Missouri beat Troy 27-17 on Saturday at Faurot Field, but it was a struggle from the second play of the game to the last.

This was supposed to look like the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game: a lopsided matchup with the second string on the field by the second half. That never happened.

Missouri’s secondary was burned repeatedly by Troy quarterback Goose Crowder. The first came on the second play of the game, a [76]-yard touchdown. The second was a 55-yard touchdown to Howard Kinchen just before halftime. Both times, a defender was left on an island with no safety help.

On offense, a week after we were calling Austin Simmons the GOAT, he struggled to connect with his receivers. Many of the misses looked like miscommunication, with receivers not breaking or turning when Simmons expected them to.

The one thing that worked was the outside zone run with Jamal Roberts and Xai’Shaun Edwards. If offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey had leaned on it more, instead of letting Simmons play hero ball like he did last week at Kansas, the offense would have found a rhythm.

Most of the good news came on defense, where the front seven carried the team. They forced back-to-back turnovers late in the second quarter and kept pressure on Crowder all night. Special teams delivered too, with a Fowlkes punt return touchdown and a punter who kept pinning Troy deep.

Mizzou is officially at a crossroads. Either this is the point in the season where the carriage turns back into a pumpkin and the playoff hopes die, or it’s the reality check this team needed to regroup and fix its mistakes. We’ll find out which on Saturday, September 26, in Starkville.

I’ve always believed you learn more from losses than wins. This one goes in the win column, but Mizzou should treat it like a loss. The margin should have been bigger, and practice this week should look different.