Missouri Tigers have No. 1 offense in SEC

In 2016, the Missouri football team was the epitome of a paradox. The defense bent but didn’t break, and the offense had all the talent it has in 2017.

The biggest difference between last year’s team and this year’s, is simple experience. All across the board, Missouri’s personnel has another year of experience. Not much else has changed.

Barry Odom will start his second season as the Tigers’ head coach, Drew Lock will be the starting quarterback in his second full season, and the Tigers also return a duo of deadly running backs, and a 1,000-yard receiver in J’Mon Moore.

There aren’t any teams in the SEC that can tout 10 returning starters on offense, a 3,000-plus-yard passer, and a 1,000 yard running back and wide receiver.

Missouri Tigers Football

Technically, the sky should be the limit for Missouri this year, which places them as the No. 1 offense in the SEC. However, that will primarily depend on the Tigers’ ability to correct their imperfections from last year.

The two biggest issues I saw on offense was the receivers’ inability to make the “easy” plays, which, while we believe to be uncharacteristic, was, unfortunately so for Mizzou in 2016.

Unfortunately, there were situations where the offense could have turned close losses into close wins. Fortunately, the bulk of the same mistake-prone pieces on offense will have a second chance to redeem miscues for memorable plays this season.

On the ground, the Tigers’ running game is arguably one of the best in the conference, if not the nation. If I had to give Missouri’s running backs, behind the Missouri offensive line, a rating, it would be among the top 5.

Next: Missouri's QBs have the most experience

The other problem the offense experienced came from Lock, who struggled at times with his reads and making tight passes. With another year of experience, I expect Lock’s progressions to be more fluid and correct. If everyone has done their due diligence during the offseason, get ready for Lock to have the best season among the nation’s quarterbacks.