Each Thursday, I will grace these electronic pages to preview the week ahead in college football with my “Three by Three.” I’ll take a gander at three interesting things each in the Mizzou matchup, in the SEC, and around the nation. I’ll try to hit some under-the-radar things, too, and not just Billy Napier’s hot seat, you know?

Boston College at Missouri – 11:45 AM on SECN

Offensive Line Penalties

I feel pretty confident that Mizzou will find the downfield passing attack. I feel pretty confident that the big plays in the run game are going to come, too. I feel pretty confident about the fact that Connor Tollison has had only one bad snap in two games.

I am not, however, very confident that the offensive line is going to stop committing penalties. I think maybe this is just part and parcel of O-line coach Brandon Jones and his style of teaching. His individual coaching and development has been so good, and the blocking for Drink’s zone running has been so strong, but you have to hope they can clean up this tendency.

Stopping QB Run Game

Last week Corey Batoon’s defense got its first look at a dual-threat quarterback, and aced the test: Buffalo’s CJ Ogbonna ran for only 29 yards. This week, and down the line this season, the competition is much stiffer. BC’s Thomas Castellanos is a dynamic scrambler that will give Mizzou defenders fits if they are not prepared with spying, and keeping their contain on pass rushes.

Castellanos ran for 917 yards on 115 designed runs last year, but has only had his number called pre-play five times this year. He killed Florida State in the opener with scrambles, though, gaining 52 yards on six plays. Missouri will have to do better than that.

Drink’s Revenge

Eli Drinkwitz and the tenured members of his staff are still smarting from the loss to Boston College in 2021. His nascent program played inconsistent offense and poor defense all day, and eventually fell in overtime. The BC students, suffering through a multi-year drought of competent football, rushed the field after upsetting a .500ish team from the SEC. Throw in the very bizarre media spin around Drink’s innocuous comments about preferring to play more regional and traditional rivalry games, and the whole thing has clearly stuck in his craw for three years.

Drink’s teams take care of business. His Tigers are 17-2 at home as betting favorites; the only two losses were as 1- and 2.5-point favorites. (Against Kentucky, the roughing the punter game, and against Tennessee in 2021, which was a terrible line in hindsight.) They certainly don’t need extra motivation other than winning a football game against a good opponent and building towards their goals. But throw in a little dash of revenge for the veteran players and the most tenured staff, and the Tigers should stand on business on Saturday.

In the SEC

LSU at South Carolina – 11 AM on ABC

Yes, I know it’s annoying to think that ESPN’s College GameDay is going to the other Columbia instead of the one hosting the only game featuring two ranked teams. It’s fine, there is a much bigger opportunity later in the calendar for Mizzou. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy this game between two fanbases in very different emotional states. LSU is on the verge of ire, and a close game between a euphoric and upset-minded South Carolina would have the whole bayou in a tizzy. Pay attention to the matchup in the trenches: South Carolina has an excellent defensive line, led by all-galaxy five-star freshman Dylan Stewart, and they face their stiffest test yet, a sturdy LSU offensive line featuring multiple Sunday players.

Texas A&M at Florida – 2:30 PM on ABC

Speaking of fanbases going through it. Florida got a taste of the future when freshman phenom DJ Lagway got the start against Samford, and he threw for a freshman Gator record of 456 yards. Now here comes Billy Napier promising to turn back to the older, but more limited Graham Mertz, a move that will be sure to bring down boos from the sunbathing Gator faithful.

Tulane at Oklahoma – 2:30 PM on ESPN

This game could be competitive. The Green Wave just put a fright into Kansas State, and have an exciting young quarterback in freshman Darian Mensah. Oklahoma annihilated Temple in Week One but looked questionable in a few areas doing so; the whole operation looked shaky last week as they escaped rebuilding Houston. Will the Sooners patch up their problems on the fly, or will their house get blown down as the big bad SEC wolves get ready to come into town?

Around the Nation

Arizona State vs Texas State – THURSDAY 6:30 PM on ESPN

Now this is a FUN Thursday night matchup. I beg you to watch this over whatever atrocious product the NFL rolls out for you to slop up. Both offenses are electric, led by all-purpose monsters at running back. Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo is third in the nation in rushing, and just demolished Mississippi State. Texas State’s Ismail Mahdi led the country in all-purpose yardage last season, and is a home run threat from anywhere on the field. Expect points, and a lot of them.

Oregon at Oregon State – 2:30 PM on FOX AND Washington State at Washington – 2:30 PM on Peacock

The swift collapse of the Pac-12 brings us these two historic in-state rivalries, traditionally played in the final week of the year, as early-season non-conference matchups. The smaller spurned schools would love nothing more than to break the hearts of their big brothers as they run to join the Big Ten. It’s a shame what has happened to this once-glorious conference, but it is refreshing to see schools with the maturity to agree to actually meet their historic rivals on the field.

Colorado at Colorado State – 6:30 PM on CBS

I think this game marks a crossroads for the Colorado Buffaloes. They can regroup after last week’s boot-to-ass showing in Nebraska, and play up to the level of their superstars, and make a run to a bowl game. Or they can continue with the weird quotes, the poor line play, the unprepared game plans, and see the whole two-year experiment collapse. A road loss to their in-state, Group of Five rivals would just about put a fork into the whole thing. And hey, even without that existential dread, you get a chance to watch Travis Hunter play incredible football on both sides of the ball.