https://theathletic.com/4481814/2023/05/02/sec-football-scheduling-format/
And is this the excerpt you're referring to?...
But there’s enough pushback from the others, not just Kentucky, that one official in the conference speculated it could end up an 8-8 tie. Then what?
I searched the article for "Kentucky" and didn't really see anything definitive about them "continuing to push for an 8-game schedule"