Boston College Looks to Get Back in the Win Column vs Syracuse

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A second bye week on the schedule gives the Boston College (4-4, 1-3) football team another chance to regroup. After getting off to a 4-1 start, the Eagles have hit a serious bump in the road as the season’s final four weeks begin. On Saturday, BC will try to snap a three-game losing streak as they look to secure bowl eligibility for the second year in a row. It will not be an easy task at Chestnut Hill as Boston College will host the Syracuse Orangemen (6-2, 3-2).

This is a series that dates back to 1924. Syracuse won that meeting by a 10-0 score in Syracuse. All-time, the Orange lead the series with a 34-23 record. In the ACC, Syracuse also leads with a 6-5 record. Last season at the Dome in Syracuse, it was the Eagles that came away with the win by a 17-10 score. If you believe in such things, November 9th has been good for BC. The Eagles have played on this date 13 times in the past. Their record on this date is 7-6. A win on Saturday would get this team back over .500 with three games left in the season.

Let’s take a brief look back at the Eagles’ last game which was a home loss to the Louisville Cardinals. The Eagles jumped out fast taking a 20-0 lead with 6:30 left in the first half. That lead was at 27-10 by the midway point of the third quarter. And then, the Cardinal offense woke up and scored 21 unanswered points to win the game 31-27. It was a tough loss for the Eagles to accept but one that they must turn the page on and focus on what is ahead for them.

What is ahead for them is the opportunity to get to six wins and have a bowl game to end their year with. The march to that number needs to start on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles do have some things working in their favor. First, they are in the top-10 in the fewest penalty yards with 38.0. They are 12th in FBS in fewest penalties per game at 4.5. They have been pretty good at converting on third down this season. They are 46.3% which is 21st in FBS. On defense, they are 17th in turnovers gained at 16. They have intercepted 11 passes this year which has them 14th in FBS and fourth in the league. For the entire season of 2023, the BC defense was able to pick off only eight passes.

Quarterback Thomas Castallnos is eighth in the country in passing efficiency at 168.0 and 15th in yards per attempt at 8.78. Those numbers put him second and third in the conference. On the defensive side of the ball, DE Donovan Ezeiruaku is fifth in sacks with eight, and second in the league. He has 12 tackles for loss, tied for ninth in FBS, and he is sixth in FBS with 1.5 per game.

The Orangemen like to throw the football and they are pretty good at it. Their passing offense ranks fourth with an average of 349 yards a game. QB Kyle McCord has thrown for 2,761 yards and 21 touchdowns. The good news for Eagles fans is that he has thrown 12 interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 136.80. RB LaQuint Allen is the leading ball carrier for the offense. He has 617 yards on 130 carries with seven touchdowns. The Orangemen are at a 51% rate on third down (65-129). However, they are 14-of-19 74% on fourth down. They have scored on 30 of 37 red zone chances with 25 of them going for touchdowns. On defense, they have six interceptions to their credit to go along with 18 sacks. Defensive lineman Fadil Diggs leads with 4.5 sacks. The transfer from Texas A&M has been a solid addition to this unit. Linebacker Justin Barron leads in tackles with 54, 23 solos and 31 assists.

Syracuse is coming off a comeback win over Virginia Tech last weekend. The 38-31 overtime win, saw Syracuse outscore the Hokies by a 28-17 count to force OT. LeQuint scored the game-tying and game-winning touchdowns on the ground (1 yd, and 9 yd.).

A big game for Boston College is set for a noon kickoff on Saturday afternoon.