Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference:
No. 17 Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) vs. No. 3 Georgia (6-1, 4-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party looks a little different this year as the Gators and Bulldogs meet in Atlanta in what is the first ranked-vs.-ranked matchup between the rivals since 2020.
Georgia has won eight of the last 10 against Florida, including the past five. The Bulldogs have found success in minimizing a Gators offense that has exceeded 30 points just twice in the last 15 meetings.
Both teams were idle after very different Week 7 outcomes. The Bulldogs fell to Auburn in a turnover-filled upset, and Florida delivered a momentum-building 27-24 win over Texas. Georgia is 9-0 after regular-season losses dating back to 2019.
A productive day for running back Jadan Baugh and holding Georgia’s defense on third downs will be key for a Florida team that can't afford another loss if it wants to keep its playoff hopes alive. It’s the first of three consecutive ranked matchups for the Bulldogs, who have first-round bye hopes for the College Football Playoff.
Georgia is an 11.5-point favorite.
Auburn (4-3, 2-3) at No. 12 Ole Miss (5-2, 3-2), Saturday, 12:45 p.m. ET (SEC Network)
A bounceback game for both teams: The Rebels are coming off a 34-27 road loss to Texas while Auburn was humbled 38-17 by LSU after its upset of then-No. 1 Georgia.
The Rebels will try to keep its title and playoff hopes alive without star running back Kewan Lacy, who will be sidelined after dislocating his shoulder against Texas. Makhi Frazier will take on the bulk of snaps with Lacy out.
Auburn dual-threat quarterback Byrum Brown could prove to be a challenge for an Ole Miss defense that has allowed an SEC-high 161.1 rushing yards per game. LSU held Auburn's rushing attack to 66 yards.
Ole Miss is a 13-point favorite.
— Owen Heinecke: The sixth-year Oklahoma linebacker tied for a game-high 10 tackles vs. Mississippi State, which included a sack and two tackles for loss. He forced a fumble in the second quarter, which Oklahoma turned into a 96-yard touchdown drive.
— Sam Leavitt: The LSU quarterback had 432 total yards and four touchdowns in the win at Auburn. He completed 32 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns while adding 54 rushing yards and a score.
— Jackson Harris: The LSU receiver connected with Leavitt for a career-high 178 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches against Auburn.
The SEC has nine ranked teams: No. 3 Georgia, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 15 LSU, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 17 Florida, No. 23 Missouri. ... Georgia and Kentucky are the only SEC teams with one loss. ... Georgia maintains the highest-scoring offense, averaging 43 points per game while allowing the fewest points (15.86). ... Tennessee leads the SEC with 35 sacks through eight games. ... LSU averages a conference-high 510 yards of offense per game.
Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor will be out for the rest of the season with a surgery-requiring foot injury. Ole Miss will be without Lacy this week after the star Rebels running back suffered a dislocated shoulder vs. Texas.
Missouri standout running back Ahmad Hardy has returned to practice as a full participant after a long recovery from a gunshot wound in May.
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here. Visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here.
LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt warms up before an NCAA college football game against Auburn, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Humanitarian aid is poised to roll into the stricken city of Oleshky on Friday, a Ukrainian official said, as a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine stretched into a third day and military units cleared away landmines.
Moscow and Kyiv have observed the truce in and around the devastated southern Ukrainian city since Tuesday, despite remaining locked in war since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than 4 ½ years ago. Previous efforts to secure ceasefires either never worked out or the truces quickly fell apart.
But elsewhere, a jet-powered Russian drone hit two trains stopped at a station in central Ukraine, killing at least 13 people and injuring 10 others, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it in a post on X as a “horrific attack” that struck passenger trains in Dnipro.
Also, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest drone attacks launched by Kyiv. Around half of the drones were heading to the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The planned six-day ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky has also brought a rare and welcome stillness for civilians in the nearby city of Kherson, which is held by Ukraine and has also been wracked by the war.
Both sides thanked U.S. first lady Melania Trump for what the White House said was her role in helping broker the temporary ceasefire so that food and medical supplies can reach some desperate 2,000 people trapped in Oleshky. Pope Leo XIV also pressed for a truce.
“The ceasefire has been in place for 54 hours now,” Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Thursday, adding that aid deliveries were due to begin the following day. “The parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported.”
His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, confirmed the truce was holding and that Russian engineers are working on de-mining Oleshky roads.
“Both sides are fully honoring their commitments, and no violations have been recorded,” she said. “This allows military personnel to continue clearing roads of mines and to prepare a safe passage for the humanitarian convoy.”
Local people will also be able to evacuate, either into Russia or Ukraine, officials say. The mechanics of how that might work were unclear.
Lantratova said she and her team were on their way to Oleshky for the aid delivery, while Lubinets arrived in Belarus and will head to the city from there, as part of an operation that Lantratova said was five months in the making.
In the city of Kherson, growing numbers of people were out on the streets as the truce held.
Nataliia Myronenko, 42, had a steady stream of customers at her coffee kiosk since early Thursday.
“Now, during the quiet, we have people at lunchtime and in the evening, which we didn’t have under the attacks,” she said. “For a while, people would race down this street because they were afraid to stop.”
The pause has brought a sense of relief, she said. “It’s a breath of freedom, when you don’t look at the sky. You keep looking at your feet because of the mines, but you’re not afraid of dying. It’s so great,” she said.
“It’s such a privilege and a joy, but we understand it will end soon.”
Moscow and Kyiv are keen to curry favor with Washington ahead of possible three-way talks next month between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
American military support is vital for Ukraine, but U.S. President Donald Trump has recently indicated that he is disengaging with Kyiv as he waived sanctions on Russia and publicly chided Zelenskyy.
Tankers carrying Russian diesel are currently sailing to the United States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to the U.S. for a G20 ministerial meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, starting Friday, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
European leaders, on the other hand, have been trying to diplomatically isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion and what they call a campaign of sabotage across the continent.
Ukraine earlier this month reported sudden and unexpected limits on Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communications.
Putin said that Russia has been in contact with the American tech titan to coordinate their orbiting activities because it is building its own equivalent of Starlink.
“Elon Musk is a genius. Truly, a real genius,” Putin said late Wednesday.
“We and our American partners value this relationship, and despite all the political issues, we continue to work closely together,” he added.
AP journalists Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kherson, Ukraine and Susie Blann and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A woman walks in front of a residential building damaged in a Russian attack during a local ceasefire related to a humanitarian aid mission in Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire at the residential neighbourhood following a Russian air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
A residential building is seen damaged in Russian attacks during a local ceasefire related to a humanitarian aid mission in Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A local man rides a bicycle beneath anti-drone nets stretched over a street during a local ceasefire related to a humanitarian aid mission in Oleshky, in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
