Led by defense, No. 6 Missouri Tigers handle No. 24 Boston College to improve to 3-0

In 2021, then-second year head coach Eli Drinkwitz led his Missouri Tigers to Boston College for an overtime loss that he would later categorize as the darkest moment of his young tenure. Three seasons and 1,300 miles later, Drinkwitz and his sixth-ranked Tigers enacted their revenge at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Missouri defeated the 24th-ranked Eagles 27-21 in a hard-fought affair that featured an 11-point comeback from the Tigers, who relied on a pair of turnovers to spark their rebound. Chief among those was fifth-year safety Tre’Vez Johnson’s second-quarter interception that flipped the momentum back to the Missouri side.

The Tigers found themselves in a 14-6 hole before the second-year transfer stepped in front of an errant pass from Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos and picked it off with 4:30 remaining in the first half. It marked Castellanos’ first interception of the season, and after Johnson returned the ball 22 yards to the Boston College 25-yard line, Missouri cashed in with a touchdown and game-tying 2-point conversion just three plays later to pull even at 14-all.

Junior wideout Luther Burden III provided the score for Missouri, its first of two touchdowns in the win. The St. Louis native, who missed the second half of last weekend’s contest against Buffalo with an illness, caught a short pass near the Boston College 15-yard-line and fought past four defenders to find himself in the end zone. Burden has now scored the opening touchdown in each of the Tigers’ three games in 2024.

Senior running back Nate Noel punctuated the touchdown on the 2-point conversion, taking a snap in the wildcat formation before faking a pitch to quarterback Brady Cook and leaping into the end zone. Noel paced the Tigers backfield in touches and yards for the third consecutive game, finishing the day with 22 rushes and a reception for 130 all-purpose yards. The transfer from Appalachian State was efficient, averaging 5 1/2 yards per rush.

The Missouri offense was relatively stagnant through the majority of the first half, stalling out twice in the red zone and settling for a pair of Blake Craig field goals — both of them from 38 yards out. But once Burden got involved, the Tigers’ offense opened up to the tune of four straight scoring drives between the second and third quarters. The outburst helped them jump out to a 10-point advantage they would maintain the rest of the way.

Serving as the catalyst for Missouri’s offensive surge, Burden hauled in six of eight targets from Cook for 117 yards and a touchdown. Aside from the score, he also had catches of 44 and 38 yards, the latter of which helped set the table for Cook to scamper into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown run that made it 24-14 with 10:31 remaining in the third quarter.

Boston College’s dynamic quarterback Castellanos, who entered the matchup regarded as a player with elite escapability and deep-ball arm talent, was viewed a potential X-factor heading into Saturday. Early in the game, Castellanos ran wild and looked like he could be that game-breaking player who could vault Boston College to another top-10 upset.

A fumbled snap on the Eagles’ third drive of the game drew the attention of Missouri’s defense, with players chasing the turnover and leaving several Eagles pass catchers unguarded upfield. Castellanos, who recovered the fumble and used his feet to extend the play, found redshirt freshman Reed Harris for a 67-yard touchdown.

Boston College’s momentary 14-3 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half proved to be the team’s high-water mark on the day.

Midgame adjustments from the Missouri front seven changed the outlook of the game and limited Castellanos’ effectiveness after two first-quarter scores. Castellanos finished the day with 249 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions through the air while rushing for 25 yards on the ground. He was also sacked a pair of times, once by Corey Flagg Jr. and another time by Khalil Jacobs.

Boston College managed just 14 yards of total offense in the third quarter, a quarter in which Missouri extended its lead from 3 to 13.

By the time Castellanos found the end zone once more, a 38-yard strike to graduate tight end Kamari Morales with 3:45 remaining in the fourth quarter that brought the Eagles to within 27-21, the Tigers had already built a lead substantial enough to last the remainder of the game.

The victory marked Missouri’s first win against a Power Four opponent this season. The Tigers will look to parlay their victory into success in SEC play when they face undefeated Vanderbilt at either 2:30 or 3:15 p.m. next Saturday.