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2 days ago
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2025 Kentucky Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 52nd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Kentucky Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 52nd in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:05 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Kentucky lands in my Ultimate 136. Kentucky Wildcats ranking: 52 Last year's ranking: 28 Top player: QB Zach Calzada: 38 career games (Incarnate Word and Texas A&M) going 23-9 as a starter; has thrown for 8,707 yards and 73 TDs in his collegiate career. [Kentucky's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: It's hard to find another SEC coach who likes SEC transfers more than Mark Stoops. This year he'll field former Texas A&M QB Calzada (by way of Incarnate Word), Oklahoma RB Seth McGowan (by way of New Mexico State), Alabama WR Kendrick Law and Oklahoma WR J.J. Hester. ADVERTISEMENT I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that Calzada and Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) are the only two QBs playing this year who have beaten No. 1-ranked Alabama, and Calzada did it with Nick Saban on the sideline. Stoops will need that kind of mojo after a 4-8 season that left many Kentucky fans wondering just how it got that bad this fast? Well, I'll tell you: The Wildcats are just 2-12 against SEC opponents in their last 14 home games and 7-18 against opponents for whom it just means more since 2022. Perhaps this is the time to remind UK fans that Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Ole Miss all come to Lexington in 2025. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Kentucky Win Total Odds: Over 4.5 (-105) Under 4.5 (-115) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Kentucky Wildcats share
Fox Sports
2 days ago
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2025 Arizona Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 38th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Arizona Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 38th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 8:43 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Arizona lands in my Ultimate 136. Arizona ranking: 38 Last year's ranking: 23 Top player: QB Noah Fifita: Has thrown for 5,955 yards in his career, the 10th most in Arizona history; his 44 TD passes are the seventh most in program history. [Arizona's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: After a remarkable 2023 run that saw the Wildcats finish 10-3 with a win against Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, Arizona looked like it might be a sexy pick for the 12-team CFP. Instead, former head coach Jedd Fisch left for Washington and Brent Brennan took over a program with just one winning season since 2016. ADVERTISEMENT Last year hurt, not just because the Wildcats finished 4-8, but squandered one of the best QB-WR duos in the sport. Now Tetairoa McMillan is gone. They'll need a new No. 1 WR, and they'll need Noah Fifita to return to the man he showed himself to be in 2023. There's just an 11-yard difference between Fifita's passing yards in 2023 and 2024, but he threw for twice as many INTs (12) and seven fewer TDs (18) in 2024 as he did the previous year. But Fifita was still better offensively than Brennan's defense, a unit that gave up 413 yards and 32 points per game, up from 21 points per game in 2023. New OC Seth Doege averaged more than 300 yards passing, 200 yards rushing and 35 points as an offensive coordinator at 10-win Marshall last year. And maybe that fixes things. The schedule does Arizona a favor this year with its toughest opponents being Big 12 title contenders: at Arizona State, Kansas State, at Colorado and at Iowa State. [ Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here ] Arizona Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (-106) Under 5.5 (-114) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Arizona Wildcats share
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Fox Sports
2025 Kansas State Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 19th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Kansas State Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 19th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 8:09 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Kansas State lands in my Ultimate 136. Kansas State ranking: 19 Last year's ranking: 18 Top player: QB Avery Johnson: Threw for a school-record 25 TDs last season while also rushing for 605 yards and 7 TDs; led Kansas State to a school-record 6.57 yards per play last season, as well as the fourth-highest yards per game average in school history (426.8). [Kansas State's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: In his first season as a starter, quarterback Avery Johnson set the program record for passing touchdowns (25) while throwing for 2,712 yards, and adding 605 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He was one of just four Power 4 quarterbacks to pass for 2,700 yards and rush for 600 yards last year. ADVERTISEMENT In Year 2, he and running back Dylan Edwards will make up perhaps the fastest backfield in the sport as they make an attempt to earn the program's first appearance in the CFP. Along with Johnson and Edwards, nine starters return from last year's team, including five on the defense. K-State has won nine games or more in each of the last three years, and won the Big 12 title in 2022. And, in Year 7, Chris Klieman has kept expectations high with this year looking like his best chance to earn K-State's first CFP invitation. The problem is that going 9-4 last year yielded a tie for eighth in the Big 12. This year, the schedule features absolutely no team that should outclass K-State. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Kansas State Win Total: Over 8.5 (-110) Under 8.5 (-110) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Kansas State Wildcats share
