Kentucky playing for an SEC championship in Atlanta is nothing new.
The SEC Basketball Tournament has been played in Atlanta 15 times, with the Wildcats advancing to nine championship gamed and winning six titles.
But Kentucky playing in Atlanta for an SEC football title?
It could finally happen.
Kentucky never has played in the SEC Championship Game -- held in Atlanta since 1993 -- and hasn't finished higher than a second-place tie in the East standings since the conference went to divisions in 1992.
Six times since 1992 the Wildcats have finished 0-8 in conference play, including in 2012 and 2013.
But now Kentucky -- picked to finish fifth in the East in the preseason media poll -- is within one victory of going to Atlanta to play for the SEC football championship.
If the No. 9 Wildcats beat No. 6 Georgia on Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky., they'll clinch their first East title.
"It would be another step in the right direction," Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference. "That's what we're looking to do, is continue to make progress and grow and get better with every opportunity."
Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC) already is assured of its first winning SEC record since 1977 when the Wildcats were 6-0 but ineligible for the conference championship because of NCAA sanctions.
Stoops was in his first season at Kentucky during the Wildcats' last winless SEC season.
"It does feel good," he said of how far the Wildcats have come the past six seasons. "I'm proud of the people in our program, because to change that in the SEC, it's tough.
"It's just a relentless day-to-day fight and process to put your team in a position to be successful. You're starting to see the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people."
No fear
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, a graduate transfer from Ohio State, will play against Alabama for the first time when the No. 1 Crimson Tide visit Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.
"I'm not scared of this game," Burrow told reporters Monday. "I don't think any of our guys are scared of this game.
"This is the reason you play football. This is why you grow up working so hard for moments like this. If you're timid, then don't come out of that locker room, because we're going to be ready to go."
Tigers Coach Ed Orgeron feels good about Burrow's approach.
"Joe's not going to panic," Orgeron said Monday at his weekly news conference. "He's going to be confident. He's going to want to play his best game.
"He's got that linebacker mentality. He's tough. This is a big man's game. You're going to get hit. There's going to be some punches thrown, and you can't back down."
Upon further review
Missouri Coach Barry Odom said that in reviewing game tape of the pass interference call on Tigers cornerback DeMarkus Acy going against Kentucky receiver Ahmad Wagner, he could find no fault in Acy's coverage.
"You see DeMarkus' initial alignment, his on-snap footwork, his eyes, his hand placement, the movement of his feet with position to where the receiver was," Odom said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "I would not change one thing on how it was taught, how he played it and how it was executed. Not one step."
Replays showed Wagner pushed his hands down on Acy -- who was in front of him but playing the ball -- before he caught the pass out of bounds.
It would have been the final play of a 14-9 Missouri victory, but the interference call gave Kentucky another snap from the Tigers' 2 after the penalty yards were marked off, and Terry Wilson threw a touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Conrad to lift the Wildcats to a 15-14 victory.
Odom said on Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference that he submits a handful of calls to the conference office every week for explanation, but he didn't want to divulge the response he got on the pass interference penalty.
"Those conversations are meant to be had between the two folks that had them," Odom said. "We'll leave it at that and respect the ability to have open, real dialogue with our league office."
1-2 punch
Nick Chubb and Sony Michel -- who combined for 8,407 rushing yards in their Georgia careers -- have moved on to the NFL this season with the Browns and Patriots, respectively, but the Bulldogs still have an impressive running back duo.
Georgia junior Elijah Holyfield -- the son of former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield -- has rushed 85 times for 559 yards, and sophomore D'Andre Swift has rushed 83 times for 466 yards.
"I think they've filled those shoes nicely," Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said Wednesday. "Certainly nobody would ask them to be Sony or Nick, but just to be themselves. They've done a good job doing that."
Smart said it wasn't necessarily planned for Holyfield and Swift to be just two carries apart eight games into the season, but the coaches want balance and to keep both running backs fresh.
"It's what's best for the team, who's got the hot hand," Smart said. "Certainly it's worked out to where each one of them has carried it well."
Good break
Auburn will look to improve to 8-0 after an open date under Coach Gus Malzahn when the Tigers play Texas A&M on Saturday.
The run of victories after open dates for Auburn includes beating Ole Miss and Alabama in 2013; Kansas State and South Carolina in 2014; Kentucky in 2015; Arkansas in 2016; and Texas A&M last season.
"I think it gives you a chance as a coaching staff to kind of catch your breath and look back and really do a lot of self-scouting for yourself that you can get a good plan for the next week," Malzahn said Wednesday about the winning streak after an open date. "It gives you a little extra time, too, on your opponent. Probably the biggest factor is getting to heal up.
"So we've tried to do all three of those things just like we've done in the past."
Tommy's advice
Tommy Tuberville, the Camden native who as Auburn's coach enjoyed a six-game winning streak against Alabama, said his advice to LSU Coach Ed Orgeron is be ready to gamble against the Crimson Tide on Saturday night.
"If I were Ed Orgeron, I'd go into this game and have some fun," Tuberville told AL.com this week. "I'd put the riverboat gambler mentality on them: fake fourth downs, fake a punt, onside kicks.
"You have to do something to give yourself an advantage. They are at a disadvantage talent-wise. They have a lot of talent, but if you are matching the top 44 vs. the top 44, it would be a disadvantage for LSU in this game."
Gators remember
Florida's first game last season after Jim McElwain was fired as coach didn't go well. The Gators traveled to Missouri with Randy Shannon as their interim coach and lost 45-16.
Florida gets a chance for revenge Saturday when the Tigers visit the Swamp.
"We're going to have a bitter taste in our mouth," Gators junior safety Jeawon Taylor told reporters this week.
Florida sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks, now the team's unquestioned starter, played off the bench at Missouri last season.
"It's not fun to lose, especially by that much," Franks said. "We have to have a big game on Saturday because of how they did us last year."
Two-minute drill
-- Vanderbilt's 45-31 victory at Arkansas on Saturday was the highest-scoring SEC road game for the Commodores since Sept. 25, 1971, when they won 49-19 at Mississippi State.
-- The road team has won all five SEC matchups between Auburn and Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the conference in 2013.
-- Kentucky is assured of finishing .500 or better in SEC play in three consecutive seasons for the first time since the Wildcats did it four seasons in a row from 1953-56.
-- Alabama Coach Nick Saban is 21-12 against teams ranked in the top 5.
SEC TOP TO BOTTOM
Rank;(prev);record;comment
1;(1);Alabama;8-0;Might get first real test at Tiger Stadium
2;(2);LSU;7-1;Looking to end 7-game losing streak to Saban
3;(3);Georgia;7-1;Playing for East title at Kentucky
4;(4);Kentucky;7-1;Beating Georgia secures first East title
5;(5)Florida;6-2;Gators out for revenge against Mizzou
6;(9);Mississippi State;5-3;Fitzpatrick 4-0 vs. Aggies
7;(6)Texas A&M;5-3;Has won past three trips to Auburn
8;(7);Auburn;5-3;Can't afford a third home loss
9;(10);South Carolina;4-3;Muschamp 7-0 vs. Tennessee
10;(8)Missouri;4-4;Can't hold on against Kentucky
11;(11);Tennessee;3-5;Break from SEC to beat up on UNC-Charlotte
12;(12);Ole Miss;5-3;Rested and ready for Carolina after open date
13;(13);Vanderbilt;4-5;Now has winning record in Fayetteville
14;(14);Arkansas;2-7;Open date to get ready for LSU
Player to watch
Outside linebacker Josh Allen has a chance to become Kentucky's career leader in sacks when the Wildcats play Georgia on Saturday.
Allen, a senior from Montclair, N.J., has 24½ sacks to rank second on Kentucky's all-time list behind Oliver Barnett, who had 26 sacks from 1986-89.
This season, Allen leads the SEC with 10 sacks and 14½ tackles for lost yards. He has 56 tackles overall, 5 forced fumbles and 4 pass breakups.
Game of the week
Alabama at LSU 7 p.m. Saturday (CBS)
WHERE Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge
RECORDS Alabama 8-0, 5-0 SEC;LSU 7-1, 4-1
RANKINGS Alabama is No. 1 in the AP, USA Today and College Football Playoff polls. LSU is No. 4 in the AP and USA Today polls, and No. 3 in the CFP poll.
LINE Alabama by 14
Alabama Coach Nick Saban will look to beat LSU -- where he coached for five seasons from 2000-04 -- for the eighth consecutive time.
If the Crimson Tide win, they'll clinch the SEC West title. LSU can't clinch the division by beating Alabama, but the Tigers would put themselves in control of the race.
Tigers Coach Ed Orgeron is 0-5 against Alabama at Ole Miss and LSU.
Other games
No. 20 Texas A&M at Auburn
WHEN 11 a.m.
RECORDS Texas A&M 5-3, 3-2 SEC; Auburn 5-3, 2-3
TV ESPN
LINE Auburn by 4
South Carolina at Ole Miss
WHEN 11 a.m.
RECORDS South Carolina 4-3, 3-3 SEC; Ole Miss 5-3, 1-3
TV SEC Network
LINE Pick ’em
No. 6 Georgia at No. 9 Kentucky
WHEN 2:30 p.m.
RECORDS Georgia 7-1, 5-1 SEC; Kentucky 7-1, 5-1
TV CBS
LINE Georgia by 9
Missouri at No. 11 Florida
WHEN 3 p.m.
RECORDS Missouri 4-4, 0-4 SEC; Florida 6-2, 4-2
TV SEC Network
LINE Florida by 6
UNC-Charlotte at Tennessee
WHEN 3 p.m.
RECORDS UNC-Charlotte 4-4; Tennessee 3-5
TV SEC Network alternate
LINE Tennessee by 21
Louisiana Tech at No. 18 Mississippi State
WHEN 6:30 p.m.
RECORDS Louisiana Tech 6-2; Mississippi State 5-3
TV SEC Network
LINE Mississippi State by 23 1/2
By the numbers
$1,451 -- Price on StubHub for two lower level seats for Saturday night's Alabama-LSU game in Tiger Stadium.
13.0 -- Points per game Kentucky is allowing to share the national lead with Clemson in scoring defense.
63-7 -- Alabama Coach Nick Saban's record when the Crimson Tide are ranked No. 1, as they are now.
0 -- First downs by Missouri in the second half against Kentucky. The Tigers punted after three and outs.
Overheard
"In this day and age where everything is at your fingertips on social media and we're all so connected, it's hard to not see a lot of the hate. But at the same time, I got plenty of messages from fans saying, 'Hey, we support you and love you.' "
-- Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald on his struggles in some games this season.
"He's a great quarterback, but he's about to play us. So he might make a little mistake."
-- LSU safety Grant Delpit on facing Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has yet to throw an interception this season.
"I had that planned for way back. Of course, I was still able to recruit all day Friday and Friday night. I just made a quick trip up there, and anytime you can do that it's good for recruiting."
-- Auburn Coach Gus Malzhan on going to New York to appear on the CBS pregame and halftime shows Saturday during the Tigers' open date.
Sports on 11/01/2018