With Halloween hiding around the corner, it seems appropriate that we officially call an end to Missouri’s season by saying Saturday’s 35-21 loss to Kentucky was the nail in the Tigers’ coffin.

The biggest culprit in this week’s loss (the fourth consecutive for the Tigers)? An inept run defense that gave up 377 yards to the Wildcats.

Freshman RB Benny Snell Jr. had a career day, running for 192 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore RB Boom Williams added 182 yards and another score.

The worst part of the defensive letdown was the fact that Kentucky didn’t even have to go too deep into its playbook. Straight runs up the middle were gaining 7 or 8 yards seemingly every time.

The Tigers, who were missing DT Terry Beckner Jr. and LB Michael Scherer, among others, played like zombies, letting the full-of-life Wildcats run at will at Faurot Field.

Mizzou allowed 500-plus total yards for the fourth consecutive game, which had never happened. The Tigers also allowed 200-plus rushing yards for the fourth consecutive game. They allowed 300-plus rushing yards for the third time in their past four games.

By dropping to 2-6, the Tigers are all but eliminated from bowl contention, with tough games against Tennessee and Arkansas remaining.

Trying to move on from that defensive horror show, here are some final thoughts on yet another letdown from the Tigers:

3 TAKEAWAYS

Josh Heupel needs to be more aggressive: Several times in the first half, offensive coordinator Josh Heupel elected to punt when the Tigers faced fourth-and-short situations inside Kentucky territory.

And, on multiple occasions, P Corey Fatony’s ensuing punts sailed into the end zone, netting Mizzou minimal field-position changes.

With your team at 2-5 entering Saturday’s game and already trailing an improved Wildcats’ squad, why not go for a first down in those situations?

Heupel set the tone for the Mizzou offense Saturday, and that tone was not one of strength and courage.

With even less to play for in the coming weeks, here’s hoping the Tigers toughen up and try to convert some first downs in enemy territory.

The graduate transfers have had no impact: Before the season, Oklahoma graduate transfer RB Alex Ross and Alabama graduate transfer WR Chris Black were supposed to be big parts of the Mizzou offense.

Ross has been nursing an ankle injury this season but was non-existent vs. Kentucky. He finished with two carries for 2 yards.

Meanwhile, Black had only one catch for 10 yards. Ross had a kick return for 21 yards and Black had two punt returns for -10 yards, so neither is making an impact on special teams, either.

It’s baffling how two players with so much talent can be so invisible for a Mizzou squad that desperately needs them to be productive.

Faurot Field doesn’t offer much of an advantage anymore: With a disappointing pre-kickoff turnout for Saturday’s game, the Tigers were never afforded much of a home-field advantage against the Wildcats.

In fact, as the game wore on, chants of “Go Big Blue!” could be heard reverberating around Faurot Field.

That’s embarrassing for a program that used to be a consistent Top 25 team under Gary Pinkel.

Though barely anyone turned out to see the game, it’s hard to blame them — when you lose to Middle Tennessee to fall to 2-5, it’s nearly impossible to build any hype for the next week’s game.

It’ll be important for Barry Odom to rebuild that home-field advantage next year if he wants to last in Columbia.

REPORT CARD

Offense: D

What happened to the Tigers’ running game?

After big games on the ground in recent weeks, Mizzou only managed 157 rushing yards Saturday.

Freshman standout Damarea Crockett was held to 55 yards on 13 carries after running for nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Meanwhile, the passing game continued to flounder. Though sophomore QB Drew Lock again managed to avoid throwing an interception, it’s only because most of his incompletions landed 5 yards away from the nearest player, receiver or defensive back.

Lock and Co. need to step up their game in the last few contests of the season or this season will become a total wash in terms of development.

Defense: D-

As bad as the Tigers were on defense, they allowed fewer points than they did in losses to Middle Tennessee, Florida and LSU in recent weeks.

However, see the above stats (500+ yards allowed, 200+ rushing yards) and you know all you need to know about how the Tigers performed.

If anything, the Wildcats should be embarrassed that they didn’t score more points against the hapless Missouri defense.

Special Teams: D

PR Johnathon Johnson had a nice punt return to the one-yard line, but he should have scored on the play.

Other than that, special teams was a major disappointment. K Tucker McCann missed a short field goal and P Corey Fatony saw a couple punts sail into the end zone for touchbacks.

Coaching: F

The defense showed marginal improvement with first-year head coach Barry Odom retaking play-calling duties from defensive coordinator DeMontie Cross.

However, the defense was still a weak spot and Heupel’s offense played a very uninspired game.

A 2-10 season would be an utter embarrassment for the Mizzou program, so several assistant coaches might be coaching for their jobs in the coming weeks.

Overall: F

One might be tempted to call this rock bottom for the Mizzou program, but that would be short-sighted.

With four more games left on the schedule, the Tigers can sink way lower in 2016 alone.

Vanderbilt (at home) and South Carolina (on the road) loom as must-win games to restore a shred of dignity into the once-proud program.

GAME BALLS

WR Dimetrios Mason: Along with WR/KR Johnathon Johnson and RB Damarea Crockett, Mason is part of an electric freshman class.

On Saturday, Mason caught four passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. As WRs J’Mon Moore and Chris Black continue to disappoint, Mason has stepped in as a viable offensive option for Drew Lock.

With little to play for moving forward, the Tigers should see how much they can get the ball to Mason in the coming weeks.

DL Josh Augusta: Augusta continued to do it all, scoring the Tigers’ lone rushing touchdown on a 1-yard dive.

The 355-pound lineman (who weighs more than his listed weight) is an absolute bulldozer in goal-line offensive packages and should be used even more on that side of the ball.

He also added three tackles on defense, though it would be nice to see him play a more active role in clogging the middle of the field on opponents’ running plays.

INJURY UPDATE

DL AJ Logan was hurt on the second play of the game, but eventually returned to action.

Unlike last week, the Tigers managed to avoid any serious injuries against the Wildcats.

CB John Gibson, who warmed up but did not play vs. Kentucky, should return next weekend at South Carolina.