It took one minute and seven seconds for Luther Burden III to show Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz that he should’ve been the punt returner from the start of the season when he returned a 78-yard punt for a touchdown in the Tigers' 34-17 win over Abilene Christian.

This was a game where there weren't going to be too many positives to take away for Missouri (2-1) from facing an FCS team at home but finally letting Burden be the starting punt returner is definitely one.

Drinkwitz said earlier in the week he had to do a better job at getting Burden the ball and the easiest way to increase that number was to put him in at punt returner, and quarterback Brady Cook seemed to appreciate it.

“That’s huge when you open up the game with that (Burden’s 78-yard punt return for a touchdown). It just gives us a layer of confidence for that first (offensive) drive, so that was huge,” Cook said.

Why did it take three weeks for Drinkwitz to name Burden the starting punt returner? Who knows. But it’s a start.

What’s even better than Burden returning the ball is him seeing more targets offensively. He had six receptions for 58 yards with his longest catch being for 18 yards. He also had three carries for eight yards.

“The way things worked out at Kansas State, we didn’t really connect much. It was an emphasis to get him on this week,” Cook said. “There’s going to be opportunities and plays for you.”

One thing that will probably happen going forward is that Burden will be targeted more and Drinkwitz is going to slowly unveil that protective covering over his usage. What’s almost a certainty is that Burden will be the punt returner for the rest of the season as long as he’s healthy.

The real question is will his touches keep remain like this as the Tigers head into conference play?

All season the hype has been about the freshman wide receiver from East St. Louis in Burden. But there’s an East St. Louis sophomore wide receiver who can play and his name is Dominic Lovett.

Lovett had 26 receptions for 173 yards last season, and he almost eclipsed that total in week three with seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Lovett has been the Tigers' best wide receiver all season and has served as Cook’s go-to receiver at the onset of the season.

“He’s just a great player, a great weapon for the offense. When he’s one-on-one with somebody I try to find him. So, I like that. Domo the safety blanket,” Cook said. … “I’ve seen him mature in just how seriously he takes the game. He’s really grown into this thing. He takes pride in it and he cares about Mizzou and he cares about winning.”

Drinkwitz said that the talent has been there but they’ve just been waiting on Lovett to put it all together and that maybe competition from Lovett’s former East St. Louis teammate in Burden has motivated him.

"We knew he was an electric player. We’ve known that since we started recruiting him, and I think that consistency that he’s approached every day with 一 he’s a competitive young man," Drinkwitz said. "And there’s another guy out there that he’s (Lovett) competing with (Burden), and he wants to let everyone know he’s from East St. Louis too.”

Lovett actually said that Burden has been vital in his confidence level, and he believes his newfound confidence has been key to the start he’s had this season.

“When Luther got here he was just so free and that just kind of rubbed off on me. So, that’s a credit to him, my mom and pops, the coaches, and everybody who helped me come out of my shell this season. I had to take into consideration that it’s just football and that I need to calm down. And the biggest thing 一 is to have fun.”

Lovett is certainly having fun through three games with a team-high 16 receptions for 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Tigers’ defense didn’t have the game they had in week one but it was also much better than the defense they had in week two. In fact, the defense they played versus Abilene Christian was closer to their week one performance than their week two performance.

“I thought our defense played really well in the third quarter forcing those two turnovers,” Drinkwitz said.

So, Drinkwitz didn’t have too much to say about the defense after the post-game presser, mostly because he was talking about how well Burden and Lovett played or because he was talking about how they could improve offensively.

The Tigers’ forced nine punts, two turnovers and three tackles for loss. The score was 34-17 but seven of those points came off a strip fumble that Abilene Christian’s defense forced on Brady Cook for a touchdown, and the last touchdown was when the Tigers' second and third string unit was in the game.

What’s good about the defense is the secondary. Sure, it hasn’t been tested by an elite offense or a team that throws the ball much but it is doing its job. That’s important to note because the defensive line has been quiet since week one.

The defensive line is what may be a question about the defense. It recorded no sacks and virtually no pressure forced either versus an FCS team.

If the defensive line can’t force pressure versus Abilene Christian, it will be hard-pressed to force pressure in conference play.

It's really telling when an SEC coach doesn't think his team can get one yard around midfield versus an FCS team.

There was a point in this game where Missouri was near midfield and tried to get the Wildcats to jump offside as opposed to run a play and get the yard. Abilene Christian did not jump offsides and Missouri took a delay of game penalty before punting.

That is all you really need to know about the struggles of the line.

Missouri rushed for 195 yards on 42 attempts (4.6 yards per carry), and it wasn’t because the ball carriers were running through massive holes. Like week one, the yards after contact is how the Tigers were accumulating yards. By the time running backs receive the handoff they are often instantly faced with a defender.

At the end of the first half, Missouri had 40 rushing yards on 15 rushes (2.7 yards per carry) but also four penalties for 30 yards.

When the offensive line wasn’t committing five holding penalties it allowed at least one huge hit on Cook. Abilene Christian forced one sack and it was a strip fumble in the end zone, which forced Cook to briefly retreat to the medical tent during the Wildcats’ extra point attempt.

It is worth noting that the team was missing starting left guard Xavier Delgado on Saturday, and Cook’s fumble was a result of a lineman coming through a gap that would’ve been manned by Delgado. Does that mean Delgado would’ve played better than his replacement? Impossible to know, but Mizzou can only play who's available.

Drinkwitz alluded to opening up competition among the offensive line in his post-game press conference.

“We got to go back and see what the best five guys are if we’re being honest,” Drinkwitz said. “We can’t hold. We put a couple of guys and then they got holding penalties. … We got to figure that out because penalties and poor execution don’t win in this league.”

That is a reason to press the panic button.

Now, a reason to not push the panic button is that it is only week three. It's early, but SEC play starts next week and the time to figure things out is running low.

Stay up to date on all the Mizzou news with your premium subscription

Talk about this story and more in The Tigers' Lair

Make sure you're caught up on all the Tiger news and headlines

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video and live streaming coverage

Follow our entire staff on Twitter