Missouri football is a combined 17 points from being 3-0 in SEC play, but instead it will look for its first SEC victory at home against Vanderbilt on Oct. 22.

And the Tigers will have a lot to think about during their bye week.

They showed a good amount of fight on Saturday afternoon after getting down by double digits early and had a chance down to the final minutes of the game. But it was the Florida defense that ultimately made the plays it needed to, and the host Gators prevailed 24-17.

Here’s a look into 3 things we took away from the loss:

1. Missouri continues to compete but can’t get the job done

It sounds like a broken record at this point — the Tigers have shown flashes and have stayed with even the best of teams (see last week’s matchup against then-top-ranked Georgia that was decided by less than 1 touchdown for reference). But at the end of the day, a loss is a loss, and Mizzou remains winless in conference play at 0-3.

Now on a 3-game losing streak, the Tigers have dropped each one of those contests by a margin of 7 points or less. Here’s what that looks like on paper:

— at Florida: 24-17, L
— vs. Georgia: 26-22, L
— at Auburn: 17-14, L (OT)

These heartbreaking losses have been due to a combination of missed opportunities for an offense that struggles to play complementary football with its underrated defense, questionable play-calling and playing conservative football overall.

In Saturday’s particular case, it was a comeback effort that fell short after last week’s opposite failure to hold onto a lead and find the right level of explosiveness to come out on the right side of the win column.

2. Nathaniel Peat drives the ground game

One of the biggest bright spots from Saturday’s performance was Peat, who had a huge day, crossing the century mark on the ground with 137 rushing yards on 20 carries and 1 touchdown.

Consider that quarterback Brady Cook completed 22-of-30 passes for 220 yards without a touchdown and 2 interceptions and that Mookie Cooper finished as the leading receiver with just 58 yards, and Peat’s contributions become all the more important as Missouri wasn’t able to find a huge amount of success with the passing game.

To this point in the season, Peat has 262 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving TD. This marks the 2nd game this year that he’s rushed for 100 yards or more, and he has occasionally contributed as a receiver out of the backfield with 8 receptions for 51 yards and the 1 touchdown.

3. Passing game must be more consistent

There’s no doubt that Cook has shown flashes but has also had the ups and downs that are expected from a quarterback who is still building up his sample size from an experience standpoint. At the beginning of the game, Mizzou looked solid in the passing game and Cook continued to complete the short-distance throws he has been executing well this season.

But while he’s shown the ability to do a lot with his legs and has had some impressive deep passes, Cook did struggle at other levels of the field and the effort through the air eventually lost steam. Struggling to finish drives and decision-making issues at critical times have been among the many problems for Mizzou on the offensive side of the ball. Taking the next step to getting wins in these close games and becoming a legitimate SEC contender starts here.

Missouri has talented targets who have shown the ability to produce like Dominic Lovett and Luther Burden, who was replaced after he sustained an injury in the 2nd half on Saturday. But the Tigers need to start fast in this area and keep it rolling throughout the game to open up their offense. This would help them avoid some of these painful losses in games that have looked winnable because of their strong play in other areas.