The Missouri Tigers pulled off some upsets last year in Eli Drinkwitz’s first year at the helm of the program, most notably against LSU. But they also lost a couple of games they shouldn’t have, including the season finale against Mississippi State.

Overall, the 5-5 record in 2020 vs. an all-SEC slate of competition was a major positive. There’s momentum building in Columbia as Drinkwitz gets ready for Year 2.

But it wouldn’t take much for things to spiral out of control. So, let’s take a look at 5 of the biggest concerns I have about the Tigers as Week 1 rapidly approaches:

1. A lack of depth on defense

The defense has plenty of talent. Edge rusher Trajan Jeffcoat was an All-SEC first-team selection in 2020. DL Kobie Whiteside, S Martez Manuel and CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr., along with a trio of transfers in CBs Akayleb Evans and Allie Green IV and LB Blaze Alldredge, have All-SEC potential.

The problem? If the injury bug hits the defense even a little bit, there’s not much depth anywhere on this unit. Drinkwitz is doing great work with recruiting, but that’s going to take some time before it translates into roster depth.

Freshman DL Kyran Montgomery is already out for the year with a torn ACL. Now, there’s even less depth. The Tigers can’t afford to have injury issues this fall.

If even a couple of key starters were to get hurt, the lack of depth would quickly become apparent on Steve Wilks’ defense.

2. Injuries in the receiving corps

This is the last I’ll talk about injuries, I promise. But, it’s worth mentioning that both Jay Maclin and Mookie Cooper are dealing with injuries and their status for Week 1 is in question.

The receiving corps is supposed to be a strength this year, with Keke Chism, Tauskie Dove, Cooper, Maclin, Barrett Banister, JJ Hester and others expected to contribute to the offense, which is led by QB Connor Bazelak. RB Tyler Badie also figures to heavily contribute as a receiver out of the backfield.

Still, if Cooper and Maclin aren’t ready to go in Week 1, the Tigers won’t be working with a full receiving corps. That could have a negative impact in a must-win game against Kentucky in Week 2.

Cooper and Maclin’s status over the next few days will be of major interest to Mizzou fans.

3. Turnover margin

The Tigers were a middle-of-the-road team in terms of ball security last year, committing 14 turnovers (8 fumbles, 6 interceptions). That put them 7th in the SEC.

The problem? The defense was abysmal at forcing turnovers, tying for last place in the SEC by forcing only 9 (5 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions). That made their turnover margin -5, tied for 10th in the SEC.

Now, turnover margin can fluctuate wildly from year to year, so it’s possible the Tigers are more opportunistic this fall. However, if Steve Wilks’ defense can’t force several more turnovers in 2021, it could turn into a long season.

Turnovers are a great way to spark your offense, giving them short fields to work with. Considering the Tigers don’t have their workhorse running back in Larry Rountree III this year, any help the defense can give them would be most welcome.

Speaking of Rountree …

4. No Larry Rountree III in the red zone

I’ve discussed Bazelak’s lack of touchdown passes in previous articles. He threw for only 7 scores and 6 picks in 2020. Shawn Robinson and Brady Cook each added 1 touchdown pass, bringing Mizzou’s 2020 passing TD total to … 9. That’s it.

That’s not an indictment of Bazelak and the passing game, as he showed flashes of brilliance in 2020. Rather, it’s a huge compliment to Rountree, who provided a ton of red-zone offense. He scored 14 touchdowns on the ground. Tyler Badie had 4 rushing scores, Bazelak had 2 and Jalen Knox had 1.

So, for those of you keeping score at home, Rountree accounted for 14 of Mizzou’s 30 offensive touchdowns. Nearly half. That’s incredible production.

Badie isn’t the big, bruising runner that Rountree was. He’s more of a receiving threat, but Drinkwitz is going to have to be more creative with his red-zone play-calling this year.

Since the Tigers actually had a full offseason to work on installing Drinkwitz’s offense, improvement across the board is possible (and expected). But, if the Tigers can’t put the ball in the end zone without Rountree, struggles could ensue.

5. The inexplicable loss

The Tigers always seem to lose 1 inexplicable game per season. Last year, it was at Mississippi State to end the year. In 2019, they lost in Week 1 at Wyoming. Seriously? Then, after rattling off 5 consecutive victories, they lost at Vanderbilt. Are you kidding me?

So, what’s it going to be this year? Week 1 vs. Central Michigan? Possible. Week 4 at Boston College? That’s going to be a popular upset pick that week. Vanderbilt again? Rebuilding South Carolina or Tennessee squads?

Mizzou fans have been conditioned never to feel safe in victory until there’s no time left on the clock. Even then, victory isn’t always assured (sorry to bring up the Kentucky untimed down again, but here we are).

The fan base is always braced for devastating losses. It’ll be up to Drinkwitz and this year’s Mizzou squad to give us faith moving forward.