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After thrilling field goal, Mizzou Tigers lose in overtime at Boston College

Missouri football lost an overtime thriller 41-34 Saturday afternoon at Boston College.

The Tigers trailed by 10 points late in the third quarter, but fought back to take a lead on a field goal late in the fourth. The defense couldn’t keep the game in control though, allowing the Eagles to score a go-ahead touchdown with 25 seconds left. But the Tigers got in position for kicker Harrison Mevis, who launched a game-tying 56-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime.

Boston College had the ball first in overtime and scored, leaving the game in the hands of Connor Bazelak and the MU offense. But Bazelak threw an interception on the first play of the Tigers’ overtime drive, ending the game.

“I was just giving (Keke Chism) a chance — he’s a big guy, so go up and get it. But they made a good play on it,” Bazelak said of the interception following the game. “... We had to score a touchdown. We had to score a touchdown. We were going to go for two.”

Here are takeaways from the game.

Run defense is a low commodity

Run defense has been a struggle for the Tigers throughout this season, and that only continued Saturday afternoon.

Boston College finished with 275 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Running back Pat Garwo torched the Mizzou defense in the loss, finishing with 175 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries — with only one attempt in the entire second quarter.

The Missouri defense struggled to bring the BC backs to the ground, missing tackles on explosive plays and touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Mizzou defenders couldn’t contain running back Pat Garwo, whose 67-yard rush tied the score at 14-14.

At one of the most crucial points in the game, with less than a minute left and Mizzou up 31-27, the run defense once again fell short. Safety Jaylon Carlies missed a tackle and allowed Travis Levy to give Boston College the lead with less than a minute left.

Costly turnovers

After Boston College took its first lead of the game in the third quarter, it was crucial for Missouri to gain back some momentum. Instead, the Tigers turned over the ball.

Early into the drive, with his team facing second-and-6 at the 39, Bazelak dropped back and scanned the field. Wide receiver Barrett Bannister was open, but Bazelak waited too long to pass and BC’s Josh Deberry leaped for the interception.

With the ball back, Boston College used the clock to its advantage. The Eagles took a little over seven minutes to gain 50 yards on the Missouri defense in 16 plays, the drive ending on a 31-yard field goal from Connor Lytton.

With only 40 seconds left in the third quarter, the Tigers found themselves down 27-17 with a lot of work to do. They only had possession of the ball for 38 seconds in the second half to that point.

There was an even costlier turnover in overtime.

After Boston College scored on the first possession, Bazelak was intercepted by Brandon Sebastian in the end zone, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Passing disparity

Missouri finished the game with 391 yards of offense, the majority of which came through the air.

The Tigers finished with 303 passing yards compared to just 88 on the ground. They gained 10.1 yards per completion, compared to 3.8 yards per rush.

Bazelak once again took advantage of the wealth of receiving talent at his disposal Saturday afternoon. Ten different players caught a pass in the loss. Tauskie Dove led the way with 89 yards on three receptions.

On the season so far, 14 different players have recorded a reception.

Though the rushing yard total was low, the run was still effective in the red zone, leading to three of Missouri’s touchdowns. Two of those scores came from Tyler Badie, who finished with 72 yards on 18 carries and 34 yards on five receptions, and one came from Michael Cox.