Missouri Tigers fall to the SEC basement

After an embarrassing loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, the Missouri Tigers now sit firmly at the bottom of the SEC, with no signs of being able to climb out.

This was supposed to be a season of marked improvement for the Missouri Tigers. While still building and developing the program, Barry Odom had supposedly made strides. However, three games into the season, there is much more cause for concern than celebration at Mizzou.

It goes beyond losing games. Missouri has been thoroughly handled in each of their last two games. On top of that, the Tigers were not that impressive in their opener against FCS Missouri State. It might be enough for Barry Odom to be on the hot seat less than two years into his tenure.

Normally, I would feel that talking about firing a coach this early in the season is premature. However, the Tigers really have been that bad. Not to mention the fact that the team has already fired one coach this season. If the organization is willing to fire coordinators this early, there is no reason to not talk about the coach being on the hot seat.

Where Is The Offense?

The biggest headline of the past two weeks is that the highly hyped Missouri Tigers offense has been a complete no show. After putting up 72 points in the season opener, the Tigers have scored a combined 16 points over the last two weeks. With the defense still struggling, Mizzou can’t afford the offense to be failing as well.

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A lot of that failure falls on the shoulders of quarterback Drew Lock. Coming into the season, many believed Lock would be up to the task of leading the Tigers. However, he has been awful the past couple of weeks, throwing four interceptions and just one touchdown. Missouri needs him to be much better.

Also failing the Tigers offense has been running back Damarea Crockett. After a dominant freshman season, Crockett set very high expectations for himself. The sophomore running back put “Heisman” over his locker this season. If Crockett can’t start to find the endzone against FBS opponents, that expectation is just a pipe dream.

It Only Gets Tougher

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The news really only gets worse for the Missouri Tigers. The team is about to get into the meat of their SEC schedule. Mizzou is already 0-1 in the conference after losing to South Carolina. The Gamecocks may very well be the second worst team in the SEC…ahead of only Missouri.

Mizzou’s next game is against the Auburn Tigers. That is a match-up that will have many people predicting a blowout loss for Missouri. Their next two games, both on the road, don’t look much easier. Both Kentucky and Georgia look like they may be tough opponents this year as well.

The one thing Missouri couldn’t afford to do this year was fall into the basement of the SEC. When you end up there, recruiting becomes near impossible and the whole thing is cyclical. Unfortunately, that appears to be exactly where the Tigers are headed at this point.

The Missouri Tigers are now the bottom dwellers of the Southeastern Conference. There really isn’t a whole lot about this team to like right now. If things continue on as they have at the start of the season, we may see Barry Odom dismissed very quickly. The Tigers have to do something to change their fortunes.