Syracuse fell 37-31 to Boston College on Saturday, dropping them to 6-3 this season after the Orange took care of business in a 38-31 overtime win against Virginia Tech last week.
On paper, Syracuse’s run game was likely going to be the difference maker against the Eagles. However, it wasn’t the difference that the Orange were hoping for, as it allowed 331 rushing yards to the opposing running backs and gave up three rushing touchdowns.
Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen Jr. countered with just 50 rushing yards, meaning Boston College’s two running backs Kye Robichaux and Jordan McDonald outgained Allen by 281 yards. Considering that the Eagles came into the contest averaging under 140 rushing yards per game, it was an extremely disappointing day from the defensive line for the Orange.
If SU had contained the run, the final score would have looked very different, as the Orange secondary limited Boston College’s passing game to only 65 yards and forced an interception from Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos. Syracuse was better on offense in multiple categories, as it had more first downs and total yards than Boston College.
It was also a bounce-back performance for quarterback Kyle McCord and tight end Oronde Gadsden. McCord finished with 392 passing yards and no interceptions while Gadsden had over 100 receiving yards for the first time since Week 4 against UNLV. The tight end also caught his first touchdown since Week 2 against Georgia Tech with an impressive one-handed grab.
Unfortunately, Syracuse made costly mistakes on both sides of the ball that overshadowed McCord and Gadsden’s performance. The Orange allowed 4 sacks for a loss of 49 yards and fumbled the ball three times, losing one while another led to a safety. Penalties were again a problem, as the team committed 10 for 91 yards compared to the four that Boston College committed for 45 yards.
Syracuse came up empty on all three of its fourth-down attempts, killing its momentum on multiple drives that could have turned into points. All in all, the Orange had plenty of preventable mistakes, and it proved costly. It was the team’s second loss in three games after a 5-1 start, and the rest of its schedule doesn’t get any easier.
SU’s next opponent, California, has only allowed 100 rushing yards per game this season. That means the Orange will again have to rely on McCord to bail them out with his arm, and Syracuse will have to avoid the same costly mistakes it made in all three of its losses and some of its tighter wins if it wants to prevent the upset.
