On the surface, Mizzou’s 26-11 loss to West Virginia on Saturday was disappointing. The offense struggled to score and the defense gave up more big plays than usual.

However, there were some positive signs for the Tigers.

There are still plenty of winnable games for the Tigers, who should pick up their first victory this weekend at Faurot Field against Eastern Michigan.

As Mizzou looks to get back on track in its home opener, here are three reasons to be optimistic about the rest of the 2016 season:

1. The offense put up 462 yards

Though the Tigers certainly need some work on finishing drives, they did show some competence on that side of the ball.

By amassing 462 yards on Saturday, Mizzou has already eclipsed last year’s biggest output (434 yards against BYU).

Sophomore QB Drew Lock completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes (23-for-51), but he did total 280 yards through the air. Against a Big 12 defense like West Virginia’s that’s an encouraging sign.

Meanwhile, graduate transfer RB Alex Ross from Oklahoma looked good in his first game as a Tiger. On 18 carries, he picked up 67 yards to lead Mizzou’s rushing attack.

As Ross gets more comfortable with the offense, look for him to make a bigger impact in the running and passing games. If Ross can find more room to run on kickoff returns, he’ll endear himself to Mizzou fans even more.

2. The Tigers won the turnover battle

DE Marcell Frazier pounced on a fumble in the second quarter and DBs Aarion Penton and Anthony Sherrils each snagged interceptions for the Tigers.

Meanwhile, RB Damarea Crockett’s fumble in the red zone was the only Mizzou turnover, giving the Tigers a +2 turnover margin.

The three forced turnovers were nice, but the big plus was the offense only giving up the ball once. Lock took care of the football, which is a major plus.

After throwing for only four touchdowns to go with eight interceptions last season, Lock’s one-touchdown, zero-pick performance Saturday was a step in the right direction.

3. The defensive line will improve

The Mizzou defensive line was supposed to be a strength this season. Losing Walter Brady and Harold Brantley during preseason camp certainly didn’t help, but DE Charles Harris, DT Terry Beckner Jr. and others remained to anchor the unit.

However, they didn’t make much of an impact in Morgantown, failing to record a single sack against the Mountaineers.

Though it’s not entirely the fault of the defensive line, the Tigers gave up 241 rushing yards (at a clip of 5 yards per carry), too, which is very uncharacteristic. Last season, they allowed just 3.29, second on to Alabama in the SEC.

Obviously, this weekend’s matchup against Eastern Michigan won’t test the Tigers like the Mountaineers did, but it’ll be a good chance to work on some schemes and figure out a rotation along the defensive line.

Mizzou will square off against Eastern Michigan on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. Central time at Faurot Field. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.