Barry Odom's Apparent Plan Worked Perfectly Against Tigers
Make no mistake about it, Arkansas' defense has bought totally into Barry Odom.
"He's a stone-cold killer," senior linebacker Hayden Henry said later. "He's the spear of our team ... the tip of the spear."
Odom came up with another pretty good game plan Friday in a 34-17 win over Missouri that really wasn't that close.
Tigers running back Tyler Badie had proven to be the key for success. When he ran for 81 yards in a game this year, Missouri won.
Just as some of us guessed earlier in the week, Odom apparently didn't worry about Badie and let him have the yards (219 on 41 carries). He knew more about the Tigers than anybody on the Razorbacks' staff and it's a good bet he used that.
Odom probably figured Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak couldn't beat the Hogs.
He couldn't.
The plan was one thing. It worked because the defense has completely bought into what the plan is every week.
"The guy is just a legend and he brings it every day," Henry said. "I couldn't be happier for him. It's his birthday today and we went out and beat his...
"Well, you know the history there ... we went out and beat Missouri. We got that win for him. I was happy that he got the game ball. I was happy to see him excited about that."
Sam Pittman probably has heard from Odom on their daily walks they've been doing nearly two years now about his departure from Missouri that probably stung the former Tigers' linebacker more than a little bit.
"I don't really want to talk about the situation but I'm very, very happy for him," he said later.
And Odom's plan apparently worked the way it was supposed to.
"They bent but didn't break," Pittman said.
It also got Odom a game ball.
"I had the game ball and I gave it to Grant Morgan and Joe Foucha and I asked them to give it to Barry," Pittman said. "They stood up and talked about what coach Odom means to them and gave him a game ball. He certainly deserved it."
This isn't the first time an Odom game plan has confounded an opponent.
Pittman is probably just hoping it isn't the last time.
Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the allHOGS message board community today!
