Quick Takeaways from Missouri’s loss to Tennessee

Well, Missouri avoided history. So, there’s that. Mizzou finally scored more than 14 points for the first time in its last five games. Oh, and Nick Bolton was good again.

Otherwise, there’s nothing positive to tell you guys after this one. Mizzou’s collapse continues. The season that was supposed to be a “spike” year for Barry Odom has been anything but. And now, with another game in the loss column, his future at Mizzou is squarely in question.

Without further adieu, my takeaways from yet another Mizzou loss.

1 - The secondary met its match.

The one thing Mizzou could hang its hat on even during the losing streak was the defense. With Demarkus Acy out for the night and Jarvis Ware sidelined after an early injury, Tennessee shredded the Tigers’ secondary to the tune of 415 passing yards. It’s just the second time Missouri has allowed more than 400 yards through the air since 2013. It also happens to be the first time Tennessee has thrown for 400+ yards since 2016. Not ideal.

2 - The offense remains a disaster.

There’s nothing that can be done. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if it’s Kelly Bryant’s hamstring or Derek Dooley’s play-calling or the offensive line’s inability to block or the receivers’ inability to get open or Albert O’s inability to play (what happened???)... or maybe it’s some combination of all of the above?

I think what’s most concerning is the lack of answers for the future. The running back situation appears to be fine. But has anyone emerged as a future option at wide receiver? Who is the quarterback of the future? There are obvious issues with the offense for the right now. But the bigger problem is the questions for the future.

3 - Mizzou has nothing to lose and they’re still unwilling to be aggressive

It’s 4th & 5 from your own 38-yard line. You’re down 24-20 with five minutes to play. Your defense is exhausted. Your team is 5-5. The season is spiraling out of control.

Go for it.

I know it’s risky. I know it feels wrong. But that’s a spot you have to get aggressive. If you don’t get it, you lose. But they didn’t go for it... and they still lost.

Mizzou’s offense isn’t good. The odds were probably against the Tigers picking up five yards in that spot. But you have to try. And they weren’t willing to give it a shot. That was disappointing.

4 - There’s only one other thing worth talking about, and it’s Barry Odom.

I think you can make a strong case Odom is - and should be - coaching for his job next week against Arkansas. The Razorbacks stink. They’re a bad football team. That’s not a game any team should lose.

It’s a game this team can not lose.

Odom had expectations coming into the season and he’s failed to live up to them. So much so that I do believe it’s fair to question if he’s the answer at Mizzou moving forward. I’m sure we’ll talk more about this in the days and weeks to come, but tonight was disappointing as much because it was predictable as it was because it hurt.

We all saw tonight coming. And then it happened. Odom couldn’t do anything to prevent it. A season with so much promise is on the verge of unmitigated disaster.