The Mizzou Tigers are an inch closer to being in the top 5 in this week’s AP Poll , jumping up three spots to No. 6.
The movement in the poll follows a second consecutive shutout for the Tigers, a 38-0 win over the Buffalo Bulls in Columbia .
There was some additional movement near the bottom of the poll with a few newcomers entering, including newly No. 24 ranked Boston College, as the Eagles prepare for their second ranked matchup of the season in Columbia. Their first was an upset win over then-No. 10 Florida State 28-13 in Tallahassee.
The last time these two met, the Tigers left on the losing end of a 41-34 overtime thriller where Mizzou scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, capped off by a Harrison Mevis field goal at the end of regulation to force OT.
“I just think at that moment, you know, that game was hard for a lot of different reasons,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz told the media on Tuesday. “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, and then, obviously, the emotional swings of that game. ...
“First time having to deal with the crowd rushing the field and trying to navigate your way off the field.”
As Drinkwitz’s squad looks for redemption, here’s everything you need to know before the Tigers’ first ranked matchup of 2024...
Mizzou football vs. Boston College game details
Kickoff: 11:45 a.m Saturday, Sept. 14
Where: Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium (Columbia)
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Tiger Radio Network
Betting line: Mizzou is a 16.5-point favorite (via FanDuel )
Over/under: 53.5
Five Things to Know
1. Boston College is ranked for the first time since 2018. If the upset over the Seminoles didn’t already build some kind of case to rank the Eagles, a 56-0 win over Duquesne certainly solidified BC moving into the AP Poll this week. It’s the first time the Eagles saw their name in the rankings since 2018, when they went as high as No. 17 that season, and just the second time since 2009 overall.
2. This is the only ranked matchup on Saturday. It’s an interesting slate for college football this weekend, but there are only two ranked matchups overall — the other on Friday. That game will see No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State .
3. The Eagles will be running the ball a lot. BC has turned to the run 77.1% of the time this season, seventh most in the country. They’ve run the ball a total of 98 times for 569 yards, averaging 284 rushing yards per game — compared to just 29 passing attempts. Meanwhile, the Tigers have allowed 172 rushing yards total this season.
4. But when the ball gets thrown, QB Thomas Castellanos gets the job done. Castellanos became the first 2,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher in program history last season, and he’s already seeing similar success thus far. The junior QB for the Eagles has seven all-purpose touchdowns through two games, including 340 yards and six TDs with a 73.1% completion.
5. T he Eagles are ranked 10th in scoring defense. It’s a ranked matchup in several ways, as BC is allowing only 6.5 points per game after shutting out an FCS team last weekend. The Eagles also rank 15th in yards allowed per game. But again, the Tigers are still atop of the list without allowing any points this season.
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