Boston College Heads to Upstate New York to Face Syracuse

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Winners of four in a row, the Boston College Eagles (5-3, 2-2) begin their final stretch of the regular season on Friday night in Syracuse, NY to face the Orangemen (4-4, 0-4). This last month of the season will be about league games only for BC. They finished the year with four of them starting on Friday night. A win by the Eagles, not only puts them above .500 in the league but would also make them bowl eligible.

Last Saturday, the ground game once again was the focal point of the offense in their win over Connecticut. BC held on to the ball for forty minutes and ran 83 plays. They gained 30 first downs and converted 10 third-down attempts. Boston College would only punt the ball once all game. However, there were two turnovers and a missed field goal that kept Connecticut in the game. The Eagles received 112 yards on the ground from Kyle Robichaux as well as two scores of 5 yards and 13 yards. They also got 84 yards from Alex Broome on 15 carries and 72 from QB Thomas Castellanos on 14 rushes. For the game, BC gained 279 yards on the ground. This marks the fourth straight game that the Eagles have run for over 200 yards.

In the air, Castellanos was efficient throwing for 151 yards on 16-of-24 passing. He did make one mistake, an interception right before halftime that took away the chance to add points right before intermission. Other than that one hiccup, the offense was just fine. Another 400-yard day (433) where they averaged 5.2 yards per play. Penalties, which were a major issue for this team back in September, suddenly have gone away. On Saturday, they had just 4 for 30 yards. The defense did their part as well holding the Huskies to just 222 yards for the game on 43 plays for an average of 5.2 yards per play. RB Cam Edwards did gain 95 yards on 16 carries, and 124 all-purpose yards including a 30-yard TD run. But quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson was only 11-of-24 for 130 yards. If there is a complaint to be made here it could be the fact that Roberson was not sacked during the game. BC’s front seven did not spend as much time in the Huskies backfield as maybe the coaching staff was hoping for.

Boston College has had a rough go of it in Syracuse. Syracuse leads the all-time series with a 34-22 record. On the road, BC has lost 9-of-21 games. Since 2005, the road team has won seven of the eight games played. The Eagles are hot, riding a four-game winning streak for the first time since starting this way back in 2021. They have not won five in a row since 2010.

It has been an up-and-down season for Syracuse. They entered Friday night’s game with zero league wins. However, they are still in the conversation when it comes to a possible bowl game. The Orange loves to play on Friday nights. This will be the fourth time in the past three years that Syracuse has played at home on a Friday night. They have won seven of their last 10 Friday night home games, and are 8-4 during the Dino Babers reign. RB LeQuint Allen is having a solid year for Syracuse. He has already found the end zone eight times this year. That has him sixth in the ACC. He is fifth in all-purpose yards with 744 and can catch the ball out of the backfield as well. He leads the team with 25 catches. Part of the problem for Syracuse is they are losing the time of possession battle. Teams are averaging 33 minutes a game with the ball while the Orange has had it 27 minutes. Through eight games, QB Garrett Shrader is 123-of-197 with nine TDs and five interceptions. He has thrown for 1,508 yards on 62.44 completion percentage. He has run the ball for 462 yards on 89 carries and has six scores. His favorite passing target is Damien Alford with 24 catches for 389 yards and a score. On defense, Marlowe Wax leads the team in sacks with four, and in tackles for loss with 7.5 for 31 yards. As a unit, they have 22 sacks on the season.

Could be a good one from Syracuse on Friday night between two rivals that will be marking the 100th year of this rivalry.