Just because Missouri doesn’t have an opponent this week, don’t expect the Tigers to coast through practice.

Missouri coach Barry Odom said as much during his appearance on Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. He also looked back on the Tigers’ 43-29 loss against No. 2 Georgia, saying his team is taking steps to correct its mistakes in time for a big SEC East showdown at South Carolina on Oct. 6.

Below are Odom’s responses from his 10-minute window on the teleconference.

On TE Albert Okwuegbunam recovering from his turnovers:

  • I’d rather he not turn it over first. … He’s a mature competitor, he understands how important that is. … He is a great competitor and he understands how great each play is and how magnified his actions are. … We have to do a better job as a team on turnover margin because it’s an indicator of winning and losing, and that showed up the other day.

On Georgia receiver Riley Ridley:

  • They have skill all over the field. … One thing I look at on film is how they perform when they don’t have the ball in their hands. I was impressed with their efforts. … You can tell they are coached well. … When they have the ball in their hands, they can go the distance. They take pride in how they block.

On the depth at that position:

  • They have recruited very well, and I didn’t think they missed a beat when the second unit came in.

On the bye week:

  • There’s not any cruise control in this program. We have tons of room for improvement heading into South Carolina. … They understand if they prepare the right way, we can have success … but if we miss a step, we will not have success. … We have to put ourselves in position to have success next weekend.

On last year’s Auburn loss and his post-game speech:

  • We are much better in many ways, we have moved forward in every way. … Look at our win-loss record since then, we are 9-2. … Our kids are hungry. … They care about being accountable.