COLUMBIA, MO. • Seven games into his first season as a college head coach, Missouri’s Barry Odom faced a difficult but crucial decision last week after another defensive meltdown.
He had to DeMote DeMontie.
That’s DeMontie Cross, his defensive coordinator, his former teammate and close friend. Odom didn’t take away Cross’ title, but he took charge of his duties and became the team’s de facto coordinator for Saturday’s visit from Kentucky.
Odom called Saturday’s coaching a collective effort among his staff, but the defense would be covered in his fingerprints no matter what happened on Faurot Field.