First Time to Play Four Consecutive Top-20 Opponents in UK History
With polls coming out Sunday, and the Kentucky football team set to play No. 1 Alabama, officially this is now the first time in school history that the Wildcats have taken on Top-20 ranked opponents in four consecutive games.
According to The Associated Press poll, with rankings listed at the time the game was played, Kentucky has taken on No. 7 Louisville, No. 19 Florida, No. 13 South Carolina and No. 1 Alabama. UK’s strength of schedule vs. teams played already is No. 8 in the nation according to the Sagarin Ratings in USA Today. That does not include the upcoming game vs. Alabama, so UK’s schedule rating will be even higher next week.
UK has played three consecutive ranked opponents in nine seasons previously (1958, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1988, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012) but this is the first time to play four in a row.
UK Posts Third-Best Opponent Scoring at Williams-Brice Since 2007
Kentucky’s 28 points Saturday at South Carolina is the third-most by a Gamecock opponent in Williams-Brice Stadium since 2007. Tennessee scored 35 at South Carolina in 2012 and Florida tallied 31 in WBS in 2007.
Kentucky’s 21 points in the fourth quarter was the second-most in school history. The school record for points in a fourth quarter was 28 vs. Connecticut in 1999.
College Football Hall of Fame inductee Steve Meilinger will be honored during halftime of the Alabama game. Will Rudd of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame will be at the game to make a presentation to Meilinger. The official Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Dec. 10 at the annual NFF Awards Dinner in New York City.
Meilinger was UK’s first three-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference player in 1951-53. He was first-team All-America as a junior and senior. Known as “Mr. Anywhere,” he played end, halfback and quarterback on offense while seeing action at end, linebacker and safety on defense. He also was a two-year starting punter and returned punts and kickoffs. Following his time at UK, he spent two years in the United States Army as a tank commander. He played six years in the National Football League for Washington, Green Bay and Pittsburgh. He also had a training camp stint with the Dallas Cowboys, giving him he distinction of having played for three of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport – Paul “Bear” Bryant at Kentucky, Vince Lombardi at Green Bay and Tom Landry with Dallas.
Following his playing days, Meilinger served as a United States Marshal, becoming Chief Deputy of the Eastern District of Kentucky. He was one of six agents who founded the Federal Witness Protection Program. After his national service, he was a Property Valuation Office for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Meilinger lives in Lexington with his wife, Eileen.
