The Syracuse Orange football program returned home to the Dome after being away for more than a month to face their northeast rival Boston College Eagles.
Syracuse had won their first four games, but followed with four-straight losses, starting at home versus the Clemson Tigers, then the North Carolina Tar Heels, Florida State Seminoles, and Virginia Tech Hokies on the road. In their losses, the Orange have been out-scored 115 to 34 combined.
That four-game losing streak all happened within the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), leaving Syracuse at the bottom of the 14-member conference, at 0-4 in ACC play.
Conversely, the Boston College Eagles came in on a four-game winning streak and a 2-2 record inside the ACC.
With senior starting quarterback Garrett Shrader out due to an apparent injury, redshirt-sophomore quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson stepped under center to lead the offense.
Syracuse won the toss and would defer to Boston College.
The Eagles punted away their opening drive, but the Orange would send possession back to the Eagles after Del Rio-Wilson was intercepted by redshirt-freshman nickelback C.J. Clinkscales.
Boston College would capitalize on this turnover with a field goal by sophomore kicker Liam Connor from 24 yards away to make it 3-0 Eagles with 4:55 remaining in the first quarter.
Both teams would punt on their following drives.
Then, Del Rio-Wilson would keep the ball and take it through a wide-open lane for a 27-yard touchdown run, his first rushing score of his collegiate career, giving the Orange their first lead of the contest, 7-3, with 33 seconds left in the opening quarter.
At the 11:44 mark of the second quarter, Boston College sophomore quarterback Thomas Castellanos had a botched hand-off attempt that resulted in a fumble, which was recovered by redshirt-sophomore linebacker Anwar Sparrow, starting Syracuse on the Boston College 47-yard line.
The Orange would, however, come away with nothing, punting the ball away.
Syracuse's defense would pit Boston College back by their own end zone, courtesy of redshirt-junior defensive tackle Kevon Darton and redshirt-senior defensive end Caleb Okechukwu stopping junior running back Kye Robichaux for a four-yard loss on his rush attempt, followed by a drop by junior wide receiver Jaden Williams in traffic on third down.
Orange sophomore running back LeQuint Allen, Jr., would filed the punt at the Eagles' 40-yard line, giving the Orange great field position.
But, Del Rio-Wilson would be intercepted for the second time in the game, this coming in the end zone in single-coverage by graduate cornerback Elijah Jones to nix any hopes of Syracuse adding points.
With under a minute before halftime, the officiating crew called a pass-interference penalty on the Orange, setting the Eagles up on the Orange two-yard line.
On the very next play, Castellanos went to freshman running back Anthony Ferrucci for the two-yard score, giving Boston College the lead once again, this time 10-7, with 48 seconds remaining in the first half.
Sophomore kicker Brady Denaburg had an opportunity to end the half, but the 57-yard attempt did not sail through the uprights, keeping the score at 10-7.
Late in the third quarter, Syracuse redshirt-freshman wide receiver Donovan Brown returns the ball 33 yards on a punt and the Orange follow by accumulating 20 yards in penalties on three-straight penalties (false start, false start, and illegal block in the back).
Then, on the punt that came after Syracuse's next offensive play, the Orange got flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving the Eagles 15 yards.
But the defense bailed out the offense, stopping Castellanos on a quarterback keeper on 4th-&-1 on the Orange 24-yard line.
Syracuse would capitalize on the stop when Denaburg made his second field-goal try of the night, this from 36 yards away to tie the game at 10-apiece with 14:18 to play.
Boston College would fake punt later in the fourth quarter and gain a new set of downs thanks to a run by sophomore punter Sam Candotti.
However, the Eagles would be stopped by the Orange and eventually actually punt the ball away on this drive, leaving the score at 10-10.
Later on in the final quarter, Boston College would take a 3:36 drive to the house, with the final play being an eight-yard quarterback keeper by Castellanos to break the tie, taking a 17-10 lead with 2:23 remaining.
On the very first play of Syracuse's next drive, Del Rio-Wilson threw his fourth interception, this one going to redshirt-sophomore free safety Cole Batson.
That was the silencer.
This was truly a tale of two teams moving in completely opposite directions.
Orange have now lost five-straight, while the Eagles are winners of five in a row.
Syracuse dips to 4-5 and Boston College is now bowl eligible at 6-3.
On Offense:
Del Rio-Wilson went 7-for-17 for 37 yards, no touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Castellanos finished 20-for-37 for 165 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
Allen took 18 carries 142 yards (7.9 yards per carry).
Castellanos, Boston College's quarterback, led all rushers for the Eagles with 87 yards on 22 carries (4 yards per carry), including his eight-yard touchdown.
On Defense:
Syracuse dropped five interception opportunities
Boston College grabbed four interceptions: Clinkscales with the first, Elijah Jones with the next two, and the final in the hands of Batson. The second interception by Jones came when he took the ball out of the hands of redshirt-junior wide receiver Umari Hatcher.
On Special Teams:
Connor went 1-for-1 on field-goal attempts and 2-for-2 on extra-point tries.
Denaburg went 1-for-2 on field-goal attempts and 1-for-1 on extra-point tries.
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