Ten Thoughts for Monday Morning
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All right, let's get going.
1. Mizzou opens camp 11 days from now. Somebody asked me last week if this was the most important season since at least 2014. We say that every season. Every year is important for one reason or another. They all feel like the biggest one ever when they start. This is the first season Barry Odom starts (since his first one) with no real thought that he might get fired, but in the SEC, you're one bad season away from that talk. Here's my Odom hot seat factor broken down by win total this season:
0-3: He might very well get fired this year
4-5: He's not gonna get fired this year but he'd be uncomfortable starting next year
6-7: It's not a good season. It's good enough to keep him here certainly, but his seat will be warm next August
8-9: We're not going to entertain any discussion he's coaching for his job in 2020
10 or more: Jimmy Sexton busts down the door of Jim Sterk's office like
2. Here are my ten most important players on the roster
1) Kelly Bryant
2) Jordan Elliott
3) Whoever starts at defensive end
4) Joshuah Bledsoe/Tyree Gillespie
5) Albert Okwuegbunam
6) Yasir Durant
7) Cale Garrett
8) Larry Rountree
9) Tucker McCann (should probably be higher)
10) Christian Holmes
3. Here are the five biggest questions that will shape the season:
1) Can special teams just not kill them? They don't have to be great. They just need to not be awful.
2) Is there a pass rush? I don't care where it comes from, it just has to come.
3) How different does the offense look? It's going to look different. They'll go about it in new ways. Just how different?
4) Who steps up at receiver? I didn't mention any receivers in my top ten other than Albert O because I think wideout is probably the most easily replaceable position on a roster. Somebody's going to catch the ball. I expect Jonathan Johnson to lead the team in catches. I expect Johnathan Nance to be the biggest deep threat. Of the rest, who splits from the pack?
5) Do they avoid the "Holy crap how did they lose that game?" game? Last year it was Kentucky and South Carolina. The year before, to a lesser extent, it was South Carolina and in a different way Purdue. The year before that Middle Tennessee. Almost every team loses a game we don't see coming, so I'm not saying Missouri has to completely avoid upsets or losses in swing games. But they can't lose one that you thought they had under control (UK, SC, SC) or one that comes against a team that just shouldn't beat them under reasonable circumstances (Purdue, MTSU).
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