The Florida Gators are a mess right now, having lost their past three games and parting ways with coach Jim McElwain on Sunday.

Now, a Florida squad led by interim coach Randy Shannon will head to Columbia on Saturday afternoon to take on Missouri, which has won its past two games — albeit against non-SEC teams in Idaho and UConn.

Still, Mizzou enters the Week 10 game as the betting favorite and has a chance to pull off a win that, at the beginning of the season, many would have considered impossible.

At 3-5, the Tigers need this win to keep bowl hopes alive, so QB Drew Lock, coach Barry Odom and Co. will be eager to show they can compete against tough SEC East teams.

Mizzou is catching Florida at exactly the right time, and here are three reasons the Tigers could capitalize on the Gators’ pain on Saturday at Faurot Field:

Florida hasn’t faced a QB like Drew Lock

Though the Gators’ defense, particularly the secondary, has been statistically strong this year, Florida has yet to face a quarterback of Lock’s caliber.

In fact, through seven games, Vanderbilt QB Kyle Shurmur might have been the best quarterback to face the Gators’ defense. Vandy threw for 264 yards, the most the Gators have allowed.

The past two games, Florida has squared off against true freshmen in Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond and Georgia’s Jake Fromm.

Though the Tigers got blown out by Georgia, Lock and the offense managed to connect on some big plays and put 28 points on the board against the Bulldogs — more than the Dawgs’ other four SEC opponents combined.

With WRs J’Mon Moore, Emanuel Hall and Johnathon Johnson providing matchup nightmares and TE Albert Okwuegbunam coming into his own as a red-zone threat, the Tigers may have the firepower to light up the scoreboard against the Gators on Saturday afternoon.

Tackles for loss

Though Mizzou’s defense has struggled against Power 5 opponents this year, the Tigers do make some big plays on that side of the ball.

In fact, as Odom noted on Monday, the Tigers are second in the SEC in TFL, averaging 7.5 per game:

The Florida offense has been anything but explosive, so if the Tigers can get a couple of tackles for loss on first and second downs, the Gators might not be able to move the chains effectively. Florida ranks 13th in the SEC in third-down conversions (32 percent)

Without freshman RB Malik Davis, who injured his knee against Georgia and is out for the year, the Gators don’t have many playmakers left on offense, which plays into Mizzou’s hands.

The Gators are susceptible to the run

Usually, Florida’s defense is one of the best against the run, but that has changed this year, especially as the Gators have found themselves trailing late in several games.

Through seven games, the Gators have the nation’s 67th-ranked rushing defense, giving up 165 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Mizzou rushing offense is improving, ranking 67th in the country with 162 yards per game.

Even though star RB Damarea Crockett is unlikely to play Saturday, backups Ish Witter and Larry Rountree III have proven to be capable of handling the load in the backfield.

If Mizzou can find success through the air with its spread offense, the running backs should have plenty of room to run against a Florida defense that is often put in less-than-ideal situations by its offense.