4 takeaways from Boston College’s grind-it-out win over Syracuse
Though it was sloppy at times, the Eagles did what they had to do.
COMMENTARY
Coming off an agonizing loss to No. 1 Clemson, with a matchup against current No. 4 Notre Dame looming – and after hanging 58 points on Syracuse and rushing for nearly 500 yards last year – it would have been easy for Boston College to underestimate the one-win Orange and stumble Saturday in a classic trap game.
The Eagles ensured that didn’t happen, earning a 16-13 win over the Orange at the Carrier Dome. It was far from a dominant showing, and it wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the bulk of the Clemson game, but Boston College (5-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) excelled defensively and in the run game and made enough key plays to outlast the Orange (1-7, 1-6 ACC).
“Certainly not our cleanest game, and probably not our best when we go back and look at it, but at the end of the day, we’re 5-3,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said. “A team that was picked to finish 15th in the ACC, we just won our fourth ACC game. I told the guys in the locker room, I don’t care what the score is. When we win a game, I expect the music to be blaring and the guys to be enjoying it with each other, because they’re hard.”
After a largely lackluster half, BC orchestrated a pivotal drive late in the second quarter.
Last week, the Eagles relied heavily on their passing attack and scored 28 points in the first half against a shellshocked Clemson defense.
This week, against a reeling Syracuse defense that had allowed 30-plus points in six of its seven games coming in, BC struggled to generate momentum offensively.
David Bailey, who finished with 25 carries for 125 yards, was dependable, but nearly every Boston College drive in the first half sputtered and resulted in either a punt, field goal, or missed field goal. At the end of the first half, though, with the score still knotted at 3, the Eagles engineered a quick three-play, 66-yard drive in just 40 seconds.
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec – who finished the day an efficient yet modest 20 for 29 with 208 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers – found Travis Levy for a gain of nine, CJ Lewis for a pickup of 37, and Zay Flowers for a 20-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left in the half.
Is @ZayFlowers for real? No, seriously, is he?
📺 https://t.co/qi5jNV8Vif pic.twitter.com/1KE0C5r7bj
— Boston College Football (@BCFootball) November 7, 2020
As he’s done all year, Flowers made the highly improbable look routine, and the Eagles managed to claim a 10-3 edge after a largely lackluster half. Lewis and Flowers made the big plays, but Bailey was the catalyst overall.
“We have weapons all around, so you have to adjust to other people getting the ball, and then you’re ready when your time comes,” Bailey said.
Two key turnovers helped Boston College pull away.
The third quarter was largely uneventful as well, as the Orange tacked on another field goal to trim BC’s lead to 10-6 through three. Boston College responded with a field goal of its own four seconds into the fourth quarter.
Later in the fourth, as the Orange gained a smidgen of momentum, the Eagles quickly snatched it back by causing two timely turnovers.
On the first, Brandon Sebastian helped redirect an errant pass in the air and Jason Maitre swooped in and corralled it. The Eagles couldn’t capitalize offensively, but the takeaway still helped stymie Syracuse.
The next, with 6:31 left in the game, came when Luc Bequette ripped the ball free and pounced on it himself at the Syracuse 18. Considering how the game had unfolded to that point, a BC touchdown would have essentially put the game out of reach, but the Eagles couldn’t convert.
They settled for another Aaron Boumerhi field goal, extending their lead to 16-6 with 2:05 left.
“When you take the ball away, you’ve got to make them pay and score points,” Hafley said. “If you do that, you can run away with games, and we’ve got to do a better job there.”
They made enough plays late to prevail.
Syracuse responded with a late score, slicing the margin to 16-13 with 21 seconds left. The ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, but BC still needed a first down to officially cement the win as SU called three consecutive timeouts.
Bailey gained one yard, seven more, and two after that to pick up a first down and clinch it, in a sequence that epitomized the way the majority of the day unfolded. Fans expecting another 58-point performance were in for a rude awakening, but this was more so a methodical, calculated showing.
“It was what we saw on film,” Hafley said. “We felt good with our scheme against their scheme.”
The Eagles rushed for 191 yards, marking their second-highest output of the season. They finished with nearly 400 yards of offense, so the final score is a bit misleading to some degree. BC simply wasn’t as opportunistic as usual when it got in the red zone, which was partially a product of a solid defensive effort from the Orange and also a result of some self-inflicted mistakes.
When they had to, though, the Eagles finished the game.
Said center Alec Lindstrom: “It’s really good to grind it out and win like that and see that it’s working, and you’re taking those steps that you need to, to learn and get better every week.”
Though it was sloppy at times, the Eagles did what they had to do.
This was one of those lukewarm wins in college football, where fans are glad their team prevailed but not exactly blown away by the overall product on the field.
The negative part of the equation is obvious: This Syracuse team is the worst team in the ACC, and the Eagles needed a full 60 minutes to grind out a win. BC had trouble putting away an inferior opponent.
The positives are also important to keep in mind: The Eagles allowed just 52 rushing yards the entire day. Regardless of the opponent, and how the game unfolds, that’s an impressive number. BC also won the turnover battle, dominated time of possession, and displayed its ability to win a more rugged, defensive-minded game.
Wins like this go a long way and are necessary, and pulling out this victory proved once again that the Eagles can beat teams in a variety of ways.
“Everybody had us last, and we’re 5-3 now,” Jurkovec said. “It’s not great, but it’s good, and we’ve got to be happy about every win. Even though today was sloppy, and it really wasn’t what we wanted offensively, the defense played well, and it’s a win at the end of the day. You have to enjoy it a little and then get ready to play Notre Dame.”
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