RECAP: Mizzou improves to 7-1 ahead of much-needed bye week

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou's fifth-straight Mayor's Cup win against South Carolina, on Saturday, not only lifted the team up to No. 16 in the latest AP Top-25 poll, but it also lifted them to 7-1 on the year. The Tigers will now head into the bye week on a high note, as recovery is the name of the game.

Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said that 'beating the bye week,' is all MU has on its mind, at this point. No. 1 Georgia is on the other side of Mizzou's weekend off, so the Tigers will need to get healthy ahead of that meeting.

"It's really easy for the fans to look to the schedule and say 'okay, we're gonna get this one, we're gonna get that one and do this,' but in that locker room it's hard. I mean, you're physically beat up, you're physically worn out, you got so many tests and midterms, um you got stuff back at home, you know, you're dealing with all kinds of stuff," Drinkwitz said. "We're focused on the task at hand and I think that's really been why our team has been so effective. We haven't looked ahead to anything, everybody else is, we're not." 

Both sides of the football had their moments in the Mayor's Cup win. The Tiger offense started strong in the first half and got some support from its defense in the second half of the 34-12 win over the Gamecocks.

The win kept Drinkwitz and company clean in the SEC East and set up an important meeting with the Bulldogs, who have won two-straight national championships, on Nov. 4.

Don't miss ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones' recap of Saturday's win and its implications for MU on SportsZone at 10:30 on ABC 17.