Missouri Finds Its Footing, Bounces Back in Second Half to Handle Boston College

Despite an ugly first 20-minutes of play, the Tigers stayed resilient and improved their play in the last 30 en route to victory.

Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers running back Nate Noel (8) dives in for a two point conversion as Boston College Eagles linebacker Daveon Crouch (1) looks on during the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA, Mo. — After the football fell into the hands of Boston College receiver Reed Harris, Faurot Field fell silent. Harris walked untouched into the end zone to give the Eagles a 14-3 lead.

In need of a serious shift in momentum and not having any answers in the second quarter, the Missouri Tigers found their momentum shifter. A under-thrown ball from Thomas Castellanos dropped short of his intended target and fell on a silver platter tosafety Tre'Vez Johnson.

Just two plays later, Brady Cook got the ball into the hands of his favorite target, receiver Luther Burden III. In typical Burden fashion, he made four defenders miss and high-stepped into the end zone. Running back Nate Noel found himself in the end zone right after for a two-point conversion, tying the game. In a blink of an eye, the game was even at 14-14.

The conversion was always going to happen, as Drinkwitz felt it was neccesary when it came to getting back into the game.

"I told everybody on the headsets that we were going we were going to go for two when we scored the next possession, because I just felt like we had fought so hard to get back in there," Head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "I wanted the game to be tied."

Despite a shaky first 20-minutes of football, Cook and Burden led the Tigers to a 27-21 victory over No. 24 Boston College.

"Really proud of the football team," Drinkwitz said. "Today was not pretty. Wasn't our best performance top to bottom."

The Tigers were able to pull away and win, despite struggles early on and spread throughout the second half.

Stopping Castellanos was always going to be a challenge and that was proven immediately. He quickly led the Eagles down the field on the first drive of the game and never lost his edge. He finished the first half with 176 combined yards and two passing touchdowns. The Eagles offense were always going to be a challenge and adjusting to the Eagles style wouldn't be easy either.

"It was the first time that we had to face some adversity" Drinkwitz said. "Everyone had to settle in to what the fist fight would be."

The defensive unit never exactly looked comftorable early on. Castellanos picked them apart on the ground and in the air and looked practically unstoppable. He made impressive decision after impressive decision when it came to keeping it for himself or releasing the ball.

Their first score came on fourth down, finding his big target Jerand Bradley for a 12-yard touchdown. A little out-route to the right side of the end zone found Bradley with plenty of space to catch his pass.

"The first fourth down of the game, we're in zone. It's inexcusable for that ball to even be completed," Drinkwitz said.

At the 9:44 mark in the second quarter, Castellanos turned a botched snap and fumble into a 67-yard bomb to Harris, who sat wide open, for a touchdown.

The first two scores from the Tigers came from kicker Blake Craig, hitting two field goals from the 38-yard range. It wasn't until the interception from Johnson and elusive play from Burden that the Tigers showed signs of life on offense.

After stopping Castellanos and the Eagles offense with 47 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Cook was able to drive the Tigers into semi-field goal territory. With just four seconds left, Craig stepped up and nailed a 55-yard bomb, giving the Tigers a 17-14 lead headed into the half-time break.

Craig was an important factor in the eventual win for the Tigers, going four-for-four on his field goals, with his longest coming from 55-yards.

"I know he's got the leg for him to hit that 55-yarder at the end half. I think gave our team a lot of confidence going into the half, and he had an excellent game today," Drinkwitz said.

Quickly out of the locker room, Burden picked up right where he left off. After minor runs from Noel and Cook, Cook and Burden connected on a 38-yard toss that highlighted Burden's ability after the catch. After making the catch, he sat on a block and slipped through a tiny gap and was just barely stopped at his feet by Daveon Crouch.

That drive ended with an elusive move by Cook to dive into the promise land, giving the Tigers a 24-14 lead.

Penalties became a major issue after the Tigers took a ten-point lead. After dropping a screen-pass, Burden was charged with an unsportsmanlike conduct call for throwing his mouthguard, pushing them back 15-yards. They followed that up with a big gain from receiver Joshua Manning, which was brought back for an inelligable man down field penalty, sending them back five more yards.

The very next play saw two more calls go against the Tigers, one an illegal block in the back and the other an uneccesary roughness on Burden. Both send the crowd into a frenzy, setting the Tigers up with a second-and-49. Not surprisingly, they were not able to convert. In that one drive alone, the Tigers racked up 48 yards worth of penalties.

"At the end of the day, those are on me," Drinkwitz said. They said they captured me getting on Luther pretty good about it and that's the bottom line. That was selfish football and it's to get cleaned up."

Despite the penalty struggles, the Tiger defense had, at this point, figured Castellanos out. They were able to send pressure his way and make him the slightest-bit uncomfortable, causing him to make some errant decisions. One of those came on third-and-eight with 13:22 left in the game, facing pressure from defensive end Zion Young.

After nearly getting sacked, he faced Young, forcing him to launch the ball down the field. Intended for Jaedn Skeete, it was severely under-thrown and cornerback Dreyden Norwood was all over it, giving the Tigers their second turnover of the game.

A seven-minute methodical drive after the interception, featuring a pass interference on the Eagles and two fourth-down conversions, resulted in a 31-yard field goal from Craig. Most importantly, only 5:58 remained on the clock at the end of the sequence.

Despite one final score from the Eagles, between Castellanos and a wide open Kamari Morales, the road-game win for Boston College was too far out of reach.

A Brady Cook third down run on the next drive, with no timeouts left for Boston College, finished the game for the Tigers.

A gritty Missouri Tigers win improved their record to 3-0 on the year entering SEC play. They take on the Vanderbilt Commodores on September 21 at Faurot Field, with the time yet to be announced.