It feels like forever ago when the lethal Dennis Grosel to Zay Flowers connection was tearing the Tigers’ defense apart. The Boston College Eagles head down to the great state of Missouri for a battle of top 25 teams. Mizzou is 2-0 and the #6 team in the country after shutout wins over Buffalo and Murray State, making it 18 straight non-conference home games without a loss. More telling, they’re coming off an incredible season finishing 11-2 ranked 8th with a win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. They’re looking to build on that season and have their sights set on the inaugural College Football Playoff.
On to this year’s team, the defense, as evident by the shutouts, has certainly been the star thus far. However, Missouri’s offense is a high octane group that returns nearly all of it’s production aside from a Heisman finalist at running back. Through two games, albeit against lesser competition, OC Kirby Moore’s (yes, brother of Eagles OC and Boise State great Kellen) team they put up 51 and 38 points all while having the luxury of shaking off some rust. This is Moore’s second season calling plays. He brought the team to fourth in the SEC in yards/play, the top red zone offense in the conference, and third in the nation, In terms of pace of play, Moore’s offense has been about average and similar to that of the Eagles last season.
The wideouts on this team are special. Many of you may be familiar with Luther Burden III, one of college football’s best receivers. He left last week’s game at halftime due to illness, but he’s still found ways to score in both games and expects to suit up in this one. The junior was a second team All-American and is a sure-fired first round draft pick this spring. He’s a speed demon and an explosive athlete, who is deployed all over the field.
With or without him, there’s Theo Wease Jr. on the outside making play after play. He put up 13 catches for 149 yards against Buffalo. Beyond these two, they still have so many more talented weapons to let them attack through the air no matter who’s in the game. They’ve shown so far they can be more than just Burden. All-SEC Freshman tight end Brett Norfleet suffered a shoulder injury in week 1 and missed last week. He would be another big addition, but is week-to-week. Either way, the Eagles secondary already has their hands full with the skill position players the Tigers boast.
The pass game hasn’t been in perfect sync yet, Senior quarterback Brady Cook threw an interception last week and only has one touchdown pass, but the room has accounted for 573 yards through the air. Over the past few years, Cook has mostly taken care of the ball and is pretty efficient throwing around 66%. Moreover, Cook has shown his set of wheels rushing for three touchdowns including a 30-yard scamper. He was the team’s second leading rusher last season with 319 yards.
In the ground game, Mizzou has a complementary set of backs similar to BC led by the dynamic transfer duo of Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll. The pair have started off strong replacing last season’s rushing production. So far they’ve combined for over 250 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Noel has top end speed in the open field, and Carroll can bounce through defenses and go. They’ll both feature in the passing game a couple times as well.
On the offensive line, while they haven’t allowed a sack the key takeaway thus far has been too many penalties. Three starters returned and they added a new guard from Oklahoma. But this penalty problem was a hindrance last year and so far has reared its ugly head again. Of the 10 penalties committed last week, looks like about eight were on the line. And it was whole kit and caboodle — holding, false starts, ineligible receiver down the field, and illegal formations. Let’s see if BC can capitalize on any undisciplined behavior as they did against Florida State.
The BC defensive line in particular has had a fantastic start to the season. Mizzou has the size and experience to make things difficult, but the the team has shown excellent fundamentals thus far to hold their own. Stay tuned for a preview of the “Death Row” defense tomorrow!