Fall, Football, Sports

Eagles Look for a Late-Season Turnaround, Set to Take on Syracuse

After a late second-half meltdown that saw three unanswered Louisville touchdowns, a stagnant Boston College football offense, and a 31–27 Eagles’ home loss, BC head coach Bill O’Brien and his team look to turn around its season with four games remaining. 

Despite a strong 4–1 start to the season, the Eagles have lost three straight games to Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Louisville and are fourth from the bottom of the ACC rankings coming into Week 11. The identity crisis plaguing the team has been felt throughout all three of these games as BC gave up a 14–0 lead at Virginia, started 28 points down against Virginia Tech, and lost control against Louisville after establishing a 10-point lead. 

Entering this week’s matchup, the Eagles (4–4, 1–3 Atlantic Coast) are fighting for a chance to keep their bowl eligibility dreams alive against Syracuse (6–2, 3–2) as the regular season quickly comes to a close. 

Who is BC Playing?

Syracuse 

When is BC Playing?

Saturday, Nov. 9, at 12:00 p.m.

Where is BC Playing?

Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

How to Watch

The game will air on The CW Network and BC Sports Network on WEEI 93.7 FM/850 AM. 

Series History 

BC and Syracuse have played a total of 57 times since their inaugural game in 1924. Saturday’s meeting between the Eagles and Orange marks the 100-year anniversary of the first rivalry game between the teams. Syracuse leads the series 34–23.

In their 17–0 win at the Dome last season, the Eagles sealed the game in the last three minutes with a quarterback keeper touchdown from quarterback Thomas Castellanos. In the 2023 matchup, Castellanos completed 20-of-37 attempts for 165 passing yards. Syracuse quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, in his only 2023 start, struggled, going 7 of 17 for 37 yards and four interceptions. Running back LeQuint Allen went for 142 yards on 18 carries, the most productive player of the game for the Orange. 

What to Expect from Syracuse:

Offense

The Syracuse offense is led by former Ohio State starter Kyle McCord who transferred to Syracuse after leading the Buckeyes to an 11–1 regular season record. McCord has logged 2,761 yards with a completion percentage of 64 percent for the Orange this season. While McCord has 21 touchdowns on the season, he has also thrown 12 interceptions, five of which came against Pittsburgh two weeks ago. Turnovers have been detrimental in both of Syracuse’s losses against Stanford and Pitt and would be a critical factor in any BC victory on Saturday. 

McCord averages just north of 345 yards per game through the air, spread evenly among wide receivers Trebor Pena and Jackson Meeks as well as tight end Oronde Gadsden II. Pena is McCord’s favorite downfield target and, on 592 yards for this season, averages 11 yards per reception. Georgia transfer Meeks has comparable stats to Pena with 548 yards and an average of 11.4 yards per reception. While Pena is targeted slightly more, Meeks is McCord’s go-to receiver on big plays. Despite battling injuries throughout the 2023 season, Gadsden’s return has had a major impact on offense as he has put up 484 yards on just 37 receptions for a 13.1 yard average. Standing at 6-foot-5, 236-pounds, Gadsden’s size and speed have been difficult to lock down when McCord uses him as an option.  

The Orange’s lead running back Allen functions as a fourth reliable receiving option for McCord and recently broke Syracuse’s record for receptions as a running back, posting 311 receiving yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Allen has gone for 602 yards and seven touchdowns. Allen played a major role in Syracuse’s matchup against BC last season and could be used in a similar way again.

Syracuse is currently ranked eighth in FBS for third down conversions at 50.4 percent. On fourth down conversions, Syracuse has a 73.7 percent success rate, No. 10 in FBS. 

Defense 

Syracuse’s defense has allowed 135.9 rushing yards and 215.6 passing yards per game, and on average, opponents are allowed 27.5 points against the Orange’s defense. 

Syracuse’s defense has been led by defensive backs Justin Barron and Devin Grant. Barron and Grant have recorded a sack each and have 27 and 25 solo tackles on the season respectively. Fifth-year linebacker Marlowe Wax is second on the team with 3.5 sacks on the season and has defined himself as a leader on defense. Coming into Saturday’s game, Wax has two forced fumbles on the season. 

While Syracuse’s offense has been effective at putting up big numbers throughout the season, the BC offense has an opportunity to expose deficiencies across the Orange’s defense given their inability to contain the rush and pass game. Against this Syracuse defense, Castellanos should feel comfortable taking a few shots downfield while mixing in runs from BC’s reliable running backs Treshaun Ward and Kye Robichaux. 

Outlook 

Coming into this conference game on a three-game losing streak, Syracuse is a must-win for BC to turn it around late in O’Brien’s first season as head coach. After a blowout loss to Pitt and a close overtime win against an injury riddled Virginia Tech, Syracuse’s defensive strategy has proven to be flimsy. Ideally, medium range passes to receivers like Jerand Bradley, Reed Harris, Jaedn Skeete, and Kamari Morales can be paired with strong runs from Ward and Robichaux to break down Syracuse defensively. While defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku has been quiet on defense in BC’s last two games, constant pressure on McCord could be the difference needed to force Syracuse interceptions and stall its offense. 

November 7, 2024

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