Bernie Show: Good win for Mizzou!

I firmly believed Missouri would be in for a tough battle when Boston College came into Faurot Field. The final betting line in the game had Mizzou favored by 14 and 1/2 points, which was too much. As I said in my Friday "Bernie Bits" video here, Missouri would win the game, but Boston College would cover the point spread. And that's exactly what happened. And the Eagles probably got more than a few Mizzou fans (including me) at least a little nervous by jumping to an early 14-3 lead.

But having to deal with an 11-point deficit in their first game of the season against a real opponent would tell us a lot about Missouri. Could the Tigers keep their composure and confidence, settle in, make the necessary adjustments and crank up their competitiveness? The answer to all of those questions: YES. Mizzou didn't rattle.

Coach Drink's squad pulled together kept its focus, and got to work. The defense was substantially better after getting burned early.

Quarterback Brady Cook got better after just an OK first quarter.

Seeing Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll run the ball with authority behind a strong offensive line was exciting. And much like Cody Schrader did last season, Noel and Coward hit the designed gaps at a huge rate, which is absolutely necessary in MU's preferred style of rushing the footballl.

Wide receiver Luther Burden was his dynamic self, rolling to 117 receiving yards and a touchdown and getting 66 percent of those yards after the catch. He outran the Eagles, dodged the Eagles, and maximized his yardage.

We can nitpick a few things, but what's the point? These type of games aren't supposed to be easy. And Mizzou passed an important test by raising their quality of play after a slow start against a ranked opponent -- an experience that should only make the Tigers better going forward.