After Missouri took care of Southeastern Missouri State 59-28 on Saturday, it’s time to take a look back at where the Tigers stand after a 2-1 start. Have they met expectations?

And what will they have to do if they intend on making this a special season?

Here is how we think the Tigers are doing.

Who has emerged?

The 3 stars that have emerged for Mizzou are running back Tyler Badie, quarterback Connor Bazelak and linebacker Blaze Alldredge.

Badie has become not only a leader for this team but its star. Badie opened the season with 203 yards and 1  touchdown vs. Central Michigan. His play at the end of the game was the reason the Tigers were able to hold off the Chippewas.

In the Kentucky game, Badie proved he was a valuable receiver as well, catching for 88 yards with 1 touchdown. Badie has shown that he was the right man to replace Larry Rountree III at running back.

Another rising star on offense has been Bazelak. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Year has stepped up big-time and has proven himself to be a threat throwing the football.

Last week against Kentucky, he almost single-handedly pulled off an upset in the closing minutes, falling just short. Overall, he has thrown for 897 yards and 9 touchdowns, 4 in the SEC opener against the Wildcats.

The Mizzou offense overall has been a surprise and is more dangerous when it is able to run and pass with authority. In past years under head coach Eli Drinkwitz, the Tigers relied heavily on the run. This year, Mizzou has proven it can pass, too.

On defense, the star has been Alldredge, a Rice transfer. Alldredge was the breakout defensive star in Mizzou’s victory over Central Michigan, sacking their quarterback 3.5 times.

Although Kentucky held him in check, Alldredge seems to have filled the hole left by Nick Bolton.

Biggest disappointment?

The biggest disappointment has to be the defense. Coming into the year, it had several holes to fill, but no one thought it would struggle this badly.

The Tigers are 121st in the country in total defense, giving up nearly 30 points a game. That’s not a good way to start the year, though they did have 9 sacks in their season opener against Central Michigan, so there’s hope.

But the defense has to get better if the Tigers want to make a bowl game. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will have to make some plays in some crucial games.

Where they stand

At this point, the Tigers are what we thought they were. They aren’t a bad team, but they aren’t great, either, and they are on the edge of either getting better or getting worse. The offense has carried this team on its back, lead by Badie and Bazelak.

The offense looks like it can play with anybody when it is given the chance and isn’t turning the ball over. It proved that against Kentucky. But Missouri is going to need a better effort out of its defense if it is to upset at least 1 team this year. Although that opportunity has passed against Kentucky, there is still a lot of season yet to play and plenty of opportunities for the Tigers to improve. The only question is, will they?

Outlook for the rest of the season

The Tigers will be in the heart of their schedule with Boston College and Tennessee coming up in the next 2 weeks. Whether they make a bowl game will depend on whether they can pull off wins in both.

Going into the Texas A&M game on Oct. 16 with 5 wins would be ideal for this team, and it would take the pressure off it to pull off the upset against the Aggies. However, if it loses 1 or both of those games, it makes the road much tougher, with Georgia, Florida and a suddenly dangerous Arkansas at the end of the year.

The season may hang in the balance the next 2 weeks if Missouri is to have a winning record.