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Dorial Green-Beckham and Missouri made a statement with a win over Georgia last week. (The Associated Press)

The SEC East's road to Atlanta now goes through Columbia, Mo. But CBS won't be showing that path the next two weeks when Missouri, a new kid on the SEC block, plays Florida and South Carolina.

Put it this way: Tennessee and Vanderbilt, who are both winless in the SEC, will soon have a combined four CBS appearances this season compared to none for SEC East leader Missouri.

CBS, which has the first pick of SEC games, cited several factors for its selection choices: national rankings, standings, star power, injuries, rivalries, tradition, and past ratings.

Prior to Missouri's win at Georgia last week, CBS selected Georgia-Vanderbilt and Auburn-Texas A&M as its doubleheader for this Saturday. (It's Vanderbilt's first appearance on CBS in more than a decade.) Missouri-Florida will be shown on SEC Network syndicated affiliates at 11:21 a.m. Central.

After the Missouri upset, CBS opted for Alabama-Tennessee on Oct. 26. Missouri-South Carolina will be on ESPN or ESPN2 at 6 p.m. (CBS has already used a six-day window for the week it picked Georgia-Tennessee. CBS wouldn't say how many of those windows it can exercise in a season.)

"For us, the good news is the level of competition and quality across the conference is at such a high level that we feel we have more than one choice," said Dan Weinberg, CBS senior vice president of programming.

CBS' viewership for its first four SEC games averaged a 4.9 rating, up 48 percent from last year. The overnight rating for last week's Florida-LSU game was a 3.4.

SEC on CBS Ratings in 2013

Game Rating Alabama-Texas A&M 8.6 Florida-Tennessee 2.8 Georgia-LSU 4.6 Georgia-Tennessee 3.5 Florida-LSU 3.4 *

* Florida-LSU is an overnight metered market rating.

Source: CBS Sports

Airing Missouri-South Carolina next week would have carried a risk CBS usually doesn't take. Forty-seven of the past 50 SEC regular-season games on CBS involved at least one of the SEC's traditional powers (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee).

The exceptions over the past four years: Missouri-South Carolina in 2012 (2.5 rating), South Carolina-Arkansas in 2012 (1.8 rating), and Mississippi State-Arkansas in 2011 (1.9 rating). Those rank among CBS' lowest-rated SEC games over that period.

Missouri was on CBS twice last year, drawing a 2.1 in its 32-point loss to Alabama and a 2.5 in its 21-point loss to South Carolina. The Missouri ratings were discussed "no more than any other factor we talked about," Weinberg said. "Obviously a closer game is on some level a game that has more appeal just because there's more drama than a blowout."

A wrinkle got thrown into Missouri's SEC East title hopes when quarterback James Franklin was injured last week. Franklin is out for multiple games.

"Injuries are a factor, but only one of many factors," Weinberg said. "We're looking holistically at our potential options. Do we focus on a key injury here or there? Yes. But not any more than other things. Who are the schools involved? What kind of star power do they have? What kind of appeal do they have across the country?"

CBS often picks the highest-ranked available team, particularly if that school is ranked No. 1. Alabama has been No. 1 all year, but has so far appeared only once on CBS.

Alabama-Tennessee offers more recognizable names than Missouri. On the other hand, there's the risk of an Alabama-Tennessee blowout that could cause viewers to tune out.

CBS was slow to broadcast the rise of SEC newcomer Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel last year and aired the Aggies only once, for their late-season win over Alabama. That's not to say Missouri has a Manziel (it doesn't), or will necessarily keep winning.

But at the moment, Missouri is one of only 14 unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Alabama is the only other SEC team without a loss.

Missouri's performance is "one of a lot of really compelling stories in the conference this year," Weinberg said. "It's amazing the quality of play that continues to be seen on the field. Here's Missouri, in just their second year in the conference, and really making a tremendous amount of noise."

You may hear about Missouri on CBS. You'll just have to watch it elsewhere.