You could say this Missouri Tigers team has thrown conventional football out the window over the past few weeks.

They are 2-2 in their last four games, which includes a four-point home loss to Indiana, a fourth-quarter comeback win against South Carolina, a blowout loss to Georgia and a blowout win against Florida where the Tigers accumulated just 119 yards of offense.

This team has been far from normal, but now Missouri is on the upswing, thanks to that 42-13 win in The Swamp last week. The offense continued to struggle, but it was the defense and special teams units that picked Missouri up. With Vanderbilt coming up, the Tigers’ offense has a big opportunity to right itself this weekend against an inferior opponent.

RELATED: Sticking to the script: How Marcus Murphy saved the season

“It’s important to get something established every week,” head coach Gary Pinkel said. There’s nothing magical here. You keep working hard and you stay positive and I think we’ll do OK.”

Missouri’s offensive struggles are no secret. Quarterback Maty Mauk hasn’t thrown a single touchdown nor eclipsed more than 132 passing yards in his three SEC games this season. He’s coming off his worst outing of the year, completing 6-of-18 passes for 20 yards and one interception.

Running the football has been slightly more productive in terms of touchdowns, but they’ve failed to gain 100 yards in two of Missouri’s conference games. Not to mention, the offensive line issues have amplified the offensive deficiencies.

Fortunately for Missouri, Vanderbilt is not a good football team.

For their only two wins this season, the Commodores have narrowly escaped the clutches of defeat against UMass and Charleston Southern and they’ve looked miserable in several of their games. They rank 116th nationally in both passing and rushing offense. The defense isn’t much better either, allowing 34 points per game.

Also, the timing of this game couldn’t be much better for Missouri. Following Vanderbilt, the Tigers will face four quality SEC opponents — Kentucky, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas — and Missouri is still very much in the SEC East race, trailing Georgia by just one game.

The importance of each remaining game on Missouri’s schedule only maximizes the importance of the offense correcting its struggles as soon as possible. Vanderbilt’s allowed more than 200 passing yards in every single game but one this year, so it’s safe to say Mauk should have his opportunities to make big plays.

He’s still a young, inexperienced quarterback who is going through a tough time, so his ability to bounce back in a very winnable game will not only bring a lift to the offense, but to his confidence as well.

If Missouri’s offense can get on track after this weekend, the Tigers will be in a much better position to make a run to Atlanta and win the SEC East for the second time in just three seasons.