Not many people would have expected this to be a top-25 matchup before the season started, but Boston College’s shock win at Florida State has given a bit more hype to this game. Missouri entered the season with hopes of making the College Football Playoff and hasn’t given up a point yet, but the Eagles represent a step up in competition. Still, the Tigers are favored by more than two touchdowns.
Mizzou has shutout wins against Murray State (51-0) and Buffalo (38-0) and leads the nation in yards allowed per game (127). Does that matter through two games when the opponents are an FCS team and a MAC school? Absolutely not, but it’s a good sign for a Mizzou defense that lost five players to the NFL Draft.
The Missouri offense has a lot of key returning names, led by All-American wide receiver Luther Burden III and senior quarterback Brady Cook. Burden didn’t play the second half of last week’s win against Buffalo due to illness. Theo Wease Jr., who was also a five-star recruit out of high school, had 13 catches for 149 yards in Burden’s partial absence.
While the Tigers expected to be playing big games this year, Boston College has been a surprise so far solely based on that win against Florida State. The Eagles won relatively comfortably in Tallahassee. FSU had already lost to Georgia Tech in Ireland, but it’s not clear just how far the Seminoles have fallen yet.
BC rushed for 263 yards on 5.1 yards per carry while limiting the Seminoles to 21 yards on the ground. That’s the kind of line-of-scrimmage domination that many would have expected to be flipped. On top of that, quarterback Thomas Castellanos has been efficient. Castellanos has only attempted 26 passes through two games, completing 19, but still has managed to throw six touchdown passes. He only threw for 106 yards against FSU but did run for 73.
Last week, BC matched Mizzou’s domination of an FCS opponent by beating on Duquesne to the tune of 56-0. The Eagles gave up 135 yards of total offense.
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No. 24 Boston College at No. 6 Missouri odds
How to watch Boston College at Missouri
- Venue: Memorial Stadium (Faurot Field) — Columbia, Mo.
- Time: 12:45 p.m. ET, Saturday
- TV: SEC Network
- Streaming: Try Fubo for free
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(Photo of Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr.: Denny Medley / Imagn Images)
