The Southern Line
Kentucky moves to 3-1 in the SEC after OT win over LSU, one game out of first
Kentucky's overtime win over No. 10 LSU puts the Wildcats one game behind unbeaten Georgia before a trip to Oklahoma, where the Sooners are favored.
Kentucky is 3-1 in SEC play after beating No. 10 LSU in overtime Saturday in Lexington. The Wildcats are 5-1 overall, and halfway through October they sit one game behind the top of the conference standings.
As A Sea Of Blue, writing for SB Nation, points out, Kentucky last started 3-1 in the league in 2021. That season was later vacated, so the official record book shows the Wildcats going 0-3 in those games. By the books, this is Kentucky's first start of at least 3-1 in conference play since 2018. Before that, you have to go back to 1999, when the Cats lost their SEC opener and then won three straight.
The win doesn't put Kentucky in the top two yet. Georgia leads the conference at 4-0. Alabama is also 3-1 and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Wildcats earlier this season. Still, a one-game deficit at this stage keeps Kentucky in the race for a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
The next step is the hardest one. Kentucky plays at Oklahoma next Saturday, and the Sooners are coming off an upset of then-No. 1 Texas. A win in Norman would give Will Stein's team a 4-1 start in SEC play, which Kentucky hasn't had since 1977. That team finished 10-1 overall and 6-0 in the league. A win would also make Kentucky bowl eligible, and SB Nation's site argues it would make playoff talk realistic.
The rest of the league's schedule matters too. Georgia plays Auburn next week and Alabama travels to Tennessee. If both of those teams lose and Kentucky wins at Oklahoma, the Wildcats would be tied with the Bulldogs for first place. They would then host Vanderbilt in Week 8 before a bye week. A Sea Of Blue calls that combination of results a long shot, but it is the path that would have Kentucky entering November as a real contender for a championship game berth.
The market expects the Sooners to win. Oklahoma is favored at -233 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and the total is 42.5. Among sportsbooks, the best price on Oklahoma is DraftKings at -230. Those numbers cast Kentucky as a clear underdog on the road, even after its overtime win over a top-10 team.
It is a familiar spot for the Wildcats this fall. They have kept winning close games and stayed in the conference race. Lines and standings for the Oklahoma game are on the Kentucky at Oklahoma game page.
