Missouri is 6-1, already bowl eligible and mere moments from being undefeated before falling earlier this month against LSU.
Still, the Tigers have occupied space in the national rankings, own a key home win against defending Big 12 Conference champion Kansas State and work through this week on the heels of an emphatic, come-from-behind win at Kentucky.
But letting up isn't in the Missouri formula; not when Eli Drinkwitz, rewarded last season with a contract extension, emphasizes that the team's goals -- namely, ongoing improvement -- are not bargaining chips.
"You know, winning doesn’t negotiate," said Drinkwitz, whose Tigers have won eight of their last 10 games. "I mean, it costs what it costs to win football games. And, you know, we’ve got to pay the price.
"Is that where, you know, some of the examples that (quarterback) Brady (Cook) has set early this season, I’m sure D-Rob (defensive lineman Darius Robinson), still had a power of troops and stuff. I mean, are those examples really powerful this time? Absolutely."
Drinkwitz also noted this Missouri team is borne of its challenges and those perhaps not met in previous years.
"I think at the end of the day, you know, there’s a lot of guys on this football team who have gone through a lot of adversity here and seen in the past teams not fulfill what they’re capable of," Drinkwitz said. "You know, and so I think that sits in the back of our minds. So I think we’re all conscious of it, but we’ve got to sometimes remind ourselves what we need to do in order to have success this week."
With homecoming in Columbia, Missouri, the Tigers host South Carolina this week -- a year after a two-touchdown win inside Williams-Brice Stadium and on the heels of the Gamecocks blowing a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead last week against Florida.
That meltdown prompted USC coach Shane Beamer to break a bone in his foot when he kicked something out of frustration in the postgame locker room.