Yes, the Missouri Tigers looked a lot like the 2015 squad in a 26-11 season-opening loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers.

But, look deeper into the stats, and you’ll see a team that showed signs of life. The offense only put up 11 points, but the Tigers missed two field goals and had other drives stall in the red zone, too.

It’s not much, but it’s a start, and there’s reason for cautious optimism moving forward.

Here are some final thoughts on Saturday’s Week 1 loss to West Virginia:

3 TAKEAWAYS

The defense is opportunistic: The Tigers gave up 494 yards, but snagged a pair of interceptions and pounced on a fumble to limit the damage West Virginia was able to do offensively. West Virginia averaged 34 points per game in 2015 and returned its star quarterback. Holding the Mountaineers to 26 was a positive.

The offense needs a lot of work: There were definitely some signs of life from the Mizzou offense, a unit that wracked up 462 total yards on Saturday afternoon. However, the Tigers need to be able to finish drives with points. Mistakes in the red zone killed them in Morgantown.

Chris Black and J’Mon Moore are the real deal: The pair of Mizzou wide outs accomplished something that hadn’t been done by two Tiger receivers since 2008 when they each recorded 100-plus receiving yards. They clearly have some chemistry with Lock and it should be fun to see that continue to develop over the course of the season.

REPORT CARD

Offense: D

Outside of WRs Chris Black and J’Mon Moore, each of whom eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark, there weren’t many positives to take away from Morgantown.

QBs Drew Lock and Marvin Zanders showed promise at times, but looked lost at others. Meanwhile, the running game was stagnant. RB Alex Ross had a decent game, amassing 67 yards on 18 carries, but he and the other backs will have to do more moving forward.

Defense: B-

Holding an explosive offense like West Virginia’s to only 26 points must be considered a positive. Forcing three turnovers on the afternoon was a big plus, too.

However, the Mountaineers were able to create more big plays and the Tigers missed more tackles than a defense of their caliber should.

Special Teams: C-

P Corey Fatony had a great afternoon, frequently pinning the Mountaineers deep in their own territory and getting great tackling from his coverage team.

However, K Tucker McCann missed two field goals and the return game was basically nonexistent, so Fatony’s strong performance was overshadowed.

Coaching: C

The biggest question facing offensive coordinator Josh Heupel is how he will manage Lock and Zanders moving forward. The first-year coordinator made some questionable decisions by taking Lock out a couple of times when it looked like he finally had some rhythm with the offense.

Meanwhile, first-year head coach Barry Odom has some work to do with his young kicker. McCann needs to bounce back against Eastern Michigan and Odom needs to show his trust in the first-year player.

Overall: C-

As stated above, there’s reason for cautious optimism in Columbia. The Tigers should be able to work out some of their red zone issues next week at home against Eastern Michigan. The result from Morgantown wasn’t pretty, but there were a few positives to build on as the Tigers move forward.

GAME BALLS

WRs Chris Black and J’Mon Moore: As mentioned earlier, Moore and Black both eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark, which hadn’t been done by a pair of Mizzou receivers since 2008. For that, they each get game balls.

P Corey Fatony: It’s never good when your punter is one of the stars of the game, but Fatony stood out, especially in the first quarter. His punt coverage team was also spectacular.

INJURY UPDATE

The Tigers escaped Morgantown relatively unscathed. No major contributors were taken off the field and everyone should be good to go for next week against Eastern Michigan.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.