Boston College at Syracuse: Opening Line & The Basics
By Joe Micik
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
It may seem hard to believe, but we have reached the end of the 2013 regular season for Boston College Eagles football. Of course, we also know that the Eagles are going to have a thirteenth game, but upcoming is our last gameday Saturday together for the year. It is disappointing, but also exciting because a bowl invitation is soon to come.
This week, the Eagles will play their regular-season finale against former Big East foe and regular rival Syracuse, now in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Andre Williams, the Heisman-esque senior running back for Boston College, returns to the scene of his big coming-out party as a freshman in 2010. Will he and the Eagles get even greedier and find win #8 while also punching Williams’s ticket to New York?
The primer:
Boston College at Syracuse: The Line
• Opening Favorite: Boston College -2.5
Boston College at Syracuse: Us
• Head Coach Steve Addazio (1st; 7-4)
• Last game: defeated Maryland, 29-26
• This season: 7-4 (4-3 ACC)
• 2-3 on the road this season; back-to-back road wins
• 4-game win streak; longest since 2010
• Can clinch first 8-win season since 2009
Boston College at Syracuse: Them
• Head Coach Scott Shafer (1st; 5-6)
• Last game: defeated by Pittsburgh, 17-16
• This season: 5-6 (3-4 ACC)
• Senior Day at Syracuse
• 2-game losing streak
• 3-2 at home this year; lost most recent home game to Pittsburgh on Saturday
Boston College at Syracuse: The Game
• 47th all-time meeting between Eagles and Orange
• Orange lead series, 28-18
• Boston College 6-18 at Syracuse all-time
• Most recent meeting: 2010 (BC won, 16-7)
• First meeting as ACC members
• Saturday, November 30, 2013, 3:30pm ET
• TV: ACC Regional Sports Network
• Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York
• No weather report; indoor stadium
Boston College at Syracuse: Initial Evaluation
Boston College football is on a roll right now and their confidence is sky-high after stealing a win in Maryland on Saturday. They already have their bowl invitation somewhere locked up, and can win eight games (and possibly nine if fortune smiles upon them). By all measures, this team has exceeded every expectation and has righted its ship.
This week, they face a fairly unremarkable Syracuse Orange team which has lost consecutive games and is in a must-win situation for bowl eligibility. Though the Eagles are slight favorites, this game could go either way, but don’t count on Boston College taking this game lightly. The Eagles are playing for a better bowl game and want another big day for Andre Williams so that the Heisman voters may fully embrace his magnificence. Besides, why not ride into your bowl on a five-game win streak?
Syracuse is the desperate team here, but an initial look shows that the Eagles match up here fairly well. This should be a close, interesting game between old rivals.