COLUMBIA, MO. • When Missouri’s football season mercifully comes to an end sometime Friday afternoon, fixing coach Barry Odom’s defense will be the first order of business when the offseason begins.
For the last dozen weeks, a unit that returned seven starters from one of the nation’s best defenses in 2015 dragged the Tigers down to their current state at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings. When Arkansas (7-4, 3-4 SEC) visits Columbia for Friday’s season finale, the Mizzou defense pieced together with duct tape and spare parts finally will be put out of its misery.