Each Sunday, PowerMizzou.com will hand out a position-by-position grade card for Missouri from Saturday's game. Here are the marks from the Tigers’ 41-34 overtime loss at Boston College.
Quarterback: Connor Bazelak made plenty of good plays Saturday, most notably when he got Missouri into field goal range in just 23 seconds at the end of regulation. He finished the game 30-41 for 303 yards and a touchdown. But his two mistakes overshadowed the rest of his day. Bazelak's interception early in the third quarter came when he waited too long to deliver a pass downfield and put a tired Missouri defense back onto the field. The second ended the game. Bazelak simply didn't look comfortable pushing the ball downfield. Both of his interceptions happened when he tried to do so. Over the course of a game, that lack of big play ability reduces the offense's already slim margin for error, as the Tigers depend on every-play execution to move the ball and struggle when they fall behind the chains. GRADE: C
Running backs: Boston College did a good job of bottling up Tyler Badie. Missouri's star tailback eclipsed 100 total yards, but he needed 23 touches to do so. However, Badie still scored two touchdowns and made an incredible catch and run to move the chains on third down during one of Missouri's fourth-quarter scoring drives. Walk-on Michael Cox chipped in a touchdown on his lone carry. GRADE: B-
Wide receivers: With Badie a bit less explosive than usual, Missouri needed more from its receiving corps than in its first three games. For the most part, the group delivered. Keke Chism always seemed to get open when Bazelak needed him, catching seven passes for 67 yards. Barrett Banister had his best game of the season, catching five balls for 44 yards and a touchdown. His five-yard out route made Harrison Mevis' game-tying field goal possible. Tauskie Dove and JJ Hester each got open and made catches that moved the chains. The one instance where you can knock the receiving corps was the final play. Bazelak's pass wasn't accurate and it would have been difficult for Chism to come down with the ball, but you would like a receiver who stands 6-foot-5 to at least make a better play on the ball and knock it to the turf. GRADE: B+
Tight Ends: The tight ends weren't much of a factor in the receiving game, with Niko Hea recording the only catch for the position group and gaining just four yards. It's hard to gauge run-blocking efforts in real time, but Missouri's offense as a whole didn't get a ton going on the ground. GRADE: C
Offensive line: While Missouri didn't open up many huge holes on the ground, the offensive line at least gave Bazelak plenty of time to throw. He wasn't sacked Saturday. Boston College only had one tackle for loss in the game. The group also only got whistled for one penalty, and it was declined. Overall, a solid day. GRADE: A-
Defensive line: It is worth noting that Boston College is loaded with both talent and experience on its offensive line. The Eagles could see three of its five starters there drafted following this season. But that doesn't fully excuse the fact that Missouri's defensive front was getting blown off the ball all day. Boston College averaged 5.9 yards per carry. And while the Tigers did have one sack and four tackles for loss, nearly all of that came as a result of blitzes. The defensive line continues to be a major area of concern for Missouri. GRADE: F
Linebackers: Blaze Alldredge made a few nice plays, finishing the game with 11 tackles, including two for loss, and fellow starter Devin Nicholson forced an incompletion on a blitz at one point. But for the most part, Missouri's linebackers appeared easily blocked and out of position in the run game. I'm a bit surprised we didn't see more out of backups Chad Bailey and Jamie Pettway. The one series the two of them played during the first half resulted in a Boston College punt. GRADE: D
Secondary: Wilks started loading the box with seven to eight defenders in an effort to stop the run, which put Missouri's defensive backs in a tough spot. They lost quite a few of the one-on-one matchups with Boston College's pass-catchers. The defensive backs also had a rough day in run support. Ish Burdine and Martez Manuel both missed tackles on Pat Garwo III's long touchdown run, and Jaylon Carlies whiffed on a couple tackles as well. GRADE: C-
Special Teams: Missouri continues to be extremely solid in the kicking game. Grant McKinniss had a 60-yard punt that the coverage team downed at the Boston College two-yard line. He had another punt downed inside the five, as well, but it got nullified due to a running into the kicker penalty. Mevis looked like he would be the hero when his career-long, 56-yard field goal sent the game into overtime. He still hasn't missed a kick this season. And it's worth noting that kickoff specialist Sean Koetting didn't allow Travis Levy a chance at a return. Levy had returned two kickoffs for 60-plus yards in Boston College's first three games. GRADE: A
Coaching: Eli Drinkwitz made a few head-scratching decisions that were magnified in such a close game. Several times during the first half, he called for conservative plays — draws or short passes — when Missouri fell behind the chains. He failed to give Missouri a chance at an extra possession before halftime by pocketing the team's final timeout, and even though it didn't end up mattering, his questionable clock management left the Tigers with only 25 seconds and one timeout to tie the game at the end of regulation. Plus, while it's unclear whether Drinkwitz called for Bazelak to throw a jump ball to Chism on the first play of overtime, it's easy to second-guess that due to the result. You also have to put some of the defensive struggles on the coaching staff at this point. GRADE: D
Final Overall Grade: C-
