Missouri Football: 2017 season preview, predictions

Missouri looks to get back on track in Barry Odom‘s second year as head coach of the Tigers. Can Mizzou make the climb from the bottom of the SEC East?

More: Missouri was an SEC champion not long ago, what happened?

Head Coach Barry Odom’s first season leading the ship at Missouri came after one of the most tumultuous any football team has ever had. On the field, Mizzou sputtered to a 1-6 finish down the stretch in 2015 and looked totally inept on offense. Off the field, the university was making national headlines for its poor handling of racist incidents and the ensuing protests on campus.

Football and real life collided when the football team announced a boycott to back the protest to oust Tim Wolfe, the president of the University of Missouri System. Long-time head coach Gary Pinkel retired at the end of the year due to a cancer diagnosis.

Odom, who was the defensive coordinator for that 2015 season, was named Pinkel’s replacement for 2016. His hiring of Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel electrified the offense. Unfortunately, the new high-scoring, fast-paced offense was undone by a now inept defense. Odom, a defensive coach, saw his defense cause his Tigers to finish 4-8 (2-6 SEC) for their first back-to-back losing seasons since 2001-2002 when Pinkel was just beginning his tenure at Mizzou.

Reasons for optimism

Despite another disappointing season, there are definitive reasons for optimism. Quarterback Drew Lock will lead an offense that returns 10 starters and should only be sharper with a year of experience in Heupel’s offense under their belts. The defense had some injury issues last season, so some guys got reps that will ready them for this season.

Most importantly, Mizzou appeared to figure some things out down the stretch. The defense showed some signs of life in the last few SEC games. The Tigers won two of their last three games to close the season, including a comeback win over rival Arkansas to end the year.

Arkansas led 24-7 at halftime. The Tigers held the Razorbacks scoreless in the second half and scored 21 unanswered points to pull off the upset. The feat is all the more impressive because they did it without their star 1,000-yard rusher Damarea Crockett.