CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Kentucky

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mark Stoops.

Schedule and results

Kentucky in 2017, game by game: won at Southern Miss 24–17; won vs. Eastern Kentucky 27–16; won at South Carolina 23–13; lost vs. No. 20 Florida 27–28; won vs. Eastern Michigan 24–20; won vs. Missouri 40–34; lost at Mississippi State 7–45; won vs. Tennessee 29–26; lost vs. Ole Miss 34–37; won at Vanderbilt 44–21; lost at No. 7 Georgia 13–42; lost vs. Louisville 17–44; lost vs. No. 20 Northwestern 23–24+23−38Won 24–17 at Southern Miss+7Southern MissWon 27–16 vs. Eastern Kentucky+11Eastern KentuckyWon 23–13 at South Carolina+10South CarolinaLost 27–28 vs. No. 20 Florida-1No. 20 FloridaWon 24–20 vs. Eastern Michigan+4Eastern MichiganWon 40–34 vs. Missouri+6MissouriLost 7–45 at Mississippi State-38Mississippi Sta…Won 29–26 vs. Tennessee+3TennesseeLost 34–37 vs. Ole Miss-3Ole MissWon 44–21 at Vanderbilt+23VanderbiltLost 13–42 at No. 7 Georgia-29No. 7 GeorgiaLost 17–44 vs. Louisville-27LouisvilleLost 23–24 vs. No. 20 Northwestern-1No. 20 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atSouthern MissW 24–⁠1743%
Sep 9vsEastern KentuckyW 27–⁠1687%
Sep 16atSouth CarolinaW 23–⁠1340%
Sep 23vs20FloridaL 27–⁠2851%
Sep 30vsEastern MichiganW 24–⁠2073%
Oct 7vsMissouriW 40–⁠3479%
Oct 21atMississippi StateL 7–⁠4535%
Oct 28vsTennesseeW 29–⁠2659%
Nov 4vsOle MissL 34–⁠3764%
Nov 11atVanderbiltW 44–⁠2147%
Nov 18at7GeorgiaL 13–⁠4222%
Nov 25vsLouisvilleL 17–⁠4451%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs20NorthwesternMusic City BowlL 23–⁠2431%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 24–⁠23 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 48th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Wuerffel TrophyCourtney Love, LB

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
332–⁠367
Coach
Mark Stoops
Elo
1513 +18 this season
SP+ rating
2.7 No. 61 of 128; offense No. 51, defense No. 80, special teams No. 18
SRS
−0.9 No. 70 of 130 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 53 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 30 roster talent No. 32 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw
Defensive coordinator
Matt House
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4 or 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense82nd of 130
  • Defense96th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted62nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted96th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0643%1.1882nd of 130
Defense0.1748%1.1696th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.14 def		44% off
47% def		—62nd off
96th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.5own 3317% allowed
Defense3.3own 3314% caused

CORE rating -5.2, 85th of 130 (offense 1.6, defense 6.8).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsStephen Johnson QB2,305 yds
Passing touchdownsStephen Johnson QB10 TD
Rushing yardsBenny Snell Jr. RB1,333 yds
Rushing touchdownsBenny Snell Jr. RB19 TD
Receiving yardsGarrett Johnson WR539 yds
Receiving touchdownsC.J. Conrad TE4 TD
TacklesMike Edwards S96 tkl
SacksJosh Allen LB7 sacks
InterceptionsMike Edwards S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Lynn Bowden Jr. ATH★★★★No. 157
Josh Paschal SDE★★★★No. 262
JaVonte Richardson WR★★★★No. 301
Tyrell Ajian ATH★★★★No. 306
Yusuf Corker CB★★★★No. 324

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.868
Running backs13.00.860
Receivers23.50.877
Offensive line33.00.841
Defensive line63.20.863
Linebackers13.00.850
Defensive backs33.30.858
Athletes and specialists33.70.896
Whole class213.20.865

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 107

The 2017 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠22
Auburn7–⁠110–⁠410
LSU6–⁠29–⁠418
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠4
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠419
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Missouri4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠56–⁠6
Florida3–⁠54–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Tennessee0–⁠84–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.