Kentucky Football No. 22 in ESPN's Post-Spring SP+ Rankings

ESPN ranks the Cats as the No. 5 defense in SP+.

The spring practice period is over, meaning the college football offseason has reached that bland midway point around the start of the summer. 

Aside from rummaging through the bag of clickbaiting and list-making, it can be tough to find new material to get the average pigskin consumer through to Media Days, which will begin in a few weeks time.

ESPN has added some conversation by updating its SP+ rankings. After checking in at No. 24 in the original release from staff writer Bill Connelly, the Wildcats have now moved up to No. 22, good for eighth among SEC teams: 

• No. 1 Georgia
• No. 4 Alabama
• No. 5 LSU
• No. 6 Tennessee
• No. 16 Texas A&M
• No. 18 Ole Miss
• No. 21 Florida
• No. 22 Kentucky
• No. 25 Mississippi State
• No. 26 Arkansas
• No. 27 Auburn
• No. 33 South Carolina
• No. 34 Missouri
• No. 69 Vanderbilt

From Connelly on how the projections come about:

Preseason projections are based on three factors.

1. Returning production. The returning production numbers are based on rosters I have updated as much as possible to account for transfers and attrition. The combination of last year's SP+ ratings and adjustments based on returning production makes up more than half the projections formula.

2. Recent recruiting. This piece informs us of the caliber of a team's potential replacements (and/or new stars) in the lineup. It is determined by the past few years of recruiting rankings in diminishing order (meaning the most recent class carries the most weight). This is also impacted by the recruiting rankings of incoming transfers, an acknowledgment that the art of roster management is now heavily dictated by the transfer portal. This piece makes up about one-third of the projections formula.

3. Recent history. Using a sliver of information from previous seasons (two to four years ago) gives us a good measure of overall program health. It stands to reason that a team that has played well for one year is less likely to duplicate that effort than a team that has been good for years on end (and vice versa), right?

(One other reminder: SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and along those same lines, these projections aren't intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.)

As one may have guessed, Kentucky checks in so high because of its defense, which ranks No. 5 in defensive SP+, down at 13.7. That's good for third in the SEC, behind Texas A&M (2) and Georgia (3). 

The offense is down at No. 59 with a 28.1, the worst mark in the conference, even behind Vanderbilt (53). Connelly also included a returning production rankings, which UK checks in at No. 55, the ninth highest in the conference. 

Kentucky has excelled in getting better via the transfer portal while not losing too many major contributors on the flip side. The NFL draft of course took away a starting quarterback, running back and cornerback, while a veteran linebacker core also hit the road. 

As has become happen stance for head coach Mark Stoops and the Cats over the last few seasons, Kentucky is in the middle of the pack of the best conference in college football. A respectable mark, but also the next the hurdle that it will look to jump in the coming seasons. 

Observations from Kentucky's final open spring practice HERE.

Safety Zion Childress is emerging as a leader on the UK defense

WATCH: Kentucky football's transfer portal signees speak to the media

Devin Leary discusses his decision to transfer to Kentucky HERE.

Ray Davis isn't following former Kentucky RB's footsteps. More HERE.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

Sports Illustrated also offers insight, information and up to the minute details for gamblers. Check it out here.