Missouri fires Odom after 6-6 season
Missouri fired football coach Barry Odom on Saturday, ending the fouryear stay of a respected former player who took over a program in disarray but could never get the Tigers over the hump in the brutal SEC.
The Tigers finished 6-6 and 3-5 in the conference after beating Arkansas on Friday. That left Odom with a 25-25 record, a perfectly middling mark after Gary Pinkel’s successful run.
Athletic director Jim Sterk called the dismissal a “difficult” but “necessary” move.
“He and his staff have worked diligently during the past four years,” Sterk said in a statement. “Coach Odom has represented our program with integrity and dedicated himself to developing our student-athletes on and off the football field for which we are grateful.”
The Tigers were projected to contend for the top of the SEC East this season with the return of several key players and the arrival of high-profile Clemson transfer Kelly Bryant at quarterback. But the season began with a bumbling loss to Wyoming and never really got on track, and the Tigers were forced to beat Arkansas just to become bowl-eligible.
Baylor crushes Kansas: JaMycal Hasty rushed for three touchdowns and Baylor forced six turnovers in a 61-6 victory over Kansas in Lawrence, Kan.
Charlie Brewer threw for 182 yards and a touchdown as Baylor (11-1, 8-1 Big 12), ranked ninth in the CFP rankings, equaled the school record for wins in Matt Rhule's third season as coach. Trestan Ebner, Gerry Bohanon, Qualan Jones and Jacob Zeno also rushed for touchdowns as the Bears piled up 263 yards on the ground.
Only three times since the program’s founding in 1899 have the Bears won 11 games in a season.
Next up for Baylor is the Big 12 championship game Saturday against No. 7 Oklahoma. The Sooners beat the Bears 34-31 on Nov. 16.
Kansas (3-9, 1-8) finished Les Miles' first season as coach with its fourth straight loss. Carter Stanley threw three of the Jayhawks' four interceptions, and Manny Miles also was picked off.
Kansas was down 48-0 before it got on the board on Miles' 11-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Parchment with 1:29 left in the third quarter. But the Jayhawks came up empty on their 2-point conversion try.
Pooka Williams had a game-high 97 rushing yards on 22 carries for Kansas. Stanley was 13 of 26 for 92 yards in his final game with the Jayhawks.
Georgia blasts rival: This trip to Atlanta was barely an annoyance for No. 4 Georgia.
The Bulldogs are really focused on their return to the A-T-L next weekend.
Jake Fromm threw four touchdown passes and Georgia cruised into the Southeastern Conference championship game with a 52-7 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday — the Bulldogs’ biggest win ever against their state rival.
The Bulldogs (11-1) were 28-point favorites and this one was never in doubt, even as they fumbled the ball away three times, dealt with injury woes, had a key player ejected, and failed to cover an onside kick.
It was Georgia’s third straight win in the one-sided series known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” — all of them blowouts. The Bulldogs have outscored Georgia Tech 135-35 during that span.
Extra points: Lightning in the Knoxville, Tenn., area caused the start of Tennessee’s game with Vanderbilt to be delayed by 30 minutes. Tennessee (6-5, 4-3 SEC) and Vanderbilt (3-8, 1-6) were supposed to begin their game at 4 p.m. local time. Rain fell intermittently for much of Saturday afternoon. Immediately after Tennessee’s seniors were introduced before the start of Tennessee’s final home game, the showers began again . ... Trill Williams stole the ball from Wake Forest receiver Kendall Hinton and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown in overtime, and host Syracuse (5-7, 2-6 ACC) beat Wake Forest 39-30. Andre Szymt had given the Orange the lead in extra time with a 40-yard field goal and Williams sealed the victory when he wrestled the ball away from Hinton inside the 5 and raced down the left side untouched . ... Zach Smith threw a career-high five touchdown passes, Shamari Brooks ran for a career-high 202 yards and Tulsa (4-8, 2-6 AAC) beat host East Carolina 49-24 . ... Andrew Marty ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns while passing for another and Northwestern upset host Illinois 29-10. It was the first Big Ten win for the Wildcats (3-9, 1-8). Illinois — 21-point favorites going into the game — finished the regular season 6-6 and 4-5 in the conference . ... Peyton Ramsey threw three touchdown passes and scored on a 1-yard run in the second overtime to give Indiana a 44-41 victory at Purdue. The Hoosiers (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) reclaimed the Old Oaken Bucket after losing two straight in the series.