A winning streak meets a losing streak
On Friday night, the Boston College Eagles travel over to New York to face the Syracuse Orange. Each football team has walked down a very different path to get here, as BC rides a 4-game winning streak while Cuse rides a 4-game losing streak.
Who: Boston College Eagles (5-3) vs Syracuse Orange (4-4)
Where: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
When: Friday November 3rd
Kickoff Time: 7:30pm ET
How to Watch: This game will be broadcasted live on ESPN2
Boston College is one of the hottest teams in the ACC right now, winners of four-straight and looking like they could climb to seven wins or even more. But the issue for BC is that this win streak has come against some mediocre competition: Virginia, Army, Georgia Tech, and UConn. The Eagles have yet to prove yet that they can defeat a good squad. Meanwhile, Syracuse has proven multiple times that they can’t beat a good squad. The Orange have lost four-straight to decent or good teams: Clemson, North Carolina, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. Cuse hasn’t played good football in weeks, but they’re hoping they can get back to where they started against some easier competition in BC.
Our staff has spent this week compiling some great content to preview this match-up. Take a look:
BC Opponent Preview: Syracuse Football
Boston College Football vs. Syracuse: Q&A with Nunes Magician
#ThePath – How Boston College Football Could Actually Make The 2023 ACC Championship Game
What to Watch For
- Can Shrader get going? Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader is one of the ACC’s most experienced QBs and has plenty of history with beating Boston College. But he has had quite a rough stretch these past four weeks and hasn’t gotten past even 200 total yards from scrimmage (passing + rushing) in these losses. BC’s defense needs to keep him cold, because he is a dangerous player when he’s hot.
- Is Castellanos at full go? It’s clear that BC QB Thomas Castellanos was playing at less than 100% in the second half of the win against UConn, but it’s unclear how serious his affliction actually was. BC head coach Jeff Hafley simply said he wasn’t “feeling well” and left it at that, while TC came out of halftime with a wrap around his leg and couldn’t move very well on the field. With a quick turnaround into traveling for a Friday away game, his status could be a question mark.
- Which defense is worse? Both of these defenses are having their struggles this season. BC has been able to leverage their new star QB into some comebacks at least, but both have found themselves in some sticky situations this year because of their defenses. The Eagles’ D has a little momentum after a better performances against UConn and Georgia Tech, while Cuse hasn’t put up a good defensive performance in weeks, but both units have been so inconsistent that any kind of performance could happen on Friday night.
Tailgate Treat of the Week
When we’re facing the Orange, I have to go with something citrus-y. This Rainbows Are Real by Clown Shoes is my pick for a tasty one. I’ve been really into Hazy IPAs recently (mostly Sam Adams tbh) and this is a great option for when you want a sweeter kick in your brew.
(I easily could’ve picked a fruity sour but when they ZIG you gotta ZAG!)
Prediction: Boston College 31 Syracuse 21
BC’s team is headed in the right direction and Syracuse’s is headed in the wrong one. I think it’s as simple as that. If these squads faced off in the beginning of the season then I would have made a different pick. But the Eagles seem to have found an identity while the Orange’s has completely fallen apart. At this point I’m ready to trust (a healthy) Thomas Castellanos to outduel the guy on the other side given their performances in recent weeks.