Pat Garwo (24) finishes his 67-yard run for BC’s first score.
It didn’t start off well for the Eagles yesterday, playing Missouri for the first time. Returning the opening kickoff to their 28, the Tigers went on a 10-play, 72-yard drive, with QB Connor Bazelak completing 8 of 8 passes, to take a quick 7-0 lead.
Brandon Sebastian (10) runs off the field after his interception in overtime secures the BC win.
It ended much better for the Eagles, though not without significant nervousness among BC fans beforehand. The teams had gone to overtime after Missouri, starting at its 25 with 25 seconds remaining, and the Eagles ahead 34-31, was able to get into position for a successful 56-yard field goal. BC had the ball first in overtime and scored a touchdown in five plays. Missouri opted to go for it all on its first play and DB Brandon Sebastian intercepted the pass in the end zone to secure a 41-34 victory.
The Eagles open the season 4-0 for the first time since 2007.
With the teams tied at 17 at the half, BC dominated the third quarter to take a 27-17 lead. The Eagles started the second half with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. On Missouri’s second play following the touchdown, BC’s DB Josh DeBerry intercepted a Tiger pass attempt. Sixteen plays later, Eagles kicker Connor Lytton kicked a 31-yard field goal. BC had 28 plays for 135 yards in the quarter compared to Missouri’s 4 plays for 17 yards and the Eagles held the ball for 13 minutes, 42 seconds of the 15-minute period.
The Tigers simply flipped the story in the final quarter. While time of possession was far less skewed than in the third period, the Tigers scored 17 points to the Eagles’ 7 and BC’s lead was gone.
The game, as the score would indicate, featured lots of offense, as both teams combined for 841 yards. The difference was in how each team got those yards. The Eagles rushed 49 times, more than double the attempts by Missouri, and gained 275 yards rushing, more than tripling the Tigers’ 88 yards on the ground. Mizzou threw 42 times, completing 30 for 303 yards. BC QB Dennis Grosel was 18 of 29 passing for 175 yards.
Star running back for the Eagles was redshirt sophomore Pat Garwo, who ran for 175 yards in 25 carries, including a 67-yard run to score BC’s first touchdown. Leading receiver for the Eagles was Zay Flowers, with 8 catches for 62 yards, 50 of them gained after the catch.
Here are highlights.
BC (4-0) travels to Death Valley to play Clemson Saturday. The contest against the perennial powerhouse lost a lot of its luster with the Tigers losing to North Carolina State in overtime yesterday to fall to 2-2. The Eagles play N.C. State at home on October 16.
Game time Saturday is 4:30 pm PT.