucky | 1985 | -9.749 | 5-6 |
| 71 | Kentucky | 2020 | -10.674 | 5-6 |
| 59 | Kentucky | 1999 | -10.702 | 6-6 |
| 65 | Kentucky | 1997 | -14.006 | 5-6 |
| 71 | Kentucky | 2010 | -14.742 | 6-7 |
| 65 | Kentucky | 1995 | -17.504 | 4-7 |
| 86 | Kentucky | 2014 | -17.718 | 5-7 |
| 81 | Kentucky | 2015 | -20.123 | 5-7 |
| 72 | Kentucky | 1990 | -20.477 | 4-7 |
| 80 | Kentucky | 1992 | -21.514 | 4-7 |
| 88 | Kentucky | 2011 | -23.926 | 5-7 |
| 77 | Kentucky | 1996 | -24.445 | 4-7 |
| 89 | Kentucky | 2003 | -29.409 | 4-8 |
| 84 | Kentucky | 1991 | -31.587 | 3-8 |
| 100 | Kentucky | 2005 | -34.426 | 3-8 |
| 93 | Kentucky | 2001 | -36.086 | 2-9 |
| 94 | Kentucky | 2000 | -36.835 | 2-9 |
| 103 | Kentucky | 2004 | -41.04 | 2-9 |
| 110 | Kentucky | 2012 | -43.221 | 2-10 |
| 106 | Kentucky | 2013 | -44.649 | 2-10 |
| 102 | Kentucky | 1994 | -54.856 | 1-10 |
+------+----------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 13702 (70th)214-258-2 record
0 conference titles
8-8 bowl record
7 consensus All-Americans
83 NFL players drafted
I mean, 27 seasons of 5+ wins is pretty good! But 0 conference titles with only 2 double digit win seasons is no bueno. Combine that with a fair amount of 2-3 win seasons in the 2000s, and Kentucky ends up as the 2nd worst SEC team. 7 consensus All-Americans is the most we’ve seen so far though, same with 83 NFL players drafted. There’s really too many consensus All-Americans to count, it’s tough to give everyone their flowers. Of the seasons not covered in the top 5, consensus AAs include QB Tim Couch (1998), TE James Whalen (1999), AP Derek Abney (2002), who had 2 kick return TDs and 4 punt return TDs that year, P Max Duffey (2019), and AP Lynn Bowden Jr. (2019). Among the players drafted are 1st overall pick Couch and NFL Hall of Fame C Dermontti Dawson of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And of course, we have to mention the Hefty Lefty, QB Jared Lorenzen. 10,000+ passing yards in college, a Super Bowl ring, and a legacy much bigger than his already mountainous presence.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 1994 (1-10 overall, 0-8 SEC)
To open the season was actually the first ever meeting between Kentucky in Louisville, the inaugural game of the Battle for the Governor’s Cup. Kentucky LB Donte Key had a fumble recovery and the game-winning interception to beat the Cards 20-14 in what was clearly the highlight of the season. 1994 was truly a hark to the old adage “As long as I beat my rival, I don’t care if I lose every other game.” That was put to the test as Kentucky lost their last 10 games, and the saying seemed true! Coach Bill Curry was given another 2 years of coaching the team, so the win must’ve done something for his credit. The other rivalry games didn’t go so well, losing 7-73 to Florida, 29-59 to Indiana, 6-24 to Vanderbilt, and 0-52 to Tennessee. Yikes. Starting QB Jeff Speedy was anything but, rushing for 91 yards on 1.6 YPC, and did his best when throwing, completing 45% of passes for 580 yards for 1 TD to 8 INT.
5. 2006 (8-5 overall, 4-4 SEC)
From 2006-09, Kentucky was scary with some pretty darn good players. QB Andre Woodson was 2nd Team All-SEC behind future #1 pick JaMarcus Russell, throwing for 3500+ yards 31 TD 7 INT. Woodson could drop it in a bucket, and had plenty of talent around him like 1000+ yard WR Keenan Burton, 822 yard WR Dicky Lyons, and future NFL TE Jacob Tamme. A 3-4 start to the year included losses to Louisville, Florida, and LSU, who’d combine for a 36-4 record on the year, with wins over Ole Miss and MAC champion Central Michigan. Sitting near the bottom of the SEC East, Kentucky made a push for 2nd, beating Georgia 24-20 and improving to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. A win over Tennessee would’ve given them 2nd, but they lost 12-17. Still dominated Clemson in a bowl that wasn’t as close as the 28-20 scoreline indicated to finish 8-5.
4. 2007 (8-5 overall, 3-5 SEC)
Well this team was just wild. After a 2-0 start against weak competition, Kentucky pulled off a HUGE upset over #9 Louisville, with QB Andre Woodson throwing a 57 yard TD to Stevie Johnson to go ahead 40-34 with 28 seconds left. They followed up with a trip to defending SEC West champ Arkansas who had Heisman favorite Darren McFadden, but did enough to come back from down 21-29 in the 4th quarter to win 42-29. After a win over FAU, Kentucky was all the way up to #8 facing #11 South Carolina in a WTF 2007 season. South Carolina won, but would only finish 6-6 themselves. Kentucky returned home to play #1 LSU, and in maybe the biggest win in school history, outlasted the Tigers 43-37 in 3OT. That earned Kentucky College GameDay the next week against #14 Florida, and they regained the #8 spot themselves. Even though Kentucky had already gone through a murderer’s row, the last 5 regular season games were even harder, and Tucky went just 1-4 to finish 7-5 on the year. A 35-28 win in the bowl over Florida State featured 4 TD passes from Woodson in his final college game.
Woodson was 2nd Team All-SEC for the 2nd straight year, throwing for 3709 yards 40 TD 11 INT. Senior WR Stevie Johnson broke out for 1041 yards and 13 TD, and would go on to be one of the best receivers in the NFL for a short period of time. 3 other receivers caught for 600+ yards including TE Jacob Tamme, who earned 1st Team All-SEC for the 2nd straight year. LB Wesley Woodyard was 2nd in the SEC in tackles with 138 and would go on to have a solid NFL career.
3. 1984 (9-3 overall, 3-3 SEC)
Literally 1984. A 5-0 start included 4 wins over programs that’ve already appeared on this list (Kent State, Indiana, Tulane, Rutgers), make of that what you will. That got Kentucky up to #16, but 2 straight SEC losses had them fall out of the top 25. After easy wins over North Texas State and Vanderbilt, a 17-25 loss to #5 Florida had the Wildcats at 7-3 with just Tennessee left. The 6-2-1 Volunteers were home favorites, but Kentucky got the 17-12 win in what would be their last win in Knoxville until 2020. That set up a quality bowl game with #19 Wisconsin, in which Kentucky hit a FG to go up 20-19 late in the game. Wisconsin drove to the 8 yard line and set up for a FG themselves, but the snap was bobbled and Kentucky recovered for the 1 point victory. Future Kentucky coach Joker Phillips had 6 catches for 55 yards. Kentucky finished #19 overall, and #21 in my rankings. DB/P swiss army knife Paul Calhoun may have as well been team MVP, leading the SEC in interceptions with 7 while also averaging 44.6 yards per punt! RB George Adams ran for 1000+ yards with 13 TD and was a 1st round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft.
2. 2021 (10-3 overall, 5-3 SEC)
The season was dedicated to up and coming LB Chris Oats, who had suffered a stroke before the 2020 season that ended his career. When I heard about Oats’ story a few years back, it inspired me then and still does. Will Levis led Kentucky to a 6-0 opening record, prompting ESPN GameDay to visit #11 Kentucky at #1 Georgia, but them Dawgs was hell and won 30-13. Kentucky fell into a momentary tailspin, losing their next 2, but rebounded to win their last 3 against a weak schedule of Vandy, New Mexico State, and Louisville. RB Christopher Rodriguez scored a late TD to beat #15 Iowa 20-17 in the Citrus Bowl, and Kentucky finished 10-3, 2nd in the SEC East, and #18 in the nation. Levis showed NFL 1st round potential with 2826 passing yards 24 TD 13 INT and 9 rushing TD. Rodriguez was 1st Team All-SEC with 1378 rushing yards and 10 TD on 6.1 YPC. Levis’ success was largely thanks to a great rapport with WR Wan’Dale Robinson, who was 3rd in the nation in catches with 104 for 1334 yards and 7 TD. OL Darian Kinnard was a consensus All-American, and won the SEC’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy.
1. 2018 (10-3 overall, 5-3 SEC)
Kentucky exploded for their first double digit win season in 40 years thanks to a stingy defense that gave up just 16.8 PPG and a bruising run game. They finally got a giant monkey off their back by beating Florida for the first time in 30 years, beating the 25th ranked Gators 27-16 in week 2. Two weeks later, the defense held #14 Mississippi State to just 200 yards in a 28-7 upset to go to 4-0. After many mediocre seasons since 1984, it seemed like this was finally the Wildcats’ breakout year. A 24-10 win over South Carolina further cemented that Kentucky was for real, and they were all the way up to #13 in the rankings. After losing to Texas A&M and beating Vandy, Kentucky was down 3-14 to Missouri with just 5 minutes to go. Mizzou pretty much blew the game, giving up a 67 yard punt return TD to Lynn Bowden and a 2 yard TD pass on the final play for a 15-14 Wildcats escape win. Kentucky controlled their destiny for an SEC title, ranked #9 facing #6 Georgia in a top 10 matchup for 1st place in the East. Georgia showed there were levels to the game though, and won easily 34-17.
After winning 2 of their last 3 games, Kentucky was 9-3, ranked 14th, and was having one of the best seasons in school history. All that was left was the Citrus Bowl against #12 Penn State. PSU was 6 point favorites, with most pundits expecting senior QB Trace McSorley to ride off into the sunset with a win. Josh Allen and the Kentucky defense had other plans though, forcing 2 turnovers to take a 27-7 lead and held on to win it 27-24 with 3 sacks from Allen. This was easily Kentucky’s best team, as they finished #12 in the country. LB Josh Allen was a unanimous All-American, winning SEC Defensive POTY, plus the Nagurski, Lambert, Lott, and Bednarik Trophies with his 17 sacks. Benny Snell finished as Kentucky’s career rushing king, going for 1449 yards and 16 TD in his final college season. Mark Stoops deservedly won SEC Coach of the Year, and 10 contributors from this team have gone on to be drafted into the NFL.
5th Quarter
Surprised to see Kentucky this low, why or why not? Who, in your opinion is the best player to come out of Kentucky in the last 40 years? What’ll it take for Kentucky to get over the hump of winning an SEC title? Was that 2007 win over #1 LSU the biggest in school history? Did Will Levis deserve to be a 1st round pick or did his play on the field justify him slipping in the draft?
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