Mizzou will have less than 24 hours this week to let the turkey settle before handling its business between the lines at Faurot Field.

For the second straight season, the underrated Tigers host the default SEC East Championship Game with a trip to Atlanta on the line if they win.

The defending division champs have won five straight against league competition since a 34-point letdown against Georgia and still aren’t getting much respect nationally. Friday’s opponent, an unranked team that’s 6-5 this season, is favored on the road:

How dangerous are the Razorbacks you ask?

Arkansas became the first team in college football history to shutout consecutive nationally-ranked opponents last week, blanking Ole Miss, 30-0, in Fayetteville. The defense is currently ranked in the SEC’s top 5 in scoring and turnover margin led by a front four that has owned the line of scrimmage against the rush over its last three games.

Before the Razorbacks’ run to bowl eligibility began, Arkansas dropped a heartbreaking game on the road to Mississippi State, a turning point in Bret Bielema’s second season. The SEC West’s last-place team was a blown coverage away from beating the nation’s top-ranked team and snapping a two-year stretch of futility.

Mizzou knows just how much respect the Razorbacks have earned coming in.

“You look how they’ve played the entire year, they’ve played everybody close,” Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said. “They’re a very good football team. The success doesn’t surprise me.”

While last season’s team may have had the talent edge, the Tigers have followed a similar path to a possible division crown.

RELATED: Mizzou continues improbable run

South Carolina thought it had gained the upper-hand in the East after a midseason head-to-head win last October, but the Tigers won four straight to end the regular season including ranked games against Ole Miss and Texas A&M over the final two weeks to control their own destiny.

There’s something about Mizzou’s mental makeup when faced with adversity. With their backs against the wall in SEC play, Pinkel’s group — outside perception not withstanding — is nearly unbeatable it seems.

“This obviously is a very big game, but it’s still about how we play,” Pinkel said. “If you start thinking about the ramifications of the game, that’s not what we do. (Reaching the SEC Championship) is for another press conference.”

Mizzou, ranked 17th in this week’s AP Poll, would be in the Top 10 at this point with a legitimate College Football Playoff opportunity without the home loss to Indiana on Sept. 20. Though haunting, it was a much-needed wakeup call for this year’s team and the Tigers have rebounded well.

Mizzou found a way to win two of its first three conference games despite little to no offensive production. Since Maty Mauk’s horrific 20-yard dud at Florida six weeks ago, the sophomore quarterback’s led an offensive turnaround that has put the Tigers in position to achieve a top priority on their preseason lists of goals.

Mauk’s accounted for 969 yards of total offense, seven touchdowns and just one turnover during Mizzou’s four wins since and helped the Tigers win their 10th straight away from home last time out in Knoxville.

His play on Friday, along with the Tigers’ ability to stop a powerful run game, will determine if this team gets a shot at throwing a wrench in the SEC’s Playoff plans inside the Georgia Dome on Dec. 6.