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Syracuse enters its eighth game of the season with questions at quarterback and an injury-depleted defense. Its next opponent led the No. 1 team in the nation by three scores at the half. Boston College touts Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec as quarterback and former Ohio State assistant Jeff Hafley as head coach.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen when Syracuse faces BC:

Anthony Dabbundo (5-2)
Fly Eagles Fly
Boston College 31, Syracuse 17

The Orange are now 1-6, and it’s not entirely clear what is left to play for in the final four games for Syracuse. Perhaps most interesting about the Orange is the ongoing quarterback situation and how much SU plays JaCobian Morgan down the stretch of the season. Based on head coach Dino Babers’ comments, Morgan’s big day does not appear to be Saturday.

The Eagles have a significant offensive edge in both passing and rushing success rate, and they don’t allow many big plays defensively. Without the Orange’s defense forcing turnovers, it’s hard to see how SU will sustain long-scoring drives. Because of that, I’ll take Boston College to win this game comfortably. Another week of mediocre quarterback play from Rex Culpepper only emboldens the calls from the fans and media to play Morgan more after the Orange’s bye week. Syracuse takes another loss en route to one of the worst seasons in program history.

Danny Emerman (3-4)
Buckle up
Boston College 38, Syracuse 13

The Eagles are a damn good football team. Jeff Hafley is a damn good coach, and Phil Jurkovec is a damn good quarterback — perhaps the best non-Trevor Lawrence passer Syracuse will face all year. North Carolina’s Sam Howell has higher upside, but with Lawrence injured at the moment, I’m not sure there’s a QB in the ACC I’d take over Jurkovec, who leads the conference in passing yards. He can really sling it, which will test SU’s battered-yet-impressive secondary.

But it’s not just Jurkovec, the Notre Dame transfer. Syracuse is outmatched on both sides of the ball and at just about every position. I don’t anticipate this one being particularly close at all.

Adam Hillman (4-3)
Down the hatch
Boston College 41 Syracuse 10

I don’t see a winnable game remaining on Syracuse’s schedule. This one, surely, is not. Boston College just took Clemson the distance, leading by 18 points in the first half and losing on a fourth quarter touchdown from Clemson running back Travis Etienne. This is not your BC team of years past. They are not the typical ground-and-pound Golden Eagle team that dominated Syracuse last year. While David Bailey is still there, he’s only averaging 12 carries a game. Comparatively, quarterback Phil Jurkovec throws it over 35 times a game.

While this does play into SU’s strength, covering multiple receivers — outside of the edges with Ifeatu Melifonwu and Garrett Williams — will be a struggle. SU won’t be able to score with BC as the Orange will lose their seventh game of the season.

Published on November 4, 2020 at 9:07 pm