1) I don't know what it means for next year guys. I'm virtually certain Barry Odom is the coach against Arkansas on Friday. Beyond that, I really don't know. I can't make any sort of strong argument he should come back at 6-6. There are some that believe he will. I don't know. I do feel strongly that if Missouri loses next Friday there's going to be a new head coach. This morning, I said I'd probably go 55/45 he gets fired with a 1-1 finish. I guess that's still about where I'm at. I believe there are some people with influence who think he should get another year. I also believe there are some who don't. We will find out next week. I also want to say I understand the argument that beating a historically bad Arkansas team shouldn't be enough to sway anybody's opinion. That's fair. I'm not going to get into what should happen, we're simply going to report what does.
2) This was Missouri's best offensive game in six weeks...and it was still awful. There are simply no playmakers on this team right now. The best player on the offense was Tyler Badie. After that it was probably Barrett Banister, who came as a walk-on, and then Daniel Parker Jr, who came as a defensive end. It's depressing to watch. We thought this offense was going to be really good this year. It is the exact opposite.
3) Kelly Bryant isn't healthy. You could tell on a couple of the runs. But that doesn't explain everything. He simply holds the ball way too long. If he's staying in the pocket because he doesn't think he can run, he shouldn't be playing. But I don't think it was that so much as he's simply slow to make decisions. The quarterback wasn't the only issue...but he was an issue.
4) The defense only gave up 24 points, but it got absolutely torched by a guy who lost his starting job for a mediocre team. Jarrett Guarantano threw for 415 yards and averaged 10 yards PER ATTEMPT. At some point, I wondered why Tennessee was ever running the ball. The UT receivers are very good and deserve some credit. Injuries in the secondary played a part. But Missouri was simply outclassed defensively by a team that could only do one thing doing it over and over and over. UT was 9/16 on third down. It seemed much better than that. I don't know off hand the number of third and longs the Vols converted and I don't have time to look it up before the press conference, but I've got to think they hit on third and eight or longer at least five times. And it really wasn't even hard.
5) I feel for the seniors. I'm not going to say they deserved better because they got the season and the last night they earned this season. But senior day shouldn't be this depressing. And that's where we're at. I haven't read a ton, but I get the feeling that we've passed anger and entered into acceptance, depression and borderline apathy. An SEC town shouldn't be as dead as Columbia was today on game day. They announced 49,000. There were far fewer than that in the stands all night. And I completely understand why. As I walked to the postgame presser, all you could really hear was Marching Mizzou trying its best to play loudly enough to drown out Rocky Top. It didn't work. When there's still anger, it's a good sign. I don't know if people are still angry. And that's perhaps the most damning thing.
One more thought I forgot: I understand people will be mad they punted and say he waved the white flag. I thought it was the right call. You can argue with the third down play call if you want. But all year we've wanted Bryant to run more. He'd run successfully a couple times. If the draw picks up a yard or two, you go for it fourth down and one or two. But with this offense on fourth and five, I just don't think you can. The defense has been pretty good all year. It was the right time to trust them. They didn't get the stop. I understand most probably won't agree with me, but I thought he made the right call there. Since it didn't work, it was the wrong call.
I'll have plenty more to come
2) This was Missouri's best offensive game in six weeks...and it was still awful. There are simply no playmakers on this team right now. The best player on the offense was Tyler Badie. After that it was probably Barrett Banister, who came as a walk-on, and then Daniel Parker Jr, who came as a defensive end. It's depressing to watch. We thought this offense was going to be really good this year. It is the exact opposite.
3) Kelly Bryant isn't healthy. You could tell on a couple of the runs. But that doesn't explain everything. He simply holds the ball way too long. If he's staying in the pocket because he doesn't think he can run, he shouldn't be playing. But I don't think it was that so much as he's simply slow to make decisions. The quarterback wasn't the only issue...but he was an issue.
4) The defense only gave up 24 points, but it got absolutely torched by a guy who lost his starting job for a mediocre team. Jarrett Guarantano threw for 415 yards and averaged 10 yards PER ATTEMPT. At some point, I wondered why Tennessee was ever running the ball. The UT receivers are very good and deserve some credit. Injuries in the secondary played a part. But Missouri was simply outclassed defensively by a team that could only do one thing doing it over and over and over. UT was 9/16 on third down. It seemed much better than that. I don't know off hand the number of third and longs the Vols converted and I don't have time to look it up before the press conference, but I've got to think they hit on third and eight or longer at least five times. And it really wasn't even hard.
5) I feel for the seniors. I'm not going to say they deserved better because they got the season and the last night they earned this season. But senior day shouldn't be this depressing. And that's where we're at. I haven't read a ton, but I get the feeling that we've passed anger and entered into acceptance, depression and borderline apathy. An SEC town shouldn't be as dead as Columbia was today on game day. They announced 49,000. There were far fewer than that in the stands all night. And I completely understand why. As I walked to the postgame presser, all you could really hear was Marching Mizzou trying its best to play loudly enough to drown out Rocky Top. It didn't work. When there's still anger, it's a good sign. I don't know if people are still angry. And that's perhaps the most damning thing.
One more thought I forgot: I understand people will be mad they punted and say he waved the white flag. I thought it was the right call. You can argue with the third down play call if you want. But all year we've wanted Bryant to run more. He'd run successfully a couple times. If the draw picks up a yard or two, you go for it fourth down and one or two. But with this offense on fourth and five, I just don't think you can. The defense has been pretty good all year. It was the right time to trust them. They didn't get the stop. I understand most probably won't agree with me, but I thought he made the right call there. Since it didn't work, it was the wrong call.
I'll have plenty more to come
