The No 17. Kentucky Wildcats have been one of the biggest surprises in college football this season.

After struggling early in its Week 1 matchup with Central Michigan, Kentucky went to “the Swamp” and snapped its 31-year losing streak to the Gators. In their largest test of the year, the Wildcats took down No. 14 Mississippi State 28-7 in Week 4, and put the whole college football world on notice.

Unfortunately, Kentucky’s schedule gets much harder before it gets easier. The 4-0 Wildcats get the Gamecocks at home in Week 5, a team who is certainly not a pushover, and then travel to College Station to play Texas A&M. Two weeks later, Kentucky faces off against No. 2 Georgia.

Their schedule ends with three very winnable games, so this upcoming stretch for the Wildcats will determine the outcome of their season.

Here’s how FPI sees things shaking out for Kentucky:

  • vs. South Carolina: 46.3 percent
  • at Texas A&M: 21.5 percent
  • vs. Vanderbilt: 76.5 percent
  • at Missouri: 34.5 percent
  • vs. No. 2 Georgia: 14.6 percent
  • at Tennessee: 70.5 percent
  • vs. Middle Tennessee: 90.9 percent
  • at Louisville: 74.2 percent

The next six games for Kentucky are SEC matchups, and while most are in the East, that doesn’t make it easier.

Coach Mark Stoops needs to continue to ride his workhorse, Benny Snell Jr., if the Wildcats want to put up their best season in the last decade. Every remaining game on their schedule, minus Georgia, is winnable, and they will have to be careful not to drop an easier matchup, which could lead to the whole thing crashing down.