Power ranking the SEC in 2025 preseason: #15 - Kentucky
So, just how much better is Zach Calzada now than he was at A&M in 2021? That's the question that many Aggie fans are asking when they look at the Kentucky Wildcats for the upcoming season.
Calzada was a force when at Incarnate Word the last couple of seasons, passing for some pretty eyebrow-raising numbers. Last season alone, he threw for 3,744 yards and 35 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions— granted, that's against FCS-level competition, but that's still pretty impressive for a guy who seemed to hold the offense back at times when he was at A&M.
His completion percentage took a huge jump from his time in College Station as well, up almost 10 percentage points. All this to say, Calzada could actually be a huge asset for the Wildcats in the upcoming year.
A lot of that depends, however, on what Kentucky is able to put around him, and right now, that doesn't seem to be all that prodigious of a proposition. Losing Barion Brown puts the Wildcats without a ton of experience at the receiver spot, but they're hoping Alabama transfer Kendrick Law can help in that regard.
The running back situation could be intriguing, of course, as the Wildcats picked up Seth McGowan from New Mexico State— a former OU running back that caught a lot of eyes when NMSU played Texas A&M last year. There's definite potential here, but having the talent coalesce is a different prospect than just putting it together.
Mark Stoops usually puts together solid defenses, but even that is a question mark this year. UK's schedule will be unforgiving— even their MAC opener, Toledo, is a pretty decent G5 team— but if things come together, they could shoot up these rankings.