People expected the LSU Tigers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) to be in contention for the College Football Playoff through five weeks of the 2026 college football season. Nobody anticipated the Kentucky Wildcats (4-1, 2-1 SEC) to be, too. But ahead of their Week 6 matchup, both teams have their eyes on the CFP.
Lane Kiffin‘s squad, ranked No. 10 in the nation, is a double-digit favorite against Will Stein‘s plucky underdogs. Kentucky fell out of the AP poll despite earning a road SEC victory in Week 5, which only adds to its fire for Saturday’s contest. However, ESPN’s Bill Connelly doesn’t see Big Blue Nation celebrating at game’s end. His SP+ has the Tigers beating the Wildcats 33-20 at Kroger Field.
According to Connelly’s metric, the Bayou Bengals (-10) will cover the spread and the game will go over its 49.5-point total.
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Kentucky and LSU have only faced one another twice since 2012. The two schools split those matchups and have actually both vacated their victory. While there’s not much recent history between them, the Tigers and Wildcats have played some classic games, especially in Lexington. In 2002, LSU beat Kentucky 33-30 on “The Bluegrass Miracle.” Five years later, the No. 17 Wildcats defeated the No. 1 Tigers 43-37 in triple overtime.
If LSU and Kentucky can play a game anywhere close to those battles, fans will be in for a treat on Saturday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
