Boston College halted a three game losing streak with a win at home to Syracuse 37-31. The Eagles leaned completely on the run game for over 300 yards to overpower the Syracuse defense, while the defense brought timely pressure throughout.
The Eagles got off to an early 14 point lead, but struggles by Castellanos would see Syracuse tie things up by half time. After a rough first drive to start the second half, Bill O’Brien pulled the plug on Castellanos and put in backup Grayson James, who started once before this season against Western Kentucky. Officially called a lower body injury, O’Brien commented after the game that he just felt the decision was in the best interest of the team. James wouldn’t need to do much completing just 5 passes on 6 attempts, but it was all BC needed.
UCF running back Jordan McDonald and Kye Robichaux carried the load for BC. McDonald’s 41 yard run got BC into scoring position on their first possession, but Liam Connor missed a short field goal. After trading punts, Quintayvious Hutchins recovered a fumble for BC, setting up Robichaux for the first score. Hutchins and Ezieruaku were bringing pressure all day, and each recorded a pair of sacks.
The BC defense came up huge again with a stop on downs around midfield. Castellanos would complete his first pass of the game for a touchdown to Lewis Bond near the middle of the second quarter.
But the Syracuse offense would not be shut out for long, Kyle McCord and the Cuse receivers would make some great plays and tie the ball game up by halftime. McCord was a bit hit or miss at times, but finished the game 31-48 with nearly 400 yards passing.
Cuse running back LaQuint Allen put the Orange up in the second half, but it wouldn’t last long. With Grayson James now at the helm, the BC offense came to life. It took Robichaux just three plays to tie the game up. Robichaux would lead the way for BC with 198 yards on 28 carries.
Ezieruaku and the BC defensive line went back to work and stripped McCord of the ball. But the sack king couldn’t cleanly recover the ball in the end zone so the Eagles had to settle for a safety to take the lead 23-21. James and the backs would follow that up with a 7 minute drive this time McDonald finding his way into the endzone. He was a revelation for BC, putting up 133 yards himself.
McCord led Syracuse back to a one score game, but BC responded with a pristine 10 play 78 yard drive ending with a 17-yard touchdown pass from James to tight end Jeremiah Franklin on fourth down. With BC now up 37-28, the Eagles needed just a few more plays to close the game.
The Orange hit a late field goal to make it a one score game, but the ensuing onside kick recovery was called back due to an illegal block. Although the BC special teams muffed the re-try, the Eagles still recovered and closed things out. BC moves to 5-4 and heads to Dallas next week for a Fenway Bowl rematch.