Rance Burger/News-Leader
For two longtime friends, Sept. 2 should be a difficult day.
Missouri State opens its football season with a game in Columbia against the Missouri Tigers. The game marks the first time the Bears have played Mizzou in football since 1923. It will also be the first meeting between coaches Dave Steckel and Barry Odom, who both worked on Gary Pinkel’s coaching staff at the University of Missouri.
Odom, entering his second season as the Missouri head coach, considers “Coach Stec” to be one of his closest companions.
“I don’t have many of them, but he is a dear friend.