Ten Thoughts for Monday Morning
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So let me just let you know up front. I'm going to talk football for the first half of this and basketball for the second half. I'm not going to talk about whether the coach is going to get fired and break that down in depth because, believe it or not, it's possible to have a discussion without that. My opinion as of right now is that unless Missouri loses out and looks bad doing it, Barry Odom is probably coming back. I will admit that my read on the situation could be incorrect. It's simply my opinion based on my feelings and talking to people (none of whom would be directly involved in making the decision). But it will all be determined over the next three weeks and I'm more interested in talking about WHY this offense has gone completely in the tank and doing it at a deeper level than "the coaches are idiots, that's why dumbass." So here we go.
1) Before we get to the football, there is no update on the NCAA appeal. As of 8:35 this morning, Missouri had not been given a notice that a decision had been made by the NCAA. That makes it unlikely, although probably not impossible, that a ruling is known prior to the Florida game. Let's assume the earliest we find something out is next Monday. That is November 18th. That is four months to the day of the appeals hearing (let's go with 120 days so it's a round number).
From the NCAA's website
"How long do infractions appeals take? It varies. The membership-approved process spells out a 110-day timeline, but it may take longer depending on the complexity of the case. The process is designed to be fair and impartial with no rush to judgment. Getting the right answer is what counts most."
That is from the beginning of the process. It is supposed to be 110 days from the start of the appeal to a decision. The start of Missouri's appeal was way back in early March. So we're going on eight months there. We've gone more than twice as long as the membership approved process. I do not know the reason for this. There is no reason that would be deemed acceptable to me. Four months is plenty long enough for five people to come to an agreement on what should be done. It hasn't happened. Whatever the ruling is, the NCAA has bent Missouri over a barrel with the way it has handled this process. Even if everything gets reversed (it won't), the NCAA has done Missouri a disservice. Whatever the ruling, I hope someone (or multiple someones) from Missouri come out and blast the process and the organization when it's over. They would be justified in doing so.
2) On to the football. We're only talking offense because the defense has been fine. I'm going to go position by position and talk about what's gone wrong. We start with the quarterback.
What sets Kelly Bryant apart from any other decent college quarterback is his legs. If his legs aren't a real weapon, he's just another quarterback. He's not terrible, but not great. There are a million guys like him. In eight games, Bryant has run the ball 67 times. Of those, 26 have been scrambles, four have been sneaks and three have been kneeldowns. That means in eight games, there have been 34 designed runs for Bryant. That is an average of 4.2 per game. Missouri has run 648 offensive plays this season. That means one of every 19 plays has been a designed run for a quarterback whose greatest strength is his ability to run the football. It's just not enough.
Why has it been this way?