Missouri is 0-2. The Tigers have been outscored by 42 points. They travel to play the defending national champions in Baton Rouge next.

But Tigers fans, there’s reason to celebrate. Mizzou has its QB.

Dating back to 2016 with Drew Lock, Missouri has had an unquestioned starter under center each season. But 2020 is different for several reasons, and so, too, is the QB situation, coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

“I don’t think this is going to be a typical season like we’ve ever had before,” Drinkwitz said last week. “I don’t think we have enough data to think we’re going to be able to go through the whole season with one quarterback.”

Prior to the start of both games this season, Drinkwitz indicated the Tigers would rotate redshirt junior Shawn Robinson and redshirt freshman Connor Bazelak at QB.

Robinson got the nod against Alabama and played well, finishing 19-for-25 with 185 yards and 1 touchdown. Bazelak was responsible for a 3-and-out drive in the second quarter, then didn’t come back in until late in the game when the Tide’s second-team defense was in. Bazelak looked decent in the finish (7-for-14 for 68 yards), but it was tough to tell against the competition.

Robinson again got the start in Saturday’s 35-12 loss to No. 21 Tennessee, but the Tigers offense was stuck in neutral. In 2 drives, Robinson had 0 yards passing and -4 yards rushing. The Volunteers were locked into the Missouri run, and Tennessee was beginning to run away with the score.

Insert Bazelak.

Two quick completions immediately dropped the Tennessee linebackers off the line of scrimmage. A 28-yard jet sweep by Larry Rountree III on the next play, followed by a 21-yard completion to Damon Hazelton, had the Tigers humming deep in the red zone, but a dropped pass by Jalen Knox on the Tennessee 5-yard line stalled the drive.

Bazelak led another drive on the ensuing possession that ended in 3 points, but he had a potential 84-yard bomb drop through the hands of a wide-open Dominic Gicinto.

The Volunteers took a two-possession lead into the half, but what felt like a game destined for a rolling clock turned into something much more competitive with the introduction of Bazelak.

He consistently looked calm for a kid playing in just his fourth game of SEC football, even when the odds were stacked against him with a crumbling pocket or botched snaps.

Twice on a third-quarter drive following what seemed like a game-killing 92-yard series by Tennessee, Bazelak and the Missouri offense converted on fourth downs, leading to their lone touchdown of the game. A 37-yard completion to Logan Christopherson was not only a beauty of a pass, but an act of confidence from Drinkwitz in his freshman QB to make the bold pass rather than run for short yardage.

A Bazelak interception at the Tennessee 17 in the fourth quarter doused the small embers of a comeback, but the Tigers would not have been anywhere close to that situation without the play of their QB.

Bazelak finished 13-of-21 for 218 yards and the lone pick, not eye-popping numbers but enough to keep the Volunteers from running away with things.

Robinson never returned to the game after he was supplanted by Bazelak, but that doesn’t always have to be the case going forward, as the TCU transfer does provide a running threat and better ability to run the option.

It’s unclear at this point how Drinkwitz will change his QB usage moving forward, as he declined postgame to update the situation. But it seems like making Bazelak the starter would be more prudent. His superior passing acumen not only provides more explosive plays (it accounted for 4 plays of greater than 20 yards), but it also opens up the run game for Rountree and Tyler Badie.

There may not be much optimism for any more than maybe 2 wins this season for the Tigers. But with Bazelak, a brighter future may be just around the corner.