Five topics from columnist Ben Frederickson that St. Louis sports fans should be discussing:
1. The Odom numbers that are becoming hard to ignore and explain
As Mizzou athletics director Jim Sterk wrestles with the future of Tigers football coach Barry Odom, these numbers have to be heavy on his mind . . .
.455: Saturday’s loss to Tennessee inched Odom’s overall winning percentage down below .500. He’s 24-25 overall. No matter what happens the rest of this season, this will be the first season of his four in which he’s not won more games than the previous season.
One: Under Odom, the Tigers have one win in 10 meetings against Top 25 teams. There’s last season’s upset of Florida in The Swamp, and that’s it. Including that 38-17 signature win, Mizzou has been outscored 336-180 against Top 25 opponents with Odom as head coach.
Five: Let’s call this one three-four-five. Three times in four Odom-coached seasons, the Tigers have lost five games in a row. The only exception was last season, a team that lost three in a row and four out of five in the middle of its season.
Seven: Odom’s Tigers have seven more losses (19) than wins (12) against SEC opponents since he took over for former coach Gary Pinkel. That includes the current five-game conference losing streak. This is not a rate that is changing much, either. Mizzou is 6-9 in its most recent 15 conference games.
Twelve: Odom’s Tiger teams have lost 12 games to teams they were favored by Las Vegas to beat. Their record against underdogs is 22-12 after Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, another team they were favored to beat.
Nineteen: Under Odom, Mizzou has 19 more losses than wins against teams that finished their season with or currently have winning records this season. The record reads 3-22, and that includes Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, which improved to 6-5 and became bowl eligible for the first time since 2016.
i still dont think he gets canned THIS YEAR... next year? yes...
1. The Odom numbers that are becoming hard to ignore and explain
As Mizzou athletics director Jim Sterk wrestles with the future of Tigers football coach Barry Odom, these numbers have to be heavy on his mind . . .
.455: Saturday’s loss to Tennessee inched Odom’s overall winning percentage down below .500. He’s 24-25 overall. No matter what happens the rest of this season, this will be the first season of his four in which he’s not won more games than the previous season.
One: Under Odom, the Tigers have one win in 10 meetings against Top 25 teams. There’s last season’s upset of Florida in The Swamp, and that’s it. Including that 38-17 signature win, Mizzou has been outscored 336-180 against Top 25 opponents with Odom as head coach.
Five: Let’s call this one three-four-five. Three times in four Odom-coached seasons, the Tigers have lost five games in a row. The only exception was last season, a team that lost three in a row and four out of five in the middle of its season.
Seven: Odom’s Tigers have seven more losses (19) than wins (12) against SEC opponents since he took over for former coach Gary Pinkel. That includes the current five-game conference losing streak. This is not a rate that is changing much, either. Mizzou is 6-9 in its most recent 15 conference games.
Twelve: Odom’s Tiger teams have lost 12 games to teams they were favored by Las Vegas to beat. Their record against underdogs is 22-12 after Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, another team they were favored to beat.
Nineteen: Under Odom, Mizzou has 19 more losses than wins against teams that finished their season with or currently have winning records this season. The record reads 3-22, and that includes Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, which improved to 6-5 and became bowl eligible for the first time since 2016.
i still dont think he gets canned THIS YEAR... next year? yes...
