Checking in on the Week 10 temperatures in Columbia, Mo.

HOT

Chances of winning the SEC East. Missouri does have a tough remaining schedule with road games against Texas A&M and Tennessee and home matchups versus Kentucky and Arkansas. But they are still very much in the division race, tied in the loss column with Georgia but one game back because of the tiebreaker. If Missouri can manager to take care of Kentucky and Texas A&M in the next two weeks, they’ll have a great shot at winning out. And that’ll put all the pressure on Georgia to not lose another game and that’ll be tough for the Bulldogs to do considering they have a game against Auburn on the horizon.

WARM

Maty Mauk. The sophomore quarterback improved somewhat against Vanderbilt on Saturday, breaking out a severe cold streak. He finally recorded some touchdowns in SEC play, and more importantly, was turnover-free. His 143 passing yards and 48 percent completion rate won’t wow anybody, but at least it was a step in the right direction.

COLD

Wide receiver injuries. Senior Darius White sat out the game against Vanderbilt last week and he’s questionable to play this week against Kentucky. This is the last thing Missouri needs right now. The wide receiver depth is already thin and White is a key piece to Missouri’s receiving game. Everyone saw how much the Tigers’ passing game struggled without White and Jimmie Hunt a few weeks ago. They’ll need to be full strength at the position in order to finish strong.

FROZEN

Penalties. Missouri struggled in multiple areas, but perhaps the worst was in on-field discipline. The Tigers finished the game with an abysmal 14 penalties and racked up 100 penalty yards. It was their most penalties since 2007. For a team struggling on offense, penalties have to be limited. They simply cannot afford to keep shooting themselves in the foot if they want to get out of an offensive funk.