While Georgia coach Kirby Smart was able to bask in the glory of his first SEC victory and quarterback Jacob Eason was being lauded as the conference’s next star quarterback after the true freshman led his team to a game-winning drive in the final minute on Saturday, Missouri was left wondering how it let a win slip away.

In the aftermath of a heartbreaking 28-27 home loss to the Bulldogs -- one in which Mizzou led for most of the second half -- head coach Barry Odom expressed hurt and frustration with the loss, in addition to determination to turn things around. At the end of the day, the Tigers are 1-2.

But regardless of the loss, Mizzou has plenty of reason to be optimistic following Saturday’s performance.

When factoring in the opponent, the Tigers looked better on Saturday night than they have in more than a year. Taking into account the performances on both sides of the ball, like a 471-yard offensive output while the defense held Georgia running back Nick Chubb to a mere 63 yards on 19 carries, Mizzou looked significantly different than the 5-7 outfit that missed a bowl game in 2015.

The defense, which has been consistently good since the Tigers joined the SEC, remains solid. The offense, which is what sputtered last season when the Tigers suspended former quarterback Maty Mauk and threw true freshman Drew Lock into the fire, is what looks drastically different.

By almost every offensive statistical measure, the Tigers have improved.

They average significantly more yards per play (6.25 this season compared to 4.36 last season), yards per pass attempt are way up (8.66 from 5.32) and they've even seen an improvement in the run game, averaging nearly 34 more yards per game on the ground than in 2015.

Last season, 434 yards was their best single-game offensive output (vs. BYU); this season, they've outperformed that number in all three games: 462 vs. West Virginia, 647 vs. Eastern Michigan and 471 vs. Georgia. Their meager average of 280.1 yards per game last season is now up to a much more impressive 526.7 through three games this season.

They're also better from a pure scoring standpoint and in critical areas like third downs, where they've taken a 15 percent improvement in success rate, converting third downs at a 45.5 percent success rate this season vs. 30.2 percent last year.

It's a small sample size so far, but if Missouri can sustain that type of output, it all adds up to a team that will definitely go bowling this season and is moving back in the right direction.

Josh Heupel, the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator, deserves plenty of credit, particularly for the improvement of Lock. The true sophomore quarterback looks calm and confident, and the Tigers’ offense has moved the ball consistently this season. Lock mentioned this offseason that he learned a lot from Heupel, a former college quarterback himself who was once a Heisman Trophy finalist. So far, it shows.

It also helps that J'Mon Moore, who caught eight passes for 196 yards on Saturday, looks like a go-to receiver, something the Tigers missed last season.

There are still things to correct. The Tigers turned the ball over five times, including three interceptions thrown by Lock and a fumble by Moore on the last drive that ended any chance of a last-second comeback. That will lose you ballgames, as they learned the hard way. The running game still has progress to make, because 37 rushes for 95 yards, which was their output on Saturday, won’t be good enough down the road.

But the Tigers have reason to be encouraged, despite the way things ended on Saturday.