Ahead of Saturday’s first true test of the 2024 college football season for Missouri — a clash with No. 24-ranked Boston College in Columbia — Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz talked Wednesday about the last time his Tigers played Boston College.
The two programs met in 2021, with Mizzou falling 41-34 in overtime.
“That game was hard for a lot of different reasons,” Drinkwitz said of the 2021 matchup. “I didn’t think we played particularly well.
“There was a lot of noise around that game for comments that were made by me, so I learned a hard lesson as a head coach there. Then, obviously the emotional swings of that game. We came back and tied it up. They scored in overtime. We throw a pick the first play.”
Since that game, the programs have headed in opposite directions, with Boston College undergoing a serious rebuild culminating in the hiring of longtime NFL and college coach Bill O’Brien.
“Coach O’Brien has done a tremendous job,” Drinkwitz said. “You can definitely see the imprint of Coach O’Brien on the offensive side of the ball.”
Containing BC’s Castellanos
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos is one of the most dynamic players Missouri has seen to this point in the season. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, is in the midst of his second season with the Eagles, a season in which he has caught attention nationally.
Castellanos has earned a Pro Football Focus passing grade of 93.9 across his first two games of the season, one of the best in the nation. Castellanos has also earned an overall grade of 92.4, making him the third-highest-graded quarterback and fourth-highest-graded offensive player in the nation through the second week of the season.
“(ESPN’s) Scott Van Pelt compared him to Kyler Murray,” Drinkwitz said, “and I think that’s a very, very good comparison. He’s a dynamic player with his feet, but I think he’s a very accurate passer. The play is never over with the ball in his hands.”
Injury report
Missouri’s top two wide receivers, Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr., were hampered with injuries or illness against Buffalo.
Burden, who was battling an illness, was shut down midgame. Wease, who dealt with an upper-body injury in the third quarter, was able to return to the game. According to Drinkwitz, both players are considered probable to suit up against Boston College.
Offensive lineman Cam’Ron Johnson and tight end Brett Norfleet, both of whom missed this past weekend’s contest, are less certain to be ready for Saturday’s game.
Drinkwitz lists both players, along with defensive back Ja’Marion Wayne, as questionable. Wayne has yet to appear in a game this season, as he has dealt with an ongoing hamstring injury.
MU sells out 6th game of season
Missouri announced Tuesday that its Sept. 21 conference-opening matchup against Vanderbilt has officially sold out. The game becomes the fourth game of the season to sell out.
The Tigers’ Sept. 21 home game against the Commodores will kick off at 2:30 p.m. or 3:15 p.m., the SEC said Monday. If the game is played at 3:15 p.m., it will air on SEC Network; otherwise, it will air at 2:30 p.m. on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
The SEC will make a decision regarding the game’s kickoff pending the results of each team’s game Saturday.
Vanderbilt (2-0) takes on Georgia State this week.
Missouri administration had previously announced that upcoming games against Oklahoma and Auburn for homecoming have also sold out, meaning that’s 11 consecutive sellouts dating to last season.
The only remaining home game not sold out on the schedule for the Tigers this season is their finale against Arkansas.
Copyright 2024 Columbia Missourian
Local News
Comments / 0