AP Top 25 poll adds more weight to UK football schedule

LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — AP Top 25 preseason poll released Monday added even more weight to Kentucky football's 2026 schedule.

The Wildcats were already facing one of the nation's toughest slates, and the preseason rankings only reinforced that reality.

Kentucky is set to face seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season, tied with Arkansas and Texas for the most among Power Four programs.

The ranked opponents are Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisville and Missouri.

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That leaves five Kentucky opponents outside the preseason Top 25. However, three of those teams also received votes: Florida (51), South Carolina (10) and Vanderbilt (8).

The only teams on Kentucky's schedule that did not receive any votes are Youngstown State and South Alabama, the Wildcats' two nonconference opponents.

When viewed through the lens of the AP poll, Kentucky's 2026 schedule only further solidifies its reputation as one of the most challenging in college football and reinforces the description many have already given it: a gauntlet.

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