Is Kentucky being overlooked by the CFP committee?

The first College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday, and Kentucky is sitting at No. 6. The Wildcats' only loss, 45-17 to Alabama on Sept. 12, came against the No. 5 team in the CFP rankings. That head-to-head result explains why Kentucky trails Alabama. It does not explain why Kentucky also trails No. 4 Indiana, whose resume is a lot thinner.

Evaluating Kentucky's season

Since the Alabama loss, Kentucky has won six straight games. Those include a 31-21 win at then-No. 9 Texas A&M and a 35-34 overtime win over then-No. 10 LSU. Indiana has not beaten a ranked team, and its nonconference opponents were North Texas, Howard and Western Kentucky. 

Kentucky ranks at No. 2 in ESPN's strength of record. Its strength of schedule is 12th of 138 FBS teams, and the Wildcats have outscored opponents 263-198, averaging 32.9. This shows that the metrics back up the Wildcats' case.

The Wildcats led Alabama 17-13 at halftime before the Crimson Tide scored 32 straight points, and the 28-point margin is far larger than Indiana's 19-15 loss to No. 12 Ohio State. Kentucky allows 24.8 points per game, 76th of 138 teams, and ESPN Football Power Index ranked the Wildcats 24th entering Week 9. Two of their wins came by one point in overtime.

It makes sense that the Crimson Tide ranked ahead of Kentucky since they have the head-to-head. They also credited Alabama's schedule, which ranked seventh hardest in the FBS. But Alabama since has lost two games, against Georgia and Tennessee, and it visits LSU on Nov. 7. Kentucky has not lost since September.

The Wildcats can prove their case soon. They play at Tennessee on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. ET on ESPN, host Florida on Nov. 14, visit Missouri on Nov. 21 and close the season against Louisville on Nov. 28. Tennessee is No. 13, Missouri is No. 18 and Florida is No. 24, so three of the four remaining teams are ranked. The next CFP rankings are scheduled for Nov. 10. A win in Knoxville would give Kentucky a victory over the team that beat Alabama 26-10, which would make the committee's current order harder to defend.