Barry Odom hears the noise, both good and bad.

For the Missouri coach, it’s been more of the latter in 2017. Well, a lot more. Before Saturday, the Tigers were 0-5 against Power 5 opponents, having been outscored 210-92. They were winless against SEC foes and in clear danger of failing to win a conference game for the first time since 1971.

The fact that Missouri beat up on Idaho and UConn in recent weeks didn’t quiet concerns over the program starting 1-5 with the lone win coming against FCS Missouri State in the season opener.

When Odom got on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday, he was asked by a reporter about people writing off the Tigers following their early-season struggles. Here was the exchange:

Odom: You’re telling me there were doubts after the 1-5 start?

Reporter: Yeah.

Odom: I’m joking.

Odom earned the right to crack a joke or two after his team demolished Florida 45-16 last Saturday. The Tigers finally put together a complete game against an SEC foe, and one that actually has a competent defense.

Odom knew what was being said about his team before the Florida game. He also knows what’s being said now.

Missouri — the team that started off 1-5 — has a legitimate chance to end the regular season on a 6-game winning streak.

Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Odom didn’t want to get into the possibility of running the table or anything like that on Wednesday. Like all coaches would in his spot, he preached the importance on focusing on this week’s opponent, Tennessee.

The Vols, by the way, are the first of three opponents that Missouri will face who have one or fewer SEC victories:

  • Nov. 11: vs. Tennessee (4-5, 0-5)
  • Nov. 18: at Vanderbilt (4-5, 0-5)
  • Nov. 25: at Arkansas (4-5, 1-4)

Mizzou is likely going to be favored in all three of its remaining games. If it plays like it did on Saturday against Florida, none of those games will be close.

The Tigers played their best game of the season on both sides of the ball. They gained 228 yards through the air, 227 on the ground, and they held Florida to 3 yards per carry. Given the Gators’ inept passing game, that was more than enough for Missouri to cruise.

But while last Saturday was the first time that Missouri put it all together, the offensive effort wasn’t out of the blue.

One could’ve traced that back to the first half against Georgia in mid-October. Against a Bulldogs defense that hadn’t allowed more than 20 points in a game all season, Missouri hung 21 points in the first 19 minutes in Athens. Kirby Smart adjusted and limited the Tigers to just 28 points on the night, but it served as a monumental confidence boost after such a slow start.

“I think it helped,” Odom said about the Georgia first half. “… There were times in that Georgia game that helped us move in the right direction. Yes, sir.”

Sure, Drew Lock’s deep ball was on target and a big reason why Mizzou hung around in that first half. But there were other wrinkles, like this little tight end shovel pass, that were effective in that revival of a half at Georgia.

Lock’s management of the offense has improved greatly since that slow start. Dating to the Kentucky game that preceded the Georgia game, Lock has had five straight games of 3 or more touchdowns (19-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio). Take out the Idaho and UConn games and Lock still had 10 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 836 passing yards and a 60 percent completion rate against three SEC defenses.

It’s not just the numbers that improved. Tennessee coach Butch Jones noticed the development of a lot of the pro-style attributes that make Lock a challenging defensive matchup.

“His biggest asset is his quickness of release,” Jones said about Lock. “He can throw off a platform, he can move the pocket, but again, I think it’s his overall arm strength, accuracy and just the quickness of his release.”

Jones noted that Missouri is first in the SEC with 484 yards of total offense per game, and that their 8 sacks allowed showed how tricky it is to scheme for.

“They challenge you. They challenge your discipline on every single play from getting lined up fast, to communication, to playing with great fundamentals in details, to creating space where you have to tackle one-on-one in the open field,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of things that go into that. They’re executing at a very high level.”

Mizzou’s offense is executing at the level many thought it would execute at in the beginning of the season. It just took a bit for the likes of Lock, J’Mon Moore and Emanuel Hall to get on the same page. And believe me, they have.

But perhaps the key for Missouri’s potential six-game winning streak is the defense. Against Florida’s woeful offense, the Tigers delivered what was easily their top defensive performance of the season. Terry Beckner Jr. led the way for a unit that racked up 8 tackles for loss, which was actually par for the course.

To the surprise of many, Missouri actually averages 7.6 tackles for loss per game (Jones made sure to note that, too). Since a 51-14 drubbing by Auburn in Week 4, the Tigers have recorded at least 6 tackles for loss in all five contests.

The efficiency on both sides of the ball is finally there, according to Odom. The Saturday execution is finally matching what Odom said the Tigers have been seeing in practice all season. He went so far as to say that they were coming off their best Tuesday practice of the year.

If Missouri really has turned the corner, the product on the field will quiet all of those doubts that have surrounded Odom in Year 2. A postseason berth would confirm that the Tigers are finally getting back to the relevancy they lacked in the last two bowl-less seasons.

Whether he admits it or not, Odom knows that six-game winning streak is within reach.

“That’s so important when you get into the month of November that you get an opportunity to hit your stride,” Odom said. “And we’re getting close. We’re improving in a lot of different areas, and they’re playing with confidence.

“I’m excited for them.”