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Where were you when Mizzou had 2nd-and-59?
Even though that was the real headline of Saturday, the No. 6 Mizzou football team hanging on for a 27-21 victory over No. 24 Boston College does take a close second. Most Mizzou fans probably feel a lot of relief following the contest, as it sure looked like the expected trajectory of this season was about to be thrown off course after BC took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.
It’s a little disappointing that Mizzou couldn’t put together a start to the game that proved they weren’t overlooking this opponent. I mean, how could you when they have a number next to their name? But a sleepy start sure had fans worried. There’s obviously a reason to expect more, and they’ll certainly try to clean up the issues that plagued them through the first 20 minutes of the game. But the important part is that they can make those adjustments while their season goal of making the College Football Playoff is still afloat.
Again, 2nd-and-flipping-59 is the main takeaway and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! But I guess I’ll give you a few more in the Knee-Jerk Reactions:
Mizzou dominated the Middle 8
Eli Drinkwitz has talked before how important the “Swing-8” can be when determining the outcome of a game. Mizzou did not start this game well. The defense started with some costly penalties. I thought Brady Cook was mostly ok, but left some plays out there to be made. Offensive line protection broke down on pass plays. And it helped Boston College draw up the start to the game they were hoping for, up 14-3 with about five minutes left in the first half.
But the Tigers picked an excellent time to turn the tide. After a field goal to cut the deficit to eight points, Mizzou got an interception from Tre’Vez Johnson, which set up a touchdown drive with about three minutes left. Then the Tiger defense got another stop, but it left the offense having to start from their nine-yard line with 46 seconds left. The offense used every second to get into field goal range for Blake Craig, who blasted a 55-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer.
At the start of the second half, Mizzou completed the double-dip by taking the opening kickoff and driving for another touchdown to go up ten, taking five minutes off the clock.
That’s why Mizzou won this. A 21-0 run from the five-minute mark of the first half to the 10-minute mark of the second half, to go from down 13 to up 10 points. Boston College’s momentum came to a screeching halt, and they had to try and find it again. Mizzou stopped their mojo at the exact right time.
Nate Noel set the tone on offense
Both Noel and Marcus Carroll shined equally through the Tigers’ first two games. But it was clear that Drinkwitz turned to a hot hand in the backfield Saturday, and Noel was more than up to the task. His 22 carries for 121 yards (5.5 per carry) helped Mizzou stay on schedule despite some hiccups in the passing game. Credit Mizzou’s offensive line for the run blocking job, too. But it was Noel that finished the plays well by picking the right running lane, as well as breaking tackles in the open field.
It also came against a defense that had averaged only 40 rushing yards allowed per game as a team. Going into the contest, I thought Mizzou would need to establish the pass game first in order to loosen up the ability to run. But the opposite was true. Noel led the charge, and Carroll and Cook provided the change of pace that was needed to keep Boston College of-balance. It’s not hard to imagine Mizzou’s offense getting held to single-digit points in the first half without Noel’s contributions early.
Welcome to the party, Luther Burden
It was perfectly ok to save Luther Burden in the second halves of Mizzou’s first two games, whether he was sick, injured or not. As long as he was ready to show up when he was needed most later in the season. Well, he sure showed up Saturday.
Burden’s eye-popping yards-after-catch touchdown put the life back into the Faurot Field crowd again. In the third, a short pass to the sideline for a first down turned into a 44-yard gain to set up another scoring drive. His ability to adjust to the ball while also feeling his defender, staying inbounds and on-balance throughout the game allowed Mizzou to showcase probably the most dangerous element of their offense. All told, Burden caught six passes for 117 yards and a score, with 74 yards after the catch. He also helped seal the game with a clutch reception on 3rd-and-7, allowing Mizzou to bleed out the clock.
But man, he almost didn’t get a chance to make that play. Burden picked up an unsportsmanlike penalty in the third quarter after stealing a BC player’s mouthpiece and throwing it to the sideline. Later in the drive, he got called for an unnecessary roughness penalty on the BC sideline, and if it had been called unsportsmanlike instead, he would’ve been tossed from the game.
Burden showcased how important he is to Mizzou’s offense with his electrifying play. But because of that fact, he now needs to be as cool and collected as possible so he can stay on the field. Defensive backs for Vandy, A&M, Auburn, Alabama, etc. will watch the tape from this game and think they can try to get into Burden’s head when they face him this season. It’s up to Burden to not let them.
Despite a rough start, Mizzou’s defense took care of its most important job
Boston College averaged 49 rushing plays and 282 rushing yards as a team coming in. That was Mizzou’s challenge: Limit their ability on the ground, and force them to throw on longer third downs. They did just that. Boston College had just 46(!) team rushing yards. All three of their running backs were held to under 10 yards for the game. Thomas Castellanos escaped a few times, but only accumulated 24 net yards on the ground while Mizzou mainly rushed just three guys on most pass plays. The most menacing part about Boston College’s offense was non-existent against the Tigers. That’s mighty impressive.
It was hard to ask Mizzou for a third-straight shutout, but at first Mizzou’s defense was trending toward a down day. Two costly penalties on third down allowed BC to compose two scoring drives in the first half. Thomas Castellanos looked impossible to take down on the first few drives. I don’t think they’ll look back at this as a perfectly played game on that side of the ball. But in the end, Mizzou’s defense keyed in on the run in big spots. And once the offense built the lead up to double-digits in the second half, BC had to abandon their original game plan.
They survived. That’s what’s important.
Judging by the 15-16 point betting spread, some can say Mizzou underperformed in this game. That may be true, but in the end, it all boils down to getting the win. Less experienced teams would probably fold after a team like Boston College went up 11 points in the second quarter. But not this Missouri team. I still don’t know if Boston College is a Top-25-caliber team, but they were through the first two weeks and they got everyone’s attention. Just because they will be out of the rankings this week doesn’t mean they won’t be later in the year. In the end, the CFP committee won’t look harshly on Mizzou for only winning this game by six points. It just matters that they won, and the fact that it was against No. 24 in the country just adds icing on the cake.
SEC play begins with Vanderbilt next Saturday. I don’t think they’re as good as Boston College right now, but they will likely come in undefeated and they feature a quarterback in Diego Pavia that will bring a similar test that Castellanos did. Mizzou will need to have their full attention. A shaky start might be harder to overcome next week. But for now, the Tigers can still set their sights on a CFP bid, after taking care of business against Boston College.
