No. 20 Syracuse (8-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) finishes the regular season in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts where it takes on Boston College (7-4, 4-3) on Saturday at noon. The Orange are fresh off a 36-3 walloping at the hands of undefeated No. 3 Notre Dame while the Eagles are losers of two-straight.

Here’s who our beat writers have taking the win, and why.

Josh Schafer (10-1)

Road run

Boston College 34 Syracuse 27

Two of Boston College’s best units, a run game and pass rush, will have the ability to derail this game for Syracuse. The Eagles and star sophomore running back AJ Dillon has run for more than a 1,000 yards this season in nine games. If he breaks for over 100 again on Saturday, Syracuse will be in trouble. In conference road losses earlier this season to both Clemson and Pittsburgh, dominant performance on the ground from opponents was too much for the Orange to overcome. Couple the likely scenario of Boston College running well with a Top 20 Eagles’ pass rush and things could turn BC’s way. While Syracuse’s offensive line has played solid this year, when team’s have gotten to the quarterback, the offense has struggled. If BC can attack Syracuse’s throwing game and run the ball at will, the Eagles will force Syracuse to play a slow game. Advantage BC.

Andrew Graham (9-2)

Szmyt happens

Syracuse 31, Boston College 28

Beside’s a No. 20 ranking and one more conference win, not much separates these two teams. Both have good pass rushes. Both run the ball well. Syracuse throws it better than Boston College does, but the Eagles defend the run much better than the Orange. That will be a problem for Syracuse, especially as it needs to figure out how to slow down sophomore running back AJ Dillon, who exposed SU in the Carrier Dome last season. But regardless, the Orange is going to need it’s passing game to show up if it wants any chance to win. It didn’t when Tommy DeVito took over for Eric Dungey against Notre Dame. It’s unclear who will get the start Saturday as Dungey deals with a bad back. But it’s hard to imagine DeVito, the more naturally talented passer, struggles that badly again, against a worse defense, if he is pressed into action. It’ll be close, but Andre Szmyt will come on and break a 28-28 tie late, and SU finishes the regular season with nine (!!!) wins.

Matt Liberman (8-3)

Grounded Eagles

Syracuse 41, Boston College 35

In my mind this has been the first time all year that Syracuse has run into a team perfectly evenly matched against it. AJ Dillon is an absolute stud in the backfield and has the talent level of a Heisman winner. Josh alluded to his numbers and Syracuse’s fits that it has had in its losses when defending the run. Boston College though has trouble defending through the air. The Eagles rank 79th in the country in total pass defense, and whether it be Eric Dungey or Tommy DeVito starting at quarterback, both are surely capable of putting up big numbers. I think this game comes down to whether or not Syracuse can run the football. BC’s run defense is ranked 49th in the country, allowing just 3.8 yards per carry, but the Orange backs were actually fairly successful against Notre Dame despite the lopsided scoreboard. If Moe Neal and Dontae Strickland are able to break 5 yards per carry, I like SU’s chances against a banged up BC team.

Published on November 23, 2018 at 4:52 pm