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Kentucky Football Ranked 28th is ESPN’s FPI, Finalizes Wildcats’ Projected Wins

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UK Athletics

It has been an exciting offseason for the Kentucky Football team. Bringing back offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been huge in regard to recruiting and landing some of the country’s top transfers. Top Transfer QB Devin Leary headlines what 247Sports has as the 17th-best transfer class coming into next fall.

With that being said, where does ESPN’s FPI project the Cats to stand come the 2023 College Football Season?

The Wildcats come in ranked 28th in ESPN’s FPI, and are projected to win seven games at the most (7.2-4.9). While that isn’t super promising, Kentucky’s strength of schedule needs to be considered. According to ESPN, Kentucky has the thirteenth toughest schedule for the 2023 season, ahead of any program that has won a national title in the College Football Playoff era: Alabama (18th), Ohio State (23rd), Georgia (31st), and Clemson (59th)

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ESPN’s FPI does give Kentucky an 88.7 percent chance to win six games and be bowl eligible. In comparison, the Florida Gators are ranked 18th compared to the Cats’ ranking of 28th, and were given only an 82.2 percent chance to win six games.

The Wildcats are used to being underdogs and being slept on. In 2021, Kentucky was ranked 30th in ESPN’s FPI and finished the year with ten wins, a Citrus Bowl victory, and a final ranking of 18th in the final ESPN rankings. This year’s team will aspire to surpass expectations.

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FB Recruiting

Top 10 In-State Prospect Willie Rodriguez to Take Official Visit to Kentucky

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Twitter/Willie Rodriguez

With Cutter Boley recently committing to Kentucky and reclassifying, the next domino to fall could potentially be class of 2024 Covington Catholic Tight End Willie Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has told KY Insider that he is going to take an official visit at Kentucky on June 9 with Boley and another commit from Kentucky offensive line Aba Selm. Rodriguez says he is excited to see Boley and Selm.

“I can’t wait to meet to everyone on the official [visit],” says Rodriguez.

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Rodriguez also adding since Boley has committed to Kentucky, that they have been communicating together.

“For sure,” Rodriguez says. “[I] have already talked to him, it’s definitely very intriguing and very cool.”

During his visit, there are certain goals that he has in mind that he wants to accomplish when visiting the team.

“[I] definitely want to check out everything and see really how I will fit in the offense and how I will be used,” Rodriguez tells A Sea Of Blue. “I am very excited for the visit.”

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As for other official visits he has planned, he tells KY Insider that he will also be visiting Virginia Tech and he is still scheduling two other official visits with Ole Miss and Purdue, but at this time they have not been scheduled.

Rodriguez also tells us he plans to commit to a school during the summer, but once he is done with all of his official visits. Once we learn more details on his upcoming visit we will keep you all informed.

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Top Quarterback Prospect, Cutter Boley, Commits to Kentucky

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UK Athletics

For much of the Mark Stoops era at Kentucky, the Wildcats have been successful without a high-level quarterback. That has changed of late as the transfer portal has helped Kentucky bring in Will Levis – who went on to be the 4th QB taken in this past year’s NFL Draft – and this year, Devin Leary – who was widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, QB transfer available.

While the transfer portal has been great, those players usually come with only 1-2 years of eligibility remaining. Therefore, the staff has made it a point to start looking at the high school ranks for a QB.

On Thursday, Kentucky found that player, and in their own backyard with Cutter Boley from Lexington Christian Academy (LCA). At a live announcement at LCA’s auditorium, Boley chose Kentucky over Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, and Tennessee with a pair of custom Nike Air Force 1s.

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It is safe to say that Coach Marrow enjoyed the news!

Despite being a Kentucky native, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that Boley would end up a Wildcat. While Liam Coen did build a strong relationship in his first season as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator, that relationship suffered with Rich Scangarello at the helm of the offense this past year. With Coen’s return, he was able to rekindle that relationship and get the commitment.

Rivals has Boley ranked as the 12th-ranked overall prospect and the second-best pro-style QB in the 2025 class, while 247Sports has him ranked 72nd overall and the sixth-best QB prospect. According to 247Sports, which dates back to 2000, Boley currently stands as the highest-ranked QB to commit to Kentucky.

While there is some disparity between the rankings, one thing is clear, Boley is highly thought of and it is easy to see why.

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Standing 6-foot-5, 203 pounds, Boley already possesses elite size. Add in his gunslinger mentality, impressive arm, and improvision and he is an intriguing package. This past season at LCA, he threw for 3,901 yards with 36 TDs and a 66 percent completion percentage. With that said, that gunslinger mentality can get him in trouble sometimes as he has thrown north of 20 interceptions in two seasons at the varsity level.

It should be noted that while Boley is listed as a class of 2025 prospect after reclassifying in the wake of the global pandemic, he will turn 18 this summer. He has confirmed that he will be reclassifying to the 2024 class and will enroll at Kentucky in January.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Football

Kentucky Football’s Schedule Ranked Amongst the Toughest in the Country

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© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Being in the SEC, Kentucky has never had an easy schedule and this upcoming 2023 season will be no different.

According to ESPN, Kentucky’s strength of schedule is ranked 13th in the country, which is more difficult than any program that has won a national title in the College Football Playoff era: Alabama (18th), Ohio State (23rd), Georgia (31st), and Clemson (59th). With that said, Kentucky’s schedule is just the seventh toughest in the SEC, behind: Ole Miss (1st), Florida (3rd), Auburn (5th), Arkansas (6th), Tennessee (8th), and South Carolina (11th).

This will be the toughest schedule Kentucky has had in some time featuring what could be five preseason top-25 opponents, headlined by games at Georgia and at home vs. Alabama.

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While most Kentucky fans have been very optimistic about this upcoming season with the return of Liam Coen and transfer QB Devin Leary. It is important to note that an 8-4 record with this schedule would be top-25 worthy and in play for a big New Year’s Day Bowl.

Here is the schedule in its entirety:

2023 Schedule

Sept 2nd: Ball St.
Sept 9th: Eastern Kentucky
Sept 16th: Akron
Sept 23rd: AT Vandy
Sept 30th: Florida
Oct 7th: AT Georgia
Oct 14th: Mizzou
Oct 28th: Tennessee
Nov 4th: AT Mississippi State
Nov 11th: Alabama
Nov 18th: AT South Carolina
Nov 25th: AT Louisville

While there is a great shot for the Wildcats to start the season 4-0, Kentucky’s schedule is extremely backloaded and they will face one of the toughest stretches in the country in the last seven weeks of the season. That stretch will start at Georgia and end at Louisville, withs games against Alabama and Tennessee in between.

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What hopes to be a rebound season for Kentucky will have to be earned through some of the best teams in the country.

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