ETHAN (10-1): Syracuse 21, Boston College 17
If Syracuse loses this game Dino Babers should be fired. Full stop. There is no excuse to lose this game and the Orange have some offensive momentum after the Wake game. But, it will be cold on Saturday night, and it’s the last game at Alumni Stadium for a lot of BC’s seniors, just like Wake last week on its senior day. But, SU just has too much talent to let this one slip away and gets its seventh win of the year and a little bit of momentum heading into the bowl game. But, BC covers and it’s a low-scoring affair.
CAM (7-1): Syracuse 27, Boston College 21
Last game of the season for absolutely no marbles. All this game decides is where SU will head for its bowl game and if BC can send its seniors off with a bang. For that reason, and in light of it being Thanksgiving week, let’s rag less on these teams than normal. Syracuse has lost five straight and allowed over 1,100 rush yards over that stretch. Boston College has lost five of its last six and has been outscored 194-73. But oddly enough that one win was on the road against ranked NC State.
This game is won and lost in the trenches. No tailback for the Eagles has over 400 yards or has rushed for more than three yards per carry, that’s great news for the Orange. In fact, BC averages 60 yards per game on the ground, which is last in the ACC. On the flip side, Sean Tucker is fresh off a 100-yard game and is up against the third-worst run defense in the conference. Expect a big Tucker game and for SU to win the battle in the trenches (even with all the injuries) for a victory in a northeast rivalry that dates back to 1924.
FRANCESCO (5-1): Syracuse 27, Boston College 13
SU showed something last week. No, Syracuse didn’t beat Wake Forest and at times it didn’t look competitive, but at other times the Orange looked like the better team and, if a couple of coaching decisions were different, SU might have had a shot at the end. Regardless, Syracuse looked like a competent football team with a seemingly healthy quarterback in Garrett Shrader and an offense that was the most creative it’s been in months. That’s enough to beat Boston College. BC beat NC State on the road, but besides that one game, the Eagles have look hapless. Their only real redeeming quality is receiver Zay Flowers, who is going to be a major issue for SU’s defense, but the Orange should have enough to take down a 3-8 Eagles team and secure a winning record.
CARTER (7-2): Syracuse 27, Boston College 14
We’re about to see firsthand what happens when you throw the ACC’s most movable object against its most stoppable force. The former in that equation is Syracuse, whose defense can credibly be argued as the FBS’ worst over the second half of the season. The latter is Boston College, who’ve cratered under head coach Jeff Hafley to a 3-8 record and the country’s sixth-lowest scoring offense in a 131-team division. Saturday won’t hold the sleekest game ever played on Chestnut Hill, but at least SU isn’t 5-6 and trying to keep its bowl hopes alive.
Despite even more injury trouble to Syracuse players like Mikel Jones and three different Orange offensive linemen, it’ll be a surprise if BC caps its season with an upset victory at home. The Eagles have one real threat on offense in wideout Zay Flowers (70 catches, 967 yards, 10 TDs), but he isn’t catching passes from experienced quarterback Phil Jurkovec – the grad passer has been hobbled by injury yet again and recently made news for taking pot shots at Notre Dame from the bench. In his stead, redshirt-freshman Emmett Morehead has slung six interceptions and completed just 55.8% of his passes. If SU’s defense can scrape together enough out of Jones, Marlowe Wax, and its remaining pieces, the Eagles don’t look to be a difficult team to stop. On the other side of the ball, Robert Anae’s offense just put up its most complete performance in a month against Wake Forest. That bodes well against BC’s second-worst ACC scoring defense. Take SU to comfortably take down Boston College for the second year in a row.
IAN (6-2): Syracuse 24, Boston College 16
This is two reeling teams just trying to finish their seasons. Think of two boxers in the tenth round, when neither of them can land a real blow. The Orange offense has life after last week, but then again, Wake’s defense is Swiss cheese, and the weather in Chestnut Hill might not be as pleasant. BC doesn’t have any semblance of an offense besides Zay Flowers, their All-ACC wideout who probably is regretting not grabbing an NIL deal somewhere down south. The Eagles’ QB situation has been rocky all year, as Jeff Hafley’s flipped back and forth between injury-prone starter Phil Jurkovec and redshirt freshman Emmett Moorehead. Syracuse’s defense won’t have to deal with big road-graders up front, nor amazingly skilled backs. Hopefully, that means the Orange get some stops and let the offense, led by what looks to be a more realized version of Sean Tucker, take control. SU heads to the Gasparilla (?) Bowl 7-5.
JOHN (6-2): Syracuse 27, Boston College 23
I like SU to get a win here. The Orange competed hard against Wake Forest. It’s hard to get a read on BC. This is a team that has really struggled all year long but pieced together a nice game against NC State a few weeks ago. I think Syracuse continues the offensive momentum gained last week and mitigates the Eagles offense using a lot of blitzes and tough red zone defense.
LIAM (8-3): Syracuse 27, Boston College 20
I really don’t know what to make of this game. My prediction that the Eagles would be a sleeper team in the ACC was way off, but they did beat NC State on the road a few weeks ago. But, you could counter that with the fact that BC was embarrassed in the Holy War its last time out. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s free fall continued last weekend against Wake Forest. An Orange loss would make them the third Power Five team to start a season 6-0 and finish it 6-6.
Boston College appeared to have its program on the up-and-up after two consecutive seasons under Jeff Hafley in which it was bowl eligible, but a 3-8 campaign has killed that momentum. The only thing worse than QB Phil Jurkovec’s on-field performance earlier this season was the salty Instagram post he directed at Notre Dame last weekend (he is a Notre Dame transfer). Emmett Morehead has Jurkovec’s job now, and he’s been a mixed bag. Overall, boy it has been a disappointing 2022 in Chestnut Hill.
Going from Sam Hartman to Morehead is the break Syracuse needed, especially when you consider that for the first time in what feels like forever, the Orange offense had a good offensive game against Wake. The fact that this game is being played outdoors in November (it’s no secret how bad Dino Babers is in November plus we’re used to seeing Syracuse play in a Dome) is concerning, but not concerning enough. SU finally snaps its losing skid, not because of its merit but because BC is an even bigger mess.
