Penn State will face a variety of head coaches this season, some that they are familiar with and some they may never have faced before or even heard of. This week, they will be facing a head coach they are all too familiar with, with ambitions of returning to the CFP yet again, this time with a Big Ten program.
Here's more on Purdue head coach Barry Odom.
Barry Odom, Purdue Head Coach
Overall record:
49-47Record against Penn State: N/A
Record against ranked teams: 1-17
Record against Big Ten: 2-13
Barry Odom has been a coach that has bided his time at the collegiate level to be able to get to a position where he could lead a program back to relevancy. While that's where he stands right now with the Boilermakers, his career has been a testament to what he has been able to do to turn
around program's fortunes. After starting off in the high school ranks with his alma mater, Ada High School, and Rock Bridge High as well, Odom's first job collegiately came at his other alma mater, Missouri as an assistant.
While there, he was mainly in charge of recruiting and was pivotal to finding the players that led to Mizzou's late 2010s success. He also was the director of football operations, responsible for promoting all events within the community that were football related. In 2009, he officially became a true part of the coaching staff as the safeties coach. Almost immediately, the Tigers went from 104th in pass yards allowed t0 37th the next year. In 2010, the defense ranked 11th nationally in defending the pass.
In 2012, Odom was given the job at Memphis to be their new D-coordinator. Each year of his tenure saw a rise in form, from 50th in 2012 all the way to fifth nationally in his final year in 2014. It was after this time that Odom really got his first big chance at a coaching position. In 2015, Odom returned to Missouri as a DC where he continued his solid work, with the defense finishing ninth nationally. In 2016, he was finally promoted to his first head coaching, where he became famous for his late season turnarounds.
While his first season in Columbia was abysmal, his second season saw the Tigers rebound from a 1-5 start to finish 7-5. While 2018 was somewhat of a reversal, Odom got the Tigers back to a bowl game, finishing 8-5. 2019 was similar, but this time more devastating as Odom was fired after his bad end to the year. He went back to being a DC for Arkansas under Sam Pittman for two years, leading yet another great unit. It was his second chance at a head coaching gig that launched him into the national spotlight.
The UNLV Rebels were a bottom dweller in the Mountain West when Odom arrived. However, the first season was a stunning success, as the Rebels finished 9-3 with a loss in the conference championship game. It was the first winning record for the Rebels in ten years at the time. Odom won Mountain West Coach of the Year as a result. In 2024, Odom did one better, winning 10 games with the Rebels after signing a five year contract extension. However, when Purdue came calling, he had to accept perhaps his biggest coaching job yet.
Purdue was once a prideful footballing school but had falle to the depths of the Big Ten. In his first season with the team, Odom found that out relatively quickly, going 2-10 and 0-9 in Big Ten play. This year though, there have been signs of improvement, with the Boilermakers 2-4 in the conference, with wins over Illinois and Minnesota.
This week's matchup against Penn State could get weird at times, but it's perhaps the best chance Odom has yet to get a signature win in the conference.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: A quick glance at Purdue head coach Barry Odom
