Kentucky upsets No. 10 LSU in overtime, knocking the Wildcats closer to College Football Playoff talk

Kentucky’s Week 7 upset of No. 10 LSU 35-34 in overtime landed like a jolt in the Bluegrass, and it immediately changed how analysts are thinking about the Wildcats’ postseason path. In a bowl projections roundup, Yahoo Sports highlighted the result as a major step in the “College Football Playoff party” that Kentucky had been trying to reach.

The game’s closing image, according to the roundup, was the return of “Power K” and the sight of fans at Kroger Field pouring onto the turf once the overtime conclusion landed. That kind of atmosphere is more than a backdrop, because it indicates how a single, high-profile win can compress the playoff timeline for a program that is still working to validate itself against elite opponents.

The projection context matters. Kentucky was already being discussed as a contender for the College Football Playoff, and the way it handled LSU, a ranked team, gives extra weight to those conversations. The overtime nature of the outcome also reinforces the idea that Kentucky is not only winning, but doing it in game states that tend to define late-season resumes.

Still, the broader postseason picture remains a projection, not a certification. Bowl and playoff models depend on outcomes across the rest of the conference and nonconference slate, and one game, even a signature win, does not guarantee the final seating. What it does accomplish is re-rank the Wildcats’ likelihood within the playoff math that analysts are running.

For Kentucky, the immediate takeaway is about positioning. When a program knocks off a top-10 opponent and does so in a tight finish, it tends to affect how voters and selection committees view the quality of wins and the team’s ability to close. For LSU, the loss is a reminder that ranked teams are not immune to being pushed off their preferred rhythm, especially when a game extends into overtime.

The next watch items are straightforward: whether Kentucky can sustain the level that showed up against LSU, and whether other results around the Wildcats keep opening paths for the bowl hierarchy that feeds into the playoff discussion. As projections are updated week to week, Kentucky’s upset gives them a clearer platform to keep arguing for meaningful postseason stakes.