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CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord looked off his first read to the right. As he turned left, he was met by a red jersey.

The Orange had worked their way back into the game. After falling behind 14-0, SU rebounded with a 21-0 run. The Eagles answered to tie it midway through the third quarter, but the contest looked to be entering a shootout — something that could be in SU’s favor. But then came the ferocious rush of BC’s Donovan Ezeiruaku.

The senior lined up on the right, one-on-one with Syracuse left tackle Da’Metrius Weatherspoon. He performed a swim move inside and immediately grasped McCord. Ezeiruaku wrapped up McCord, and as he received reinforcements, the ball came free. It trickled across SU’s five-yard line and Ezeiruaku leaned down to grasp it, but the edge rusher accidentally kicked it through the end zone for a safety.

It wasn’t the touchdown it could’ve been. Yet in that moment, Ezeiruaku changed the game. BC’s safety was one of Ezeirukau’s two sacks and four total tackles on Saturday. Boosted by the star edge rusher’s disruption — and key strip-sack in the third quarter — Boston College (5-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated Syracuse (6-3, 3-3 ACC) 37-31.

The forced fumble turned safety was a game changer, giving the Eagles a 23-21 lead which they never relinquished. However, it was also a key moment that encapsulated Ezeiruaku’s continuous disruption of Syracuse’s passing game throughout the afternoon.

“Six (Ezeiruaku) made some good plays today, 100%. But I think looking back on it with a few of those protections, maybe if it was one-on-one with a slide protection, and so that way we can get a double team. I guess hindsight is always 20/20,” McCord said postgame.

The contest versus Syracuse certainly wasn’t Ezeiruaku’s first rodeo. He had recorded 11.5 sacks before the 2024 season. To start his senior campaign, Ezeiruaku had led the ACC in tackles for loss (12) through eight games. He also ranked second in the conference in sacks.

Though, it wasn’t as if the Orange hadn’t faced a star edge rusher yet this season. A week ago against Virginia Tech, SU matched up with the ACC’s sacks leader, Antwaun Powell-Ryland. He entered the matchup with 11.0 sacks but was limited to just one in three total tackles.

It was Ezeiruaku’s impact on the scoreboard that differentiated the two. And, BC’s edge rusher got going early.

Nearing the end of the first quarter, Ezeiruaku lined up on a third-and-9 one-on-one with Weatherspoon. The defensive end speed rushed on the right side, blowing by Weatherspoon and taking down McCord to force a punt. It was the second time on the drive that McCord was taken down.

“I think we knew coming into the game they had a really good front four, and that’s really the strong point of their defense,” McCord said.

The Eagles moved Ezeiruaku around the defensive line while pairing him with Quintayvious Hutchins on the opposite side. The Orange also countered with a flurry of moves, flipping in David Wohlabaugh Jr. and Enrique Cruz Jr. at left tackle when Weatherspoon exited briefly, while also moving in backup center and guard Josh Ilaoa and Joe Cruz.

No matter which offensive lineman matched up against the front, BC wreaked havoc. After the Eagles jumped out to a 14-0 lead, Ezeiruaku got after McCord again. He forced two incompletions off quarterback pressures, then got in on Hutchins’ sack to close the first half.

“I think on offense, I need to do a better job trying to avoid as many of those sacks as possible,” McCord said.

The Orange gave McCord time to work in the pocket as SU took the lead to start the second half, but then came Ezeiruaku’s biggest play.

To start the drive, Syracuse was at its own 22 and needed an answer. In an empty backfield, LeQuint Allen Jr. streaked down the right side but was covered. McCord’s next read was left to Trebor Peña on an outbreaking route but in came Ezeiruaku.

The ball was jarred free as McCord was spun around and there wasn’t another Syracuse player in the area. McCord reached his left arm out but was five yards from the ball, and Ezeriuaku and Owen Stoudemire were alone in the backfield.

Ezeriuaku reached down in stride and whiffed, before his left foot came in and pushed it 15 plus yards through the end zone. The play could’ve been a touchdown, but the damage of a safety still flipped the game in the Eagles’ direction.

“That’s a bad look on me. I pride myself on being an athlete,” Ezeiruaku joked postgame of the booted ball.

“That’s on me, McCord said. “At the end of the day, guys are going to get to eat. The other team is going to make some good plays. But it’s my responsibility to make sure bad play doesn’t result in getting any points.”

Ezeiruaku got in on a few more plays in the fourth quarter, helping seal a victory for Boston College. However, none topped the impact of the third-quarter strip.

McCord also had a good day despite being under constant duress. He finished with a career-high 392 yards through the air and two touchdowns. But under the pressure of Ezeiruaku’s two sacks, and BC’s four total, he was bound to turn the ball over eventually.

Boston College’s star edge rusher is someone Syracuse head coach Fran Brown has known throughout his career. In Brown’s weekly press conference on Monday ahead of the contest, he said he knew Ezeiruaku personally, as his hometown of Williamstown, New Jersey isn’t too far from Brown’s Camden, New Jersey.

“A kid that I know pretty well, Donovan, he’s been that dude since he was young,” Brown said Monday.

Following Ezeiruaku’s big performance against his team, a more irritated Brown credited him again.

“He’s done a good job since he was in little league, and he did a good job today,” Brown said.

Published on November 9, 2024 at 7:05 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky