Boston College Eagles @ Syracuse Orange Football Recap

Boston College 16, Syracuse 7

If the Boston College Eagles were judged by their start to the 2010 season, the college football community – immersed in the BCS title chase – needs to re-assess this team based on its furious and final finishing kick.

Boston College completed one of the season’s best second-half runs by beating the Syracuse Orange in the Carrier Dome, 16-7. The win was the Eagles’ fifth in a row and completed a remarkable run that saw them turn a 2-5 disappointment into a 7-5 bowl season. Syracuse also wrapped up a fantastic turnaround in its second year under coach Doug Marrone, finishing 7-5 and heading to its first bowl since 2004. One might expect Syracuse fans to be more excited than they are, but, Syracuse fans rarely got to witness a win. By losing to Boston College at home, Syracuse dropped to 2-4 at home, with all of its marquee wins coming on the road. Improving its home record will be a high priority for Marrone next season.

Despite its offensive struggles in 2010, Boston College got a big game from running back Andre Williams to beat the Orange. Williams carried the ball a whopping 42 times for 185 yards and a third quarter touchdown that gave the Eagles a 13-7 lead that they would not relinquish. Williams’ powerful running allowed Boston College to dominate the time of possession and ultimately salt away the fourth quarter to protect its lead. The Eagles finished the game with a 15 minute advantage in time of possession. Boston College now awaits a bowl invitation and enters the recruiting season with much more momentum than anyone thought possible a month ago.

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Finishing with a disappointing home loss doesn’t diminish the tremendous rebuilding job that Doug Marrone has done in two seasons at the helm of the Syracuse Orange football program. Few thought a 7-5 record and bowl season would be possible in such a short timeframe, given the state of the program when he was hired. Still, Syracuse had numerous opportunities to not just finish 7-5, but to possibly contend for the Big East and maybe finish as a top 25 team and were unable to win critical games at home when it counted. Such was the case against Boston College.

An 8-4 record would have been a much greater sell to bowl committees, but the Orange simply couldn’t get their defense off of the field in crucial situations. With their possessions limited, the Orange were never able to establish their own offensive rhythm and were held to just 238 yards of total offense. Marrone will have to find more offensive weapons for the future, but, still deserves credit for the rapid turnaround that he has engineered.

Boston College merely deserves even more credit for not quitting on 2010.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer