When Josh Heupel left his role as Missouri’s offensive coordinator this month to take the head coaching job at UCF, he took offensive line coach Glen Elarbee with him, leaving a massive hole in the Tigers’ game planning and playcalling.

That was painfully evident on Wednesday night in the Texas Bowl, when the Tigers were thoroughly beaten by the Texas Longhorns 33-16 in Houston. Heupel’s fast-paced offensive scheme was being run by assistants who didn’t have his particular feel for the game, which was clear from the way star quarterback Drew Lock and the rest of the offense struggled.

After the loss, tensions were high in the Mizzou locker room, with senior defensive end Marcell Frazier sending some choice words Heupel’s way. Frazier cited UCF coach Scott Frost’s decision to coach the Knights through their Peach Bowl game, even after Frost took the coaching job at Nebraska, and wondered why Heupel and Elarbee didn’t do the same thing:

“Realistically, Heupel left us in a bad position,” he said. “It is what it is. And Elarbee left us in a bad position. As men they have to look in the mirror. They let a whole bunch of teenage boys down, 18, 19-year-olds down. They left and they have to do what’s best for their family, but I think it showed up a little bit today. We were doing things we haven’t done since maybe the Auburn game. It showed up.

“You practice for almost a whole month without an offensive coordinator or an offensive line coach after having one of the most dominating offenses in the nation. It’s tough. I believe that they let some guys down. They had to do what’s best for them. I don’t quite understand it, because I know Scott Frost is staying at UCF for their bowl game. So I don’t quite understand all the politics, but it showed up. Texas, I don’t believe they had anyone leave their entire staff. We had two offensive coaches leave from arguably the most explosive offensive in the country so it showed up a little bit.”

Regardless of what happened with Heupel, the Tigers have to regroup and move forward with their eyes on 2018. Wednesday’s poor offensive showing puts even more pressure on coach Barry Odom, who will enter his third year at the helm of the Mizzou program next season.

Odom is a defensive coach and he pretty much gave Heupel the keys to the offense, which clearly worked well in the second half of the 2017 season.

With that in mind, Odom needs to make a home-run hire to lead the Mizzou offense in 2018, and all the momentum the Tigers built during the second half of this season hangs in the balance.

Missouri averaged 579.5 yards of offense per game during its six-game winning streak but gained just 390 against Texas in the Texas Bowl.

How much is riding on this hire? Well, for starters, Lock has said he’ll wait to see who Mizzou’s next offensive coordinator is before deciding on his NFL future. Therefore, the wrong hire will send the Tigers back to the drawing board at the most important position in football.

Meanwhile, Odom and the Tigers have a big decision to make. Do they want to keep Heupel’s brand of high-octane, rapid-fire offense, or do they want to take a more additional approach?

These are all questions that need to be answered. The leading candidate for the job seems to be former UCLA offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, but nothing is set in stone yet.

Fisch most recently coached UCLA star QB Josh Rosen, who is almost certain to be a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. That could be a big selling point for Lock, who could work his way into the first round of the 2019 Draft with a big senior season if he returns.

Mizzou’s immediate future starts with Odom’s next big hire. If he gets it wrong, the consequences could be dire. If he nails it, the Tigers might play in a bigger and better bowl game at this time next year.