Kentucky is 7-1, sits first in the SEC standings and is No. 9 in this week’s AP poll. One spot behind it at No. 10: Alabama, the team that came into Lexington in September and won 45-17.

That’s Part 3 of Make It Make Sense, and here’s the case. Yes, Alabama has two losses and Kentucky has one. But Kentucky’s one loss was a 28-point beating on its own field, against Alabama. Alabama’s two losses, 20-17 to Georgia and 26-10 to Tennessee, came by a combined 19 points.

To be fair to the Wildcats, this isn’t a soft 7-1. They won at Texas A&M 31-21, at South Carolina 35-34 and at Oklahoma 21-13, and they beat No. 15 LSU 35-34 at home. That’s a real résumé. Nobody’s saying Kentucky doesn’t belong in the top 15.

But we rank résumé over reputation, and head-to-head settles it between teams this close. 7-1 against 6-2 is close. Alabama beat Kentucky by four touchdowns in Kentucky’s house. Alabama goes ahead. That’s not complicated.

And yes, the same logic says Tennessee, 6-2 and No. 16, belongs ahead of the Alabama team it beat 26-10. We’ll keep bringing that one up as long as it’s still true.

The good news: we don’t have to argue about Kentucky much longer. Tennessee is off this week, and the Wildcats come to Neyland on Nov. 7. We find out if 7-1 is real. Who’s too high, Faders?

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Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.