Mauktober.

That was supposed to be Maty Mauk’s month.

October presented the Missouri Tigers with key matchups against divisional rivals Georgia and Florida with a late September game on the road at South Carolina.

The Tigers were successful winning two out of the three games in October, plus a road win against the Gamecocks in late September.

Although the team won games, Mauktober was an utter failure.

Missouri’s gun-slinging sophomore quarterback completed just 41.9 percent of his passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions — all in the month of October.

Things have turned around some for Mauk, who has strung together two straight games of two touchdowns and no interceptions, but now with Missouri coming off a bye week, the Tigers face a season-defining three-game stretch where they’ll need Mauk’s absolute best in order to accomplish their goals.

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Maukvember? (Nah, I don’t like that either.)

Regardless of whether or not there is a catchy title, this great opportunity for Mauk to move past his earlier struggles is staring him right in the face.

The Tigers will go on the road against Texas A&M and Tennessee before coming home to end their season against Arkansas. In order to win the SEC East, Missouri likely will need to win all three games and at least two out of three.

Mauk’s first test will arguably be the toughest of the three — a night game at Kyle Field on Senior Night.

The Aggies are coming off a huge upset win on the road against the defending SEC Champions. Quarterback Kyle Allen found his groove against Auburn and garnered SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Defensively, the Aggies need no introduction with Myles Garrett anchoring the defensive line.

Missouri, not just Mauk, will face an uphill climb Saturday night, but ultimately it comes down to Mauk and establishing some rhythm in the offense. His gun-slinger mentality can often be a high-risk, high-reward kind of strategy and with an elite pass rush from Texas A&M, he’ll be on the run more times than not.

Head coach Gary Pinkel has the upmost confidence in his quarterback, despite the tough task that awaits him on the field Saturday night.

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“I think he’s getting better,” Pinkel said during Wednesday’s teleconference. “We know he’s very capable. Generally, when things get the toughest, he’s at his best. We’ll have some great challenges, certainly, this Saturday evening.”

Last season, Mauk saw significant playing time as a true freshman because of an injury to starting quarterback James Franklin. He completed just over 53 percent of his passes, but threw eight touchdowns and zero interceptions.

He’ll need to channel that kind of efficiency during this three-game stretch and it all starts Saturday against the Aggies.

Mauk’s performance over the course of the next three weeks will dictate the Tigers’ postseason fate — good or bad.