Opponent preview: Everything to know about Boston College
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Syracuse is 6-5 heading into its regular season finale at Boston College. Truly in the midst of a rollercoaster season, the Orange have blown out bowl-eligible teams and peaked at No. 14 in national polls, but have also lost by double-digits in four straight and could finish last in their division with another defeat Saturday night.
Up next for SU is Boston College, a team that sits at 3-8 and is coming off a 44-0 shellacking at Notre Dame last weekend. The Eagles won’t finish the season bowl eligible for the first time since 2015, and have struggled on both sides of the ball throughout the year. Half of their losses have been by over 25 points. This gives SU a good chance at recording a win for the first time since Oct. 15 and to head into a bowl game with at least some momentum after a dreadful showing in the second half of the season.
Here’s everything to know about Boston College before Saturday’s matchup:
All-time series
Syracuse leads, 32-22.
Last time they played
The Orange beat the Eagles last October, defeating them 21-6 inside the JMA Wireless Dome. After a first-half offensive slog where they posted just five first downs and no points, Syracuse put up 21 in the third quarter to take a commanding lead. The burst happened quickly — Sean Tucker, Garrett Shrader and Courtney Jackson all recorded touchdowns of at least 48 yards in less than five minutes.
Tucker finished with 207 yards, a career-high he didn’t break until running for 232 against Wagner this season. Shrader, foreshadowing the throwing struggles he would display throughout the remainder of 2021, finished only 5-for-14 passing for 65 yards.
Defensive end Kingsley Jonathan notched a career-high three sacks, and Stefon Thompson added two and a half tackles for loss. It was SU’s final win of 2021 as it lost three straight to end the season against Louisville, NC State and Pitt.
The Eagles report
Boston College’s offense was led by quarterback Phil Jurkovec through its first eight games before he suffered a knee injury against Connecticut. Freshman Emmett Morehead has filled in, recording back-to-back strong games against Duke and NC State, where he threw for 330 yards in each and notched four and three touchdowns, respectively. But against Notre Dame, Morehead completed only 40.9% of his passes, threw three interceptions and was sacked four times.
Senior receiver Zay Flowers is the best weapon BC has with 967 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Flowers has posted four 100-plus yard receiving games this season, including against Wake Forest when he hauled in 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. Top running back Pat Garwo III doesn’t get a high number of carries, registering 10 or fewer in five straight games. He’s totaled 320 yards, averaging three yards per rush this season.
Defensively, linebacker Vinny DePalma leads the Eagles with 83 tackles, and has also added a sack. Donavan Ezeiruaku is Boston College’s best pass rusher, recording six sacks and three forced fumbles this season. While allowing 168.3 yards per game on the ground, BC has fared well against the pass, ranking No. 4 in the conference.
How Syracuse beats Boston College
Even considering its series of injuries and ongoing five-game losing streak, Syracuse should easily win this game. Boston College struggles on both sides of the ball, and will likely be without its starting quarterback Saturday. The Orange showed that their offense has made some strides after consecutive poor performances against Pitt and Florida State, and continuing that against BC will be key.
Tucker finally got back over the 100-yard hump against Wake Forest, and giving him opportunities in space will help SU. So will finding Oronde Gadsden II and an emerging Damien Alford, who finished with two big catches for 57 yards last week.
Syracuse, already without important defensive pieces in Garrett Williams, Thompson and Terry Lockett, could also miss linebacker Mikel Jones, who didn’t play the second half against WF. Still, getting pressure and shutting down any resemblance of a Boston College rushing attack will help get the defense off the field quickly, and would limit Flowers’ chances downfield, too.
Stat to know: 60.9
The Eagles’ 60.9 rushing yards per game average ranks dead last out of 131 Football Bowl Subdivision teams by over 16 yards. Part of that is play-calling, with Boston College throwing the ball over 40 times against both Duke and NC State, but BC also hasn’t gotten much of a push up front. Garwo hasn’t averaged over 3.6 yards per carry in a game since Oct. 1, and both Eagles quarterbacks average negative rushing yards.
Player to watch: Zay Flowers, wide receiver, No. 4
Flowers is the most explosive player Boston College has, and leads the ACC with 967 receiving yards this season. He also averages 6.3 catches per game.
With Williams out for the season, it will be on Duce Chestnut or Isaiah Johnson to stop Flowers. And if A.T. Perry’s three-touchdown performance last weekend was any indication of what Flowers can do against SU’s secondary, Saturday night could be a long one for the Orange.
