CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2020 Kentucky

5–⁠6 (4–⁠6 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mark Stoops.

Schedule and results

Kentucky in 2020, game by game: lost at No. 8 Auburn 13–29; lost vs. Ole Miss 41–42; won vs. Mississippi State 24–2; won at No. 18 Tennessee 34–7; lost at Missouri 10–20; lost vs. No. 5 Georgia 3–14; won vs. Vanderbilt 38–35; lost at No. 1 Alabama 3–63; lost at No. 6 Florida 10–34; won vs. South Carolina 41–18; won vs. No. 24 NC State 23–21+27−60Lost 13–29 at No. 8 Auburn-16No. 8 AuburnLost 41–42 vs. Ole Miss-1Ole MissWon 24–2 vs. Mississippi State+22Mississippi Sta…Won 34–7 at No. 18 Tennessee+27No. 18 TennesseeLost 10–20 at Missouri-10MissouriLost 3–14 vs. No. 5 Georgia-11No. 5 GeorgiaWon 38–35 vs. Vanderbilt+3VanderbiltLost 3–63 at No. 1 Alabama-60No. 1 AlabamaLost 10–34 at No. 6 Florida-24No. 6 FloridaWon 41–18 vs. South Carolina+23South CarolinaWon 23–21 vs. No. 24 NC State+2No. 24 NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26at8AuburnL 13–⁠2938%
Oct 3vsOle MissL 41–⁠4272%
Oct 10vsMississippi StateW 24–⁠262%
Oct 17at18TennesseeW 34–⁠743%
Oct 24atMissouriL 10–⁠2055%
Oct 31vs5GeorgiaL 3–⁠1440%
Nov 14vsVanderbiltW 38–⁠3585%
Nov 21at1AlabamaL 3–⁠6316%
Nov 28at6FloridaL 10–⁠3421%
Dec 5vsSouth CarolinaW 41–⁠1874%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs24NC StateGator BowlW 23–⁠2153%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat NC State 23–⁠21 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 23
  2. Wk 4: 23
Record
5–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠6 9th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
240–⁠285
Coach
Mark Stoops
Elo
1573 −10 this season
SP+ rating
2.2 No. 55 of 130; offense No. 85, defense No. 35
SRS
3.9 No. 30 of 77 in FBS
Returning
52% of last season’s EPA, No. 89 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 23 roster talent No. 27 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw
Defensive coordinator
Brad White
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4 or 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense88th of 127
  • Defense45th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted105th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted40th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0543%0.9988th of 127
Defense0.0747%1.0945th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.07 def		42% off
45% def		—105th off
40th 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
Offense3.3own 2814% allowed
Defense3.6own 2814% caused

CORE rating -2.2, 78th of 127 (offense -7.5, defense -5.3).

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 yardsTerry Wilson QB1,191 yds
Passing touchdownsTerry Wilson QB7 TD
Rushing yardsChris Rodriguez Jr. RB785 yds
Rushing touchdownsChris Rodriguez Jr. RB11 TD
Receiving yardsJosh Ali WR477 yds
Receiving touchdownsKeaton Upshaw TE3 TD
TacklesJamin Davis LB102 tkl
SacksJamar Watson LB5 sacks
InterceptionsKelvin Joseph DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Justin Rogers DT★★★★No. 52
Michael Drennen APB★★★★No. 251
Josaih Hayes DT★★★★No. 255
Samuel Anaele SDE★★★★No. 284
John Young OT★★★★No. 367
JuTahn McClain APB★★★★No. 384
Joel Williams ATH★★★★No. 395
Deondre Buford OT★★★★No. 407

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.883
Running backs33.70.895
Receivers33.00.875
Offensive line43.50.883
Defensive line53.60.910
Linebackers22.50.799
Defensive backs43.00.869
Athletes and specialists14.00.892
Whole class233.30.880

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.

Drafted in 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 1Jamin Davis ILBWashington Football Team
Rd 2Kelvin Joseph CBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Quinton Bohanna DTDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Brandin Echols CBNew York Jets
Rd 6Landon Young OTNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Phil Hoskins DTCarolina Panthers

Roster 123

The 2020 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2020 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2020 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama10–⁠013–⁠01
Texas A&M8–⁠19–⁠14
Florida8–⁠28–⁠413
Georgia7–⁠28–⁠27
Auburn6–⁠46–⁠5
LSU5–⁠55–⁠5
Missouri5–⁠55–⁠5
Ole Miss4–⁠55–⁠5
Kentucky4–⁠65–⁠6
Mississippi State3–⁠74–⁠7
Arkansas3–⁠73–⁠7
Tennessee3–⁠73–⁠7
South Carolina2–⁠82–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠90–⁠9

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