Eli Drinkwitz knows the stakes.

There are no pats on the back, no you’ll-get-’em-next-time or otherwise consoling or comforting words coming Missouri football’s way if Saturday ends in anything other than a win over its most-bitter rival.

“This is a week that we’ve got a trophy on the line. You have a tangible thing that you're playing for. In college football, you don't always have that after a game. Sometimes you just gotta ‘attaboy.’ There ain't no ‘attaboy’ after this one. There's a dadgum war drum and several other stuff out there. And you win it, you get it. If you don't, you don't.

“And I don't care who you are, if you're a competitor and there's something on the line? I don't care if you’re playing against a buddy at home in one-on-one (and) there's a Diet Coke on the line,

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