Somehow, some way, Missouri finds itself atop the Southeastern Conference East Division.

The same team that lost to Indiana and got blown out by Georgia is now sitting pretty as division leader for the second time this season. Saturday, Mizzou (7-2, 4-1 SEC) defeated Kentucky (5-4, 2-4) 20-10, and Florida upset No. 11 Georgia 38-20 to give the Tigers the conference lead.

“Our next goal is to be 2-0 in November,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. “It’s just getting tougher and tougher. There’s nothing easy this year.”

One thing that has come easy, seemingly, has been Shane Ray getting to the quarterback. The junior defensive end picked his 11th sack of the season midway through the third quarter and later recorded his 12th to break Mizzou’s single-season sack record of 11.5 on Kentucky’s final possession of the game.

“After the game, I took it all in and enjoyed the experience with my teammates,” Ray said.

Pinkel said he was happy for Ray and that the players love him because he loves the team back.

“I was just waiting for it to happen,” sophomore linebacker Michael Scherer said. “He’s such a hard worker on and off the field. You feel good for a kid like that.”

Ray wasn’t the only man in the spotlight for Mizzou.

Sophomore quarterback Maty Mauk continued to show improvement from a disastrous first few conference games this season. He played well in the first half to give the Tigers an early lead. His early performance was highlighted by 11 straight completions for 155 yards and a touchdown.

He finished with 164 yards and two touchdowns through the air to go along with 75 yards rushing.

Both of Mauk’s touchdowns were connections with senior wide receiver Bud Sasser.

“Maty (Mauk) has been around (Sasser) more than the other guys except for maybe Jimmie Hunt,” Pinkel said. “Bud has been playing great for us. He’s stepping up.”

For the second consecutive week, Mauk didn’t commit a turnover and showed he has learned to make better decisions under pressure. Though there were some mental lapses — on one play, Mauk attempted to get rid of the ball and almost threw an interception — Mauk scrambled much more against Kentucky in comparison to recent games, rather than lobbing the ball up for grabs.

“We’re getting better,” Mauk said. “And that’s all you can ask for.”

Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles had less luck. He finished the game 19 for 37 for 158 yards. He had just 14 yards passing at halftime.

Missouri cornerbacks Kenya Dennis and Aarion Penton played well against Towles, who put up big numbers last weekend against No. 1 Mississippi State. Dennis had a career-high four pass breakups, while Penton tied his career high of two, and nabbed an interception.

“They’re playing very physical and that’s what we expect from guys in our secondary,” Ray said. “Seeing how those two played tonight, I couldn’t tell you how proud I was.”

However, not all was good news for the Tigers’ secondary. Senior safety Braylon Webb was ejected late in the game for a questionable targeting call.

If the call is upheld upon review, Webb, who has the most starts of any active safety in the SEC, will be forced to sit out the first half of Mizzou’s next game against Texas A&M.

“There’s a process to go through, but you just want to get it right,” Pinkel said. “There certainly wasn’t any malice on his part. He didn’t go out and launch somebody. He would never do that.”

The win was No. 109 overall in Pinkel’s tenure at Mizzou, but was perhaps one of the more meaningful wins he’s had. Pinkel told media members that the team dedicated the victory to Coach John Kadlec, also known as “Mr. Mizzou,” who died this week at 86.

“I was at the visitation last night, and I told his family that we were going to dedicate this game to Coach (Kadlec),” Pinkel said. “For me, that’s so awesome that we won this football game. He’s just a great person that touched thousands of people. Anyone who knows the guy knows how much he loved the University of Missouri. I thank God that I was able to have a 14-year relationship with him.”

After a bye week, Missouri will travel to face Texas A&M on Nov. 15.

For now, however, Mizzou gets a week off and controls its own destiny in the East, thanks to Georgia’s loss.

When an SEC Network reporter mentioned Florida’s victory to Pinkel after the game, the coach chuckled and had little to say.

“That’s good.”