With how good Mizzou has been, specifically their offense, it's hard to pick out a weak spot. Well, it was, until their contest versus UMass made it abundantly clear that something on the offensive side of the ball needed to be worked on.
If it wasn't clear before how disappointing the offensive line played Saturday night versus the Minutemen, they had just four sacks on the year going into the game.
They finished the matchup with as many.
Considering the strength of the UMass squad was not along their defensive line, that was a brutal part of the game to watch unfold, and I'm sure Beau Pribula felt it more than anyone else did.
Going into the year, there was a lot of question marks on this roster, but the biggest were no doubt up front. The team lost Missouri native Armand Membou, who was an anchor at right tackle the last three years for them, to the New York Jets, after he was drafted No. 7 overall last April.
Along with the All-SEC talent, they also saw their left tackle get taken by the New England Patriots, later in the same draft.
The team responded with what they do best: recruiting. They brought in three transfers, two of which have been all-season starters, but the struggles have been present.
Even after the opening game kickoff versus Central Arkansas, in a game they won 61-6, it was clear that constant pressure from a subpar defensive line stopped Pribula from finding any rhythm.
With a lot of new faces, the line needs to figure out some chemistry; with both each other and their young quarterback.
The run blocking has been pretty decent so far - at least it looks that way with how Heisman favorite Ahmad Hardy has been running the ball. Pass blocking however hasn't provided the same result, with plays being cut short constantly due to pressure in the face of Pribula.
There have been sparks within the line, with breakouts from players such as transfer Cayden Green, who came from Oklahoma, and is now playing tackle for virtually the first time since high school, and Keegan Trost, who took home the SEC Conference offensive lineman of the week for his work at right tackle versus South Carolina last week.
However, with Green's lingering foot injury sitting him out for likely the next month, paired with overall inexperience across the front five, they need to figure it out fast.
The Tigers now begin strictly in-conference play, facing programs such as No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Texas A&M, and No. 10 Alabama. If they had trouble versus unsuccessful opponents outside of the conference, they are in for a rude awakening for the remainder of the year.
There's no doubt that they can figure it out, they just need to put it all together, both in practice and on the field, and play a full game supporting their talented running backs and quarterbacks, helping to put a flow into what could be one of the top offenses in the country.