Can Mizzou's 'Death Row' Defense contain Thomas Castellanos on Saturday?

With the Missouri Tigers and Boston College Eagles set to square off in the only ranked matchup of Week 3, it promises to be an exciting game to follow. Heading into the contest, Missouri's "Death Row" defense has yet to allow a point, while Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos has looked unstoppable.

With both teams undefeated and seeking a big win, Saturday will be a strong test for each program. Missouri is ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll, while Boston College jumped into the rankings at No. 24 this past week.

If Boston College is going to win this game, they'll need another outstanding performance from their quarterback, Thomas Castellanos. He has been excellent so far and has recently drawn comparisons to both Jayden Daniels and Kyler Murray.

Part of what makes Castellanos so tough to defend is his ability to run the football. A dual-threat quarterback is always a challenge for defenses, and Eagles' head coach Bill O'Brien has plenty of experience working with talented quarterbacks, which makes Castellanos even more dangerous.

In Week 1 against Florida State, Castellanos ran the ball 14 times for 73 yards and a touchdown, giving the Seminoles' defense fits trying to contain him. In Week 2, he dominated Duquesne through the air, throwing for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 56-0 blowout victory.

Coach Drinkwitz discussed strategies to neutralize Castellanos but acknowledged how challenging it would be, especially given Boston College's success in running the football.

"It’s really difficult. It kind of dictates what you’re going to have to do from a coverage standpoint. You can try to play man-to-man and spy, but you’ve got to make sure your spy is good enough at tackling, or you can play zone, and when you play zone, you’re typically down a man in the box, so they’re able to define the run game the way they want to. So, it’s definitely a chess match."

Saturday will undoubtedly be the biggest test for both teams, and it will be interesting to see what gives first between Castellanos' dynamic play or the Missouri Tigers' lockdown defense. The approach defensive coordinator Corey Batoon takes to contain Castellanos will be one of the most critical factors of the day and could ultimately dictate the outcome of the game.