Tag: Kentucky Wildcats

Penn State passed by division rival in updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Where is Penn State in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after Week 7?

Penn State did not move up or move down in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll this week while on a bye week, but the Nittany Lions did get passed by one of its division rivals while sitting at home. Michigan State moved up two spots following a close victory over Indiana in week 7, as the Spartans moved up to No. 7 in this week’s coaches poll.

Penn State remained No. 8, the same ranking they held the previous week after suffering its first loss of the season at Iowa in Week 6. Iowa, after getting humiliated at home by Purdue, actually fell behind the Nittany Lions after tumbling from No. 2 down to No. 11 this week.

The Big Ten still has four teams ranked in the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll with Penn State coming in behind No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Michigan State.

Georgia secured all 65 first-place votes in this week’s coaches poll to lock down the No. 1 overall ranking for a second straight week. But Cincinnati’s path to its highest ranking in the coaches ranking was blocked by a resurgent Oklahoma. Oklahoma moved up one spot to No. 2 to replace Iowa behind the Bulldogs, and Cincinnati moved up to No. 3. No. 4 Alabama, Ohio State, and Michigan each moved up one spot and the Spartans moved up two. No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Oregon round out the top 10 this week.

Former Penn State opponent Auburn popped back up into the top 25 of the coaches poll this week following their win over Arkansas, which dropped the Razorbacks out of the top 25 as their losing skid hits three games after a fun start to the season. Pittsburgh also surged into the rankings this week at No. 23, moving just ahead of No. 24 Clemson to setup a top 25 matchup between the Panthers and Tigers coming up.

Here is the full look at the full coaches poll after this week’s slate of games.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Georgia 6-0 1,624 (64) –
2 Oklahoma 7-0 1,508 +1
3 Cincinnati 6-0 1,497 +1
4 Alabama 6-1 1,446 +1
5 Ohio State 5-1 1,305 +1
6 Michigan 6-0 1,299 +1
7 Michigan State 7-0 1,158 +2
8 Penn State 5-1 1,134 –
9 Oklahoma State 6-0 1,093 +3
10 Oregon 5-1 1,048 –
11 Iowa 6-1 1,031 -9
12 Ole Miss 5-1 826 +2
13 Notre Dame 5-1 816 –
14 Kentucky 6-1 763 -3
15 Wake Forest 6-0 696 +1
16 Coastal Carolina 6-0 675 -1
17 Texas A&M 5-2 580 +1
18 NC State 5-1 528 +3
19 SMU 6-0 399 +4
20 Baylor 6-1 369 +7
21 San Diego State 6-0 334 +3
22 Auburn 5-2 315 +4
23 Pittsburgh 5-1 192 +6
24 Clemson 4-2 146 +1
25 UT-San Antonio 7-0 96 +5

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 17 Florida; No. 19 Arkansas; No. 20 Brigham Young; No. 22 Arizona State

Others receiving votes:

Iowa State 38; Utah 35; Arkansas 31; Florida 23; Brigham Young 23; Air Force 20; UL Lafayette 18; Arizona State 18; Purdue 16; Houston 11; Virginia 6; Texas 4; Louisiana State 2; Fresno State 1.

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Before The Snap: College football picks against the spread, Week 7: Will Georgia cover vs. Kentucky?

Will Oklahoma win this week by two touchdowns?

Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football series where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.

Going into Week 7 of this wild college football season, Before The Snap was joined by BetFTW managing editor Caroline Darney for some picks against the spread in some of this week’s top games.

And, especially after madness in Week 6, the college football picture this year is far from what we expected. Georgia is undefeated and No. 1 in the country, Cincinnati is ranked higher than one-loss Alabama, the Big Ten has five teams ranked in the top 10 and two-loss Clemson is not even ranked in the AP Poll. So who knows what the College Football Playoff picture will look like in a couple weeks?

What we do know is that when it comes to the lines and over-unders for Week 7, a few teams’ potential may have been overestimated, providing us with some confident picks against the spread. Let’s break it down with all betting info per Tipico Sportsbook as of Wednesday.

No. 11 Kentucky at No. 1 Georgia (-22.5)

(AP Photo/Butch Dill)

When: Saturday, October 16, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
Channel: CBS
O/U: 44.5

As the No. 1 team in the country, Georgia also boasts the top defense, which is giving up just 201.2 yards and 5.5 points per game. And while it’s certainly possible that the Bulldogs will steamroll the Wildcats, Kentucky deserves a bit more credit for being 6-0 at this point with a win over Florida earlier in October. We’re predicting Georgia will beat Kentucky but not by more than three touchdowns.

No. 10 Michigan State (-4.5) at Indiana

When: Saturday, October 16, Noon ET
Where: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
Channel: FS1
O/U: 48.5

Michigan State tends to have some trouble with seemingly innocuous Big Ten teams, like Indiana, which beat the Spartans 24-0 last season. Now, both teams are looking and playing very differently this year, but we’re not fooled by Michigan State’s top-10 ranking. The Spartans’ best win this season was against a bad Miami team, and their defense is still giving up 420.5 yards per game. We’re thinking Indiana pulls off the upset or Michigan State saves its undefeated season with a late score.

TCU at No. 4 Oklahoma (-13.5)

When: Saturday, October 16, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Channel: ABC
O/U: 65.5

Oklahoma being favored by nearly two touchdowns seems like a bit of a stretch here. With the exception of the Sooners’ obscene 76-0 win over Western Carolina, they’ve won all their other games by no more than seven points. That lopsided win aside, Oklahoma has won its other games by 28 total points with a 5.6 average margin of victory. Plus, it’s in a tricky situation with a quarterback battle between original starter Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams, who replaced Rattler against Texas last week and led the team to a win. If Oklahoma wins, it won’t be by almost two touchdowns, but TCU might steal a victory here.

Pitt (-4.5) at Virginia Tech

When: Saturday, October 16, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia
Channel: ESPN2
O/U: 57.5

This is a pivotal game in the ACC Coastal race — stick with us here! — and it’s hard to predict what we’re going to see. Virginia Tech had Notre Dame on the ropes until a late field goal lifted the Fighting Irish to a victory, and Pitt lost to Western Michigan to open the season and has only two games against P5 competition. But Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett is still one of the best in the conference, so we’re predicting a Panthers win but perhaps by just a field goal.

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Where did Penn State fall in updated AP Top 25 after Week 6?

Where is Penn State in the AP Top 25 after the loss to Iowa in Week 6?

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As expected, Penn State was due to drop a few spots in the new AP Top 25 that was released Sunday after losing on the road to Iowa. But what was unknown was just how much of a drop Penn State could take in a week that saw the Nittany Lions lose a close one on the road while playing the majority of the game with a backup quarterback. It turns out, three spots.

Penn State fell to No. 7 in the new AP Top2 5 that was released Sunday afternoon. Penn State had previously been ranked No. 4 in last week’s AP Top 25. While Penn State did fall behind a rising Ohio State in the AP poll, the Nittany Lions did manage to stay ranked ahead of the Michigan Wolverines amid the reshuffling of the top 10.

Georgia took full control of the first-place ballots this week, receiving all 62 after their road win at Auburn was paired with Alabama’s upset loss Saturday night at Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide fell to No. 5 in the AP poll this week. Iowa moved up to No. 2, with Cincinnati moving up to No. 3 and Oklahoma taking No. 4 this week.

Like in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, Michigan State has moved into the top 10 of the AP Poll to give the Big Ten half of this week’s top 10 teams (Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State.

NEXT: See the full AP Top 25 following Week 6

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Where did Penn State drop in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after Week 6?

Where is Penn State ranked in the new USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after the loss to Iowa?

As expected following a tough loss on the road this weekend, Penn State fell back a few spots in the updated USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. The good news is Penn State is still in the top 10 amid some reshuffling of the deck in the poll this week.

Penn State fell from No. 4 down to No. 8 in the fresh coaches poll on Sunday. Penn State fell behind Big Ten East foes Ohio State (No. 6) and Michigan (No. 7) as both the Buckeyes and Wolverines moved up one spot to take advantage of Penn State’s first stumble of the season. Iowa moved up to No. 2 following their victory over the Nittany Lions, taking full advantage of a surprising loss Saturday night by Alabama.

The Crimson Tide fell from the top of the coaches poll down to No. 5 after suffering a last-second loss at Texas A&M on Saturday night. Georgia took full control of the top spot in the coaches poll this week with 64 first-place votes. There was one first-place vote from the coaches for the Hawkeyes.

Joining the Hawkeyes, Buckeyes, Wolverines and Nittany Lions inside the top 10 this week is Michigan State. The undefeated Spartans moved into the top 10 by being bumped up two spots this week. Michigan State lept over Oregon, who was idle this week and fell to No. 10. Michigan State also moved into the top 10 after BYU fell out due to a loss at home to Boise State.

A former Penn State opponent, Auburn, fell out of the top 25 this week with their home loss to top-ranked Georgia.

Here is a look at the complete USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll after Week 6.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Georgia 6-0 1,624 (64) +1
2 Iowa 6-0 1,537 (1) +1
3 Oklahoma 6-0 1,452 +2
4 Cincinnati 5-0 1,418 +2
5 Alabama 5-1 1,363 -4
6 Ohio State 5-1 1,254 +1
7 Michigan 6-0 1,237 +1
8 Penn State 5-1 1,124 -4
9 Michigan State 6-0 1,064 +2
10 Oregon 4-1 1,004 +1
11 Kentucky 6-0 994 +3
12 Oklahoma State 5-0 910 –
13 Notre Dame 5-1 817 –
14 Ole Miss 4-1 741 +3
15 Coastal Carolina 6-0 708 –
16 Wake Forest 6-0 580 +4
17 Florida 4-2 543 +1
18 Texas A&M 4-2 396 +8
19 Arkansas 4-2 386 -3
20 BYU 5-1 342 -10
21 NC State 4-1 321 +1
22 Arizona State 5-1 294 +3
23 SMU 6-0 269 +1
24 San Diego State 5-0 156 +3
25 Clemson 3-2 155 -4

Dropped from the rankings:

No. 19 Auburn; No. 23 Texas.

Others receiving votes:

Auburn 98; Baylor 91; Texas 74; Pittsburgh 36; Texas-San Antonio 30; Mississippi State 18; Iowa State 18; Appalachian State 18; Boston College 11; Air Force 9; Tennessee 8; Liberty 8; Nevada 7; UL Lafayette 3; Houston 3; Fresno State 3; UCLA 1.

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LSU vs Kentucky: Final look at the statistical breakdown

A final look at how the offenses and defenses matchup before Saturday’s game.

Just hours away from kickoff between the LSU Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats. The home team looking to stay perfect on the season and move to 6-0. The Tigers are hoping to play spoiler and keep Kentucky from being bowl eligible for at least another week.

LSU is in desperation mode with the upcoming slate of game against the top 25. They lost by four to Auburn (No. 22) at the time of the game. They have the No. 14 Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. CDT. Starting next Saturday it will host No. 18 Florida, then at No. 17 Ole Miss, and at No. 1 Alabama. They finish up the stretch at home against No. 16 Arkansas.

Safe to say they need this win badly. Here is how both team’s offensive and defensive units match up.

When LSU has the ball

© SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

Here is how the LSU offense stacks up against the Kentucky defense in conference play:

Category LSU Kentucky Category
Total Offense 373.6 (12th) 332.0 (5th) Total Defense
Rush Offense 48.0/game (14th) 111.0 (3rd) Rush Defense
Yards per carry 1.87 (14th) 3.74 (4th) YPC allowed
Pass Offense 303.0 (4th) 221.0 (8th) Pass Defense
Yards per attempt 7.8 (7th) 6.1 (4th) YPA allowed
Scoring Offense 31.4 (7th) 17.0 (2nd) Scoring Defense
Red Zone (TD%) 64.3 (9th) 75.0 (11th) Red Zone (TD %)

When Kentucky has the ball

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

How Kentucky’s offense matches up with the LSU defense:

Category Kentucky LSU Category
Total Offense 358.7 (8th) 469.5 (12th) Total Defense
Rush Offense 236.0 (2nd) 139.0 (7th) Rush Defense
Yards per carry 5.62 (3rd) 5.05 (10th) YPC allowed
Pass Offense 122.7 (13th) 330.5 (14th) Pass Defense
Yards per attempt 6.5 (9th) 6.0 (3rd) YPA allowed
Scoring Offense 23.7 (8th) 24.5 (7th) Scoring Defense
Red Zone (TD%) 63.6 (6th) 66.67 (9th) Red Zone (TD %)

 

Here’s all the homecoming hype ahead of the Vanderbilt game

Take a look at how fans are getting psyched up for today’s homecoming game against the Commodores.

Homecoming gameday is here! The Florida Gators get set to host the Vanderbilt Commodores today starting at noon EDT and the fanbase is getting riled up for the upcoming gridiron action.

The Gator Nation has been logging onto social media and letting its voice be heard ahead of the Gators’ afternoon tangle with the visiting Commodores. Below is a healthy sampling of the many tweets sent out in the hours preceding game time as the fanbase gets hyped. We will continue to update until game time.

Florida Football 2021 Opponent History: Vanderbilt Commodores

UF’s history against its favorite homecoming opponent

10 things every Gators fan should know for the Vandy game

Scouting the Vanderbilt Commodores ahead of Saturday’s game

Gators Wire’s staff predictions for Florida football vs Vanderbilt

USA TODAY Sports feeling bullish about the Gators against Vandy

 

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USA TODAY Sports feeling bullish about the Gators against Vandy on Saturday

The USA TODAY Sports crew is feeling very bullish on the Gators this weekend against Vandy.

The Vanderbilt Commodores rarely field a formidable team on the college football gridiron — at least in the era of the Southeastern Conference — and this season so far has been little exception. A perennial doormat of the SEC, the Gators have beaten private school’s football squad 40 times in 52 total tries (including a pair of ties) making the Black and Gold Florida’s favorite foe for its annual homecoming game.

Heading into Saturday’s tangle in the Swamp, the Orange and Blue is a heavy favorite once again, with the point spread almost universally set in the upper-thirties. USA TODAY Sports published its predictions for the SEC showdowns — among other notable matchups — with all seven staff members picking the Gators to triumph over the Commodores.

This comes as no surprise as, despite Florida’s letdowns against the Alabama Crimson Tide and Kentucky Wildcats, this Gators roster far outmatches the visiting team’s talent in ostensibly every facet of the game. It would be a spicy-hot take to call for the ‘Dores in this game — one none of the USA TODAY Sports crew had any interest in, apparently.

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WATCH: Kentucky fans chant “We want Bama” after upset over Florida

It’s happening again. Wildcats fans don’t understand the weight of their words after upset win over Florida.

Here we go again, folks.

Moments after upsetting the No. 10 Florida Gators, Kentucky fans poured into State Street to celebrate their massive 20-13 win.

There was good reason to celebrate for the Wildcats, not only was it their first home win against Florida since 1986, but it also added a top-10 win to their undefeated season.

Remembering the last time Kentucky fans had reason to be hopeful is difficult, but it’s no doubt that they are now, especially after a huge win like the one they earned on Saturday.

Kentucky’s celebrations of choice included the burning of household furniture, as is tradition in Lexington, and chanting things that they surely do not really mean.

This is when I would consider this celebration a riot, chanting things such as “We want Bama” while not realizing how destructive and damaging that phrase has been in the past.

At least one fan at the scene had the common-sense to understand the gravity of the words being spoken.

“No you don’t,” he exclaimed dramatically.

He is right. Im certain that they’ll wake up tomorrow understanding the depravity of what they were saying.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Layne Gerbig on Twitter @LayneG_29

The Good, Bad and Ugly: Breaking down Florida’s penalty-laden loss to Kentucky

The Gators Wire staff breaks down Saturday night’s gut-wrenching loss to Kentucky in Lexington.

The Gator Nation took a swift punch to the stomach on Saturday night when the Kentucky Wildcats stood their home ground and cold-cocked their beloved Florida football team, 20-13, in a game that could have been won by the Orange and Blue. Be that as it may, the visiting team made far too many mistakes, with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown being the difference-maker in this matchup, effectively ending the UF’s College Football Playoff aspirations.

Now that dust has settled after the sloppy loss, the Gators Wire staff presents its Good, Bad and Ugly from the battle between the two SEC East rivals in Lexington. Have a look at our retrospective takes below.

Penalties doom Florida on the road against Kentucky

Penalties were an issue for Florida in front of a rabid Kentucky crowd.

Alabama’s staff mentioned that the team was affected by the noise at the Swamp a few weeks ago. Florida found out what that’s like on the road against Kentucky this week. The Gators committed 15 penalties on Saturday for a loss of 115 yards.

Eight of those penalties ended up being false starts thanks to the raucous environment created by the Lexington faithful. Florida linemen and running backs jumped all night as they guessed at the snap count and stalled out on offense.

“The penalties were not working for us,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “I’ll be honest with you, we had 382 yards to 211 and I think that was a big factor. If you look at it … the penalties weren’t small, you’re looking at taking third downs off the board … Those are the issues. The mental errors were just – you can’t do that and expect to win a game making that many mental errors.”

Starting quarterback Emory Jones admitted that the noise level got to the team at times during the game. He agreed with Mullen on the number of penalties being too high, but Jones is already looking to get his team back on track after the crushing loss.

“I mean, we all said that the season can go one of two ways,” Jones said. “Be pouty, be sad and lose out, or we can stay focused, get back to the drawing board and tell ourselves we are going harder than ever before and win out. That’s what we were going to do and we’re going to try our best to go
out there and do our job every week.”

Before this game, Florida only struggled with penalties in the season-opener against Florida Atlantic. In the three games prior to the Kentucky matchup, Florida committed 17 penalties for just 157 yards.

Discipline will surely be a talking point throughout the week for Dan Mullen, and the expectation is for a much cleaner game back at home next week against Vanderbilt. A road trip to LSU after that will be a nice test before the big matchup in Jacksonville against Georgia takes place on Oct. 30.

“We have to get better,” Mullen said. “That’s something we are going to look back at. But give their crowd credit. They were loud and came with energy. Their guys played hard. But you can’t do that, it’s just a lack of mental toughness.”

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