The Syracuse football team enter the Dome. Coach Fran Brown gathers some of the players at the 50 yard line. The Syracuse Orange Football team take on the Virginia Tech Hokies, Saturday Nov.2, 2024 at the JMA Wireless Dome Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.comdennis nett | dnett@syracuse.com
Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse football team will face Boston College at 12 p.m., Saturday at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (TV: The CW).
It’s time for our predictions. The panel includes Brent Axe, sports columnist; Chris Carlson, sports enterprise reporter; Emily Leiker, SU football reporter and Nate Mink, managing producer for sports.
BRENT AXE
Syracuse 30, Boston College 17
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
This prediction comes with two caveats.
1. Syracuse needs to keep the running game going (keeping BC QB Thomas Castellanos off the field is a good thing).
2. The Orange defense needs to keep on its turnover pace and not wait until big moments to make plays (tackling is a good thing).
I think the Orange does both and gets a convincing win in Chestnut Hill.
CHRIS CARLSON
Boston College 31, Syracuse 28
Will Syracuse cover? No
Syracuse is the better team but there is just enough working against the Orange for me to pick the Eagles.
Playing outdoors in November rain and cold will hamper the Orange’s precision passing game that has been so good and turn this into more of a defensive battle, placing increased importance on run defense, tackling and line play.
Boston College’s home-field advantage, combined with an extra week of rest for a good coach (Bill O’Brien) and a playmaking quarterback (Thomas Castellanos), will be just enough for the Eagles to escape with a win.
EMILY LEIKER
Syracuse 31, Boston College 24
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
Syracuse loves to be an underdog (which it is again this week by the slimmest of margins) and is coming off a positive momentum-creating win. Boston College is three straight losses deep and just had a bye week.
Fran Brown said Monday that the key to a faster start this week will be better tackling and breaking some tackles. Can’t argue there.
Give running back LeQuint Allen the ball early – which I don’t know why it wouldn’t after the success it had in the second half last week with him – and SU should at least have that second part covered.
Linebacker Marlowe Wax back in the middle is helping with the first part, too, as he has some of the consistently highest tackling grades on the team.
NATE MINK
Syracuse 28, Boston College 24
Will Syracuse cover? Yes
Doom scrolling came to a halt Tuesday when I came across stop rate, a stat that attempts to measure basic defensive success.
Syracuse is 99th nationally in stop rate, lower than remaining opponents California (11th), Connecticut (21st), Miami (50th) and Boston College (89th).
And yet, Syracuse is 4-1 in one-score games, coming up with enough winning plays at opportune moments to get off to just the third 6-2 start in the last seven seasons and fifth since 2000. (2010, 2001).
Warts can be masked with a functional quarterback this time of year, and Kyle McCord looks as healthy as any SU starting quarterback this late in a season since Eric Dungey in 2018.
It might not be enough to reach Charlotte, but for a generation of fans, these kind of seasons can be counted on one hand.
Point spread: Boston College by two points
Fans can stream Syracuse football all season on fuboTV, and get cheap tickets to see the Orange from SeatGeek. Fanatics has a full collection of Syracuse Orange gear to shop online.
This season’s records
Brent Axe: 7-1 straight up; 4-4 against the spread
Chris Carlson: 5-3 straight up; 2-6 against the spread
Emily Leiker: 4-4 straight up; 3-5 against the spread
Nate Mink: 2-6 straight up; 1-7 against the spread
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