Syracuse battles elements and Boston College in narrow loss

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Once again the Syracuse Football team overcame an early deficit to take the lead in the second half. Unlike last week against Virginia Tech, the Orange could not hold its lead against the Boston College Eagles and lost 37-31 on a windy Saturday afternoon at Chestnut Hill.

Syracuse played catch-up all game long, trailing 14-0 at the start until Oronde Gadsden got the Orange on the board with just over six minutes left in the second quarter.

The elements and steady pressure on Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord made it even harder with the passing game. Boston College registered four sacks and a fumble, resulting in a safety. McCord still finished with 392 passing yards and two touchdowns. 

Other contributors for the Orange were Jackson Meeks with a game-high 105 receiving yards and Oronde Gadsen with 102 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The costliest mistake by the Orange came after BC tied it at 21-all in the third quarter. McCord fumbled, and the ball was kicked back from the 22-yard line into the end zone for a safety, giving the Eagles a 23-21 lead. They then scored off the turnover to make it 30-21, a two-score edge Syracuse couldn’t overcome.

The Eagles thrived in the run game, the two-headed beast of a backfield contributing 331 yards on the ground. Kye Robichaux had 198 yards rushing along with two touchdowns, and Jordan McDonald had 133 yards and one TD. 

“Everything that happened out there was mainly my fault,” Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said.

When shifting around, the Syracuse offensive line was unsure if moving players around a lot would ruin their chemistry. 

“They do that in practice all day,” Brown said. “They are all getting reps together.”

Moving the offensive line around throughout a close game was critical but did not pan out in the Orange favor.

Syracuse falls to 6-3, while Boston College improves to 5-4. The Orange travels out West for a showdown with a new ACC foe, California, on Saturday.