Previewing Orange football against Boston College

Coming off of its first ACC win of the season, Syracuse looks to keep that momentum going against Boston College at the Dome on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. during homecoming weekend.

The Orange (4-4) would inch one win closer to securing bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018.

After a 16-13 loss to the Eagles last year, SU is favored in this year’s matchup. The Eagles are 4-3 on the season but 0-3 in conference play.

The Syracuse offense has been effective on the ground this season, with 242 rushing yards per game.

Quarterback Garrett Shrader and running back Sean Tucker have a combined 1,652 rushing yards this season – 592 and 1,060 yards, respectively.

The passing game has also seen success. Just last week, freshman wide receiver Damien Alford made the game-winning touchdown grab on a deep throw from Shrader at Virginia Tech.

SU head coach Dino Babers said there are positives and negatives to having young players on the field, but the good has been outweighing the bad.

“[Damien is] growing and he’s learning and he doesn’t even know what he’s capable of yet,” Babers said.

As for Syracuse’s opponent this weekend, their offense has struggled. Boston College only put up 3.9 yards per play in their last game against the Louisville Cardinals.

The Eagles started the season off strong with a 4-0 record, but since then, have lost to Clemson, NC State and Louisville.

With poor performances from Boston College’s quarterback, Dennis Grosel, fans could see a different quarterback for the Eagles this Saturday. BC head coach Jeff Hafley said he has made a decision about the starting quarterback for this game, but that decision won’t be revealed until Saturday.

“The game is a rival game, we get it,” Babers said. “But right now it’s just a way for us to get one more win in the ACC and win a game at home.”