Indiana climbs to No. 4, Kentucky into the top 10 at No. 9 in latest AP rankings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB+WAVE) — There are different ways to climb the college football rankings. Indiana and Kentucky are exploring just about all of them.

You can win with offense. You can win with defense. You can fall behind, come back, hang on, or spend an afternoon wondering if anybody is ever going to score a touchdown.

The important part, as Curt Cignetti and Will Stein have demonstrated, is to win.

And on Sunday, both were rewarded with spots in the Associated Press Top 10.

Indiana climbed two places to No. 4 after a 13-6 overtime victory at Michigan. Kentucky jumped three spots to No. 9 after overcoming an early deficit to beat Vanderbilt 34-17.

Both teams are 7-1. Both have won games that might have gotten away from them in the not-too-distant past. And both occupy territory usually reserved for college football’s traditional powers.

For Kentucky, which enters the AP Top 10 for the first time since 2022, the view is particularly unfamiliar.

The Wildcats are 5-1 in Southeastern Conference play, alone atop the league standings and enjoying their best conference start since 1977. They’ve won five consecutive SEC games for the first time since that season, when Fran Curci’s Wildcats went 6-0 in league play.

Stein, meanwhile, is the first Kentucky coach to start his tenure 7-1 since E.R. Sweetland in 1909.

That’s 117 years between drinks from that particular fountain.

And Stein isn’t interested in celebrating just yet.

“All that’s great. I love all that stuff,” Stein said after Saturday’s win. “But what really matters is our players. Really proud of them, their grit, their toughness, their fight.”

Kentucky trailed Vanderbilt 10-0 before finding its footing, scoring on six consecutive possessions and taking control of a game that had all the ingredients of a potential letdown.

The Wildcats have now gone undefeated in October for the first time since 1977.

Stein credits the team’s ability to avoid the emotional roller coaster that has tripped up other contenders.

“We have good players that are connected, that love this university, that love their teammates, that play really hard,” he said. “And a coaching staff that to me is one of the most elite in the country in terms of our preparation, and how we call games and how we adapt.”

Kentucky enters its open date with some injuries to address and plenty of momentum to protect.

Stein doesn’t call it a bye week. He calls it a “work week.”

He said the Wildcats will use the time to get healthier, improve their depth and continue developing a team that has exceeded just about every preseason expectation.

“We’re eight games in. We have four games left,” Stein said. “So we have to continue to improve as a team, as a coaching staff, to keep finding ways to win.”

Indiana bounces back

At Indiana, Cignetti has a different challenge.

The defending national champions suffered their first loss in 666 days against Ohio State a week earlier, ending a 22-game winning streak and an unbeaten run at home under Cignetti.

Saturday’s trip to Michigan offered an immediate opportunity to respond. It wasn’t pretty.

Indiana managed just 212 yards of total offense. Quarterback Josh Hoover, playing at less than full strength, completed eight of 18 passes for 81 yards and an interception.

The Hoosiers didn’t score a touchdown in regulation.

Fortunately for Indiana, neither did Michigan.

The Hoosiers’ defense produced 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions, repeatedly frustrating the Wolverines and keeping them out of the end zone.

Then, in overtime, Indiana finally found something that worked.

Hoover completed a pass to tight end Brock Schott before scoring on a 7-yard run to deliver the victory.

Cignetti admitted there had been considerable discussion about replacing Hoover during the game, given his physical limitations and offensive struggles.

But the coach stayed with his quarterback.

“We felt like, you know, it’s been Josh’s season, and even though he’s not 100%, we got to finish it out with him,” Cignetti said. “And he responded.”

Cignetti also had a rather practical explanation for Indiana’s sudden offensive creativity in overtime.

“You throw caution to the wind,” he said. “You’re finally down there. You can’t get down there on your own. The officials and the rules put you down there, right?”

It was Indiana’s first victory at Michigan since 1967.

And it came at an important time. Instead of allowing one loss to become two, Indiana steadied itself and moved back into the nation’s top four.

Cignetti would prefer more comfortable victories. He isn’t pretending otherwise.

“Would I rather be winning by touchdowns? Sure,” he said. “But this is where we’re at right now, and the bottom line is we found a way to get the win.”

Next comes Minnesota, which visits Bloomington on Saturday with ESPN’s College GameDay returning to town.

The Hoosiers have become regular participants in college football’s biggest conversations, a remarkable development for a program that spent so much of its history on the other end of the standings.

Now they’re ranked fourth nationally, with the College Football Playoff again firmly in view.

Miami stays No. 1, Utah and UCLA keep climbing

Miami remained No. 1 in Sunday’s poll, receiving 59 of the 70 first-place votes.

Ohio State moved up one spot to No. 2 with 10 first-place votes, followed by Georgia, which climbed two places to No. 3.

Indiana climbed to No. 4, just one point ahead of Notre Dame, which slipped one place to No. 5.

Unbeaten Utah made one of the week’s biggest moves, jumping four places to No. 6. UCLA, also unbeaten, climbed two spots to No. 7.

BYU dropped six places to No. 8, followed by Kentucky and Alabama, which each climbed three spots to complete the Top 10.

Texas made the biggest jump in the poll, climbing eight spots to No. 11. Ole Miss fell five places to No. 12, followed by Texas Tech, Wake Forest and LSU.

Tennessee was No. 16, followed by Florida, Houston and SMU. Boise State and Northwestern tied for No. 20.

Arizona was No. 22, followed by Missouri, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin.

The poll reflected another turbulent weekend across college football, with several ranked teams suffering losses and the national picture continuing to shift.

Three undefeated teams remain in the Top 10: Miami, Utah and UCLA.