"Discover the Impact of News Timing on Purdue Football's Future"

Indiana's College Football Playoff Invitation

On Sunday, Indiana-based college football programs IU and Notre Dame were celebrating their invitation to the College Football Playoff. A highly anticipated head-to-head matchup on Dec. 20 had fans buzzing with anticipation. This was a moment of great pride for the state of Indiana.

Meanwhile, Purdue was making its own news with the hiring of new head coach Barry Odom. After a 1-11 season that included losses to IU and Notre Dame by a combined score of 132-7, the team was looking for a fresh start.

Odom's Coaching Resume and Background

Odom, 48, becomes the 38th head coach in Purdue Football history. He comes to West Lafayette following one of the best seasons in UNLV's school history. The Rebels reached double-digit wins for only the third time in program history (1974, 1984), with both previous seasons predating the program's move up to Division I competition and the Mountain West Conference.

National recognition has followed, as the Rebels achieved a program-best No. 19 ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls, as well as their first-ever CFP ranking. Odom brings a defensive background, having been a star linebacker at Missouri and working as the defensive coordinator at Memphis, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Red Flags in Odom's Coaching Career

However, Odom's coaching resume is not without its challenges. We Googled him and found that he hasn't won consistently. He was fired by his alma mater Missouri after a 5-1 2019 season turned into 6-6. While he did well at UNLV, Odom is 44-33 (.571) in six years as a head coach, including just 25-25 in four seasons at Missouri, where he had a 13-19 record in the SEC. Odom replaced Gary Pinkel, the all-time winningest coach in Missouri history, who went 118-73.

Also, UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka decided in September to sit out the rest of the season over a $100,000 NIL payment that was promised but never paid after he agreed to transfer to the Rebels from Holy Cross last winter. This situation could potentially give competing programs a useful tool in recruiting against Odom.