Missouri was the only team in the East last season that didn’t go bowling, and there doesn’t seem to be much momentum heading into 2017.

Coming off a 4-8 dumpster fire that included a 2-6 mark in the SEC, the Tigers must turn things around for second-year coach Barry Odom. While he cut his teeth on the defensive side of the ball, his O is in much better shape at this point.

Quarterback Drew Lock is now a junior and one of the most experienced starters in the conference. Thrown to the wolves as a true freshman in 2015, the former 4-star recruit had five 300-yard passing games this past season and crossed the 400-mark on two occasions. However, he padded his stats against inferior competition and failed to produce when facing elite defenses.

In league play, Lock only compiled a TD-to-INT ratio of 10-to-10.

There has been lot of chatter about Mizzou possibly having the best offense in the division for 2017. Lock is a big reason why.

“Mizzou’s had a lot of great quarterbacks over the years,” Odom said last week at Media Days. “You can go way back and hit Brad Smith and Blaine Gabbert and Chase Daniel. There’s a number of guys that played well at that spot. I feel like Drew can be the next guy that plays really, really well at a high level at that position.”

Just four games into the 2016 campaign, Lock already had a pair of 5-touchdown performances through the air without an interception. The problem is they came in Columbia against non-Power 5 cupcakes Eastern Michigan and Delaware State.

In league play, Lock compiled a TD-to-INT ratio of just 10-to-10. The two elite Ds he faced, LSU and Florida — both on the road — ate him alive. He was a combined 21-of-55 for 206 yards with no scores and a trio of picks. It was no coincidence, of course, that Missouri lost those two contests by an aggregate score of 82-21.

Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Fortunately for Lock (above), he doesn’t appear to have hit his ceiling. There is so much more to learn under second-year offensive coordinator Josh Heupel.

“We need 10 guys around him to play really well, too, because we’re going to put a lot on Drew’s plate,” Odom said. “And we have, and we’ll continue to do that and push it. He’s got a high football I.Q. He understands what we need out of that position.”

From a skill-position perspective, Lock has plenty to work with this year. Running back Damarea Crockett ran for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns rather anonymously a season ago as a true freshman, including a 225-yard gashing of Tennessee.

Lock’s four leading wide receivers in terms of yardage are all still on the roster, too. J’Mon Moore was one of just two pass catchers in the SEC to cross the 1,000-yard barrier in 2016 — the departed Josh Reynolds from Texas A&M was the other. Beyond Moore, Johnathon Johnson, Emanuel Hall and Dimetrios Mason averaged 18.1, 16.2 and 12.5 yards per catch, respectively.

"We need 10 guys around him to play really well, too, because we're going to put a lot on Drew's plate. And we have, and we'll continue to do that and push it. He's got a high football I.Q. He understands what we need out of that position." -- Barry Odom

Moore can be even better, though. Despite the numbers he put up, he was inconsistent at times and guilty of some crucial drops.

“I am working on my focus,” Moore (below) said. “Looking the ball in, looking it all the way in. I think the big issue for me is that I take my eyes off the ball. I have been working on looking it in and making sure I have it tucked high and tight and making sure I secure the ball leverage. I have my teammates slap at the ball, hit my elbow and attempt to slap it out to make sure I am keeping the ball secure.”

The Tigers were the conference’s No. 1 offense last year, accumulating 500.5 yards per game. That being said, they were only fifth in scoring at 31.4 points per game, as Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Ole Miss were more prolific.

Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

If you ignore the final box scores and simply rewatch Mizzou’s season start to finish — especially the league matchups — the answer is quite clear: Lock and Co. racked up a lot of empty yards. They tied for 11th in turnover margin at minus-3, plus they were 13th in red-zone conversions. Essentially, too many long drives ended in no points.

The kicking game was atrocious and actually missed more field goals than it made, so that’s not on Lock. However, he still needs to be more pinpoint as a passer.

Expect Faurot Field to host its fair share of shootouts.

“My main goal is not necessarily the stats,” Lock said. “We want to win games at the University of Missouri. To do that, I need to be more accurate with the ball. Accuracy was not where I wanted it to be (last season). It was OK. And if I do that and take care of the ball, we will win football games.”

Also a terrific basketball player in high school, as Missouri offered him a scholarship on the hardwood as well, Lock now fully appreciates the gridiron maybe for the first time in his life. That factors in to his unrealized upside.

“I didn’t fall in love with the game of football until last year midseason,” he said, “where I realized it is truly the best game that there is and just indulging myself into it rather than just playing it.”

If the Tigers are going to get back on track this year, then they have to dent the scoreboard early and often. They were dead last in total defense a season ago, and with defensive end Charles Harris leaving school early to be a first-round draft pick, a once-fierce pass rush has lost some bite. Expect Faurot Field to host its fair share of shootouts.

Lock has already proven that he can overpower any David, but the time has come for him to take out a few Goliaths.