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GD: If I'm Odom, I go to Jim Sterk and say, "I've got three years left on my contract. I need at least four and preferably five." And if I'm Sterk, I say, "I'm good with that. We'll extend it two years. But the salary remains the same because 11-13 still isn't worth a raise." I think that's ideal for everyone. He can tell recruits he is going to be here for his entire career, but it doesn't increase the financial responsibility to the school if he tanks and goes 4-8 again next year. I'm not positive that will happen...but if he wins one or two more games, I think it will.

GD: 1. Ulmer got thrown in before he was ready. They realized it and rectified it. It's unfortunate in that it cost him a year of eligibility, but it happens. They still like his future.

2. I think if Lock leaves you'll see Missouri look for a graduate transfer QB. Micah Wilson is second in line right now, and I think Mizzou could go with him and/or Taylor Powell, but I think you'd see them chase a one-year bridge guy. And that's even if they sign James Foster or another high school QB.

3. I think he can be the best tight end to ever play here and I include Kellen Winslow in that because I've always said while Winslow went on to be great, I don't know that he was a superstar in college. Don't get me wrong, he was really good, but the game was different and his numbers simply weren't what some of the more recent tight ends have been. I think Albert O can be better than Rucker/Coffman/Egnew by the time he's done.

4. It says two things: One, they needed a lot of immediate help. Two, they found some guys that are good players regardless of what Rivals says.

5. For selfish travel reasons I'd like to see the Liberty Bowl and playing Kansas State or Iowa State would be fine. But from a pure entertainment value standpoint, I'd go with the Texas Bowl against the Longhorns. And I actually think it's pretty likely because A&M was just there last year, the fans aren't going to be excited for any bowl game because they're probably going to have an interim coach and Texas doesn't want to play the Aggies anyway.

GD: My guess is that Odom promotes Ryan Walters to full-time DC and then hires a linebackers or secondary coach. Then if they get the 10th assistant, they add a full-time special teams guy.

GD: A week ago, I'd have said yes. As of today, I'd have a tough time seeing it as a tournament team. That would still be the goal, I'm just not sure whether it would be a realistic one.

GD: 1. Chase Daniel

2. Brad Smith

3. Phil Bradley

4. Blaine Gabbert

5. Corby Jones

Drew Lock can certainly get into this group next year. And maybe Paul Christman should be here, but I'm not going to pretend to know much of anything about him.

GD: Depends on the kid. In some cases, the kid wants to reserve a spot, but doesn't want to make it public, which always indicates to me he's got one foot in the pool, but he's still looking around. In some cases, the staff may want to keep it quiet for a couple reasons. One, they might not want to scare off another kid they're recruiting at the position. Two, they might not want other schools to discover a kid who is being underrecruited.

GD: Oh, I don't really know. I'd put Josh Heupel number one simply because I don't think you want Drew Lock having a third OC in four years (and I think Heupel leaving would nudge Lock closer to the NFL). Based on what I've seen on the field, I think Glen Elarbee is a guy you need to make every effort to keep. But I don't think there's anyone who you classify as irreplaceable.

GD: I think the most important thing was something that Gary said he learned from Don James: Be yourself. And when it goes poorly--and it will--double down on that. You have to be true to you and run your program, not bend to public and media pressure. Trying to please those groups won't get you anywhere. More than anything, that's what Odom's "turnaround" speech told me. Odom believed in what he was doing even when nobody else did. Then he got his players to believe in it.

The second thing, I think, is that the off-field, behind-the-scenes stuff (relationships, chemistry, etc) is every bit as important as the on-field stuff.

Finally, I'd say he learned some of what is unique about coaching at Missouri. Find players, wherever they come from. Work harder in evaluation. This isn't a school you can go down the list of the top 250 players in the country and get very many of them--or really any of them if there's not a prior relationship or a geographic reason for them to look at Missouri.

GD: 1. Depends on the opportunities he has, but it makes it more likely.

2. Yes, I think so.

3. I think their heads are in the game. They just haven't played very well for a couple nights. Without Porter, I think they can still make the finals. It's not a slam dunk, but it's doable. Even if they don't, anything less than 2-1 would be very disappointing, no matter who is on the floor.

GD: Florida--Chip Kelly

Tennessee--Justin Fuente (don't think it will happen so Dan Mullen)

Arkansas--Mike Norvell

Ole Miss--Stay with Matt Luke for a couple years. He's done a decent job

Nebraska--Scott Frost from their perspective, but I wouldn't take it if I was Frost

GD: Huskers--Richie Incognito

Overrated--Only one of those things is overrated. Either that or you misspelled Memphis.

Turnover Chain--Stupid and gimmicky, but it's working so genius

GD: For young teams, I think they can be pretty important. Get guys who are going to have a bigger role next year an extra two weeks of practice. Also it's a good time to build relationships and get your team to bond.

My ranking of the best jobs:

Florida--Tons of local talent and a good tradition (at least for the last 25 years) in a division that should be winnable pretty quickly

Tennessee--See above

UCLA--They have a lot of access to talent, but not as much tradition as the two above.

Nebraska--You can win here. But you can't win like it's 1994. But the division is not good and an opportunity is there to make the league title game on a fairly regular basis. The biggest concern here is outdated expectations. Like Tennessee, Nebraska fans should be pretty happy with an average of nine wins a year. But neither will be.

Arkansas--Incredibly tough division. And a fanbase that I think has expectations that don't match what the program is/can be.

Ole Miss--It's just not realistic to (legally) be one of the top three teams in your own division.

You didn't include Texas A&M here, but if you had, I'd put it below Nebraska and above Arkansas because of the expectations and the division they're in.

GD: For now it's Odom because we KNOW the people that wanted him fired then were wrong (I'm not saying he's got it all figured out and we know he's the man to get it done, but he's at least earned the chance to see for a couple more years). But in the end, I think it very well may be the Porter deal simply because I still expect him on the floor in the next handful of games and in the absence of information, many are assuming the worst.

GD: Legit prospect. The dude is 270 pounds. And Missouri's tight ends actually block a pretty fair amount. In the Rucker/Coffman/Egnew run, they were truly wide receivers with a different name. They were never attached to the line. Albert O frequently is. The tight ends are also lined up in the backfield sometimes. He's a complete player.

GD: Interesting comparison. I think 2017 is more impressive for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's been a five week thing, not a 30 minute thing. I mean, even after beating UConn and Idaho, it would have been easy for players not to believe. But the staff got them to do it. Second, I'm not sure Gary Pinkel would have been fired after 2005. I'm almost certain Barry Odom would have been if they hadn't gotten to at least five wins. Now, what we don't know about 2017 is if Odom builds on it and parlays it into what Pinkel did. Ask me again in four years and my answer might be different.

GD: I mean, on the right day, they could beat anyone. But when you say legitimate shot, to me, that means if they played ten times, could Missouri win four of them. So I'll say Alabama, Auburn and Georgia are still significantly better and would beat Missouri at least seven out of ten. Other than that? Nobody. I mean Mississippi State and LSU have had better seasons and are better teams, but Missouri could beat them. South Carolina is 8-3 (I'm not sure most people realize that), but I think the two are very evenly-matched teams. And I think as of today, Missouri is better than the rest of them.

GD: It's not for lack of effort, but we haven't been able to dig any up. We're trying and will continue to try, but it's tough to get a handle on what's happening there. To our knowledge, no new offers have gone out. My guess is Missouri might wait for some coaching changes and see if there are any quarterbacks they'd have a chance to poach. I think that could be true for some other positions too.

GD: I think this goes for every school. If you're committed and don't sign in December, the coaches are going to go out and recruit as if you're not committed. If they don't fill the spot and you don't find somewhere else you'd rather go, the spot will be there for you in February. But if a kid's committed and tells me he doesn't want to sign in December, I take it as, "I like you okay, but there are some hot girls I want to see if I can hook up with before we get married."

GD: At this point in time, I'm not. And I'm pretty confident my dad isn't. I can't speak for Dave or Mark.

GD: I think this class will end up where most Mizzou classes end up. They'll probably be somewhere between 25 and 45. Like they are virtually every year. Since Rivals started ranking classes (16 years total), Missouri has had one class higher than 25 (21) and four lower than 45 (all between 47 and 49). That's the range for Missouri. Always. Without fail. I think they'll end up there again. The guys you want to watch most closely are the kids Missouri had previously recruited at schools that change coaches like Nebraska, Texas A&M, Arkansas, etc.

GD: Only 13 teams ever have started 1-and-5 and ended up bowl eligible. Missouri is the 14th. Ole Miss is the only SEC team to do it, way back in 1983. The players said Odom told them this week that only one team has ever started 1-and-5 and ended up 8-and-5. I don't know who it was off hand, but will try to find out. So if Missouri can win two more, it's one of the two biggest second half turnarounds in college football history.

GD: The first scenario, Porter. The second scenario, Lock.

GD: Porter. As long as he gets out there by SEC play and he plays the way people think he can play, he's a top three pick. Five at worst. Is it possible Drew could get up there? Sure. But it's really tough so the smart money's on Porter.

GD: I don't think Missouri would be handling it this way with anyone else on the roster. But Porter isn't anyone else. He's a sure fire top five pick with tens (hundreds?) of millions of dollars awaiting him in less than a year. Superstars have different rules. This isn't new. And I will stress again, it's not entirely up to Missouri how to handle it. They are bound to do what the family wants them to do as far as publicly releasing any information.

GD: Nothing happened to him other than other guys being better. When you've got 80 guys on a team, they aren't all going to play. Agbasimere will have an opportunity next year because Missouri isn't going to be incredibly deep at defensive end. That will be a big year for him. If he doesn't play much next year, it's hard to see him ever having an impact.

GD: No NBA GM or scouting director is probably going to be honest about that. At least not with someone they don't know. And I don't know any of those guys at all.

GD: It's a combination of things. Yes, bad shooting and missing Porter are contributing. Iowa State isn't as good as we thought they might be. I don't think they've identified a starting point guard yet. Three of the top seven players are freshmen. But also, they've just had off nights. Off nights happen over the course of a season. One of these games they'll come out and shoot 60% and score 95 points. As many a coach has said, you're never as good as you think and you're never as bad as you think. Missouri hasn't yet lost a game it shouldn't have lost. If they look bad in Orlando and lose two or three games, then we can start to talk about underachieving and whether the goals were too high at the start of the year. But I'm not going to start doing it yet.