Syracuse Orange v. Boston College Eagles Prediction & Preview (11/3/23)

Syracuse (4-4, 0-4 ACC) is still looking for its first conference win, and will try again on Friday evening against Boston College.

Opponent: Boston College Eagles (5-3, 2-2 ACC)

Date & Time: Friday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m.

Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.

TV: ESPN2

The ACC's announcement earlier this week revealing the new football scheduling format with the additions of Cal, SMU, and Stanford ballooning membership to 18 schools next year, has a direct impact on future Syracuse schedules.

The 2024-2030 scheduling model keeps 16 "protected rivalries" intact, including Syracuse-Boston College and Syracuse-Pittsburgh, respectively, the two teams that just happen to be next up in consecutive weeks on this year's schedule.

We applaud the ACC for keeping the two longtime northeast and former Big East rivals as annual conference games moving forward, although we would have liked to see them split with one game at home, the other on the road each season, instead of both games home/away every other year.

And as we've written previously, the league should always place the BC game as the regular season finale Thanksgiving Weekend either at the Dome or suburban Boston. It's SU's closest geographical rival, and there's plenty of history in the 56-game series that dates back to 1924.

Ending the season with Wake Forest in the Dome this year, for example, just doesn't have the same rivalry cache, but we digress.

After Boston College missed the postseason last year, Friday night's game marks the first of four opportunities for the Eagles to earn their sixth win and bowl eligibility, and it will likely take at least seven victories (Va. Tech, Pitt, Miami) for BC to avoid the hometown Fenway Bowl.

In his postgame remarks to the media last Saturday following BC's 21-14 win over his team, Connecticut coach Jim Mora provided this scouting report:

“(BC) is a different looking team than last year when we played them (and won 13-3). Last year, they looked pretty ordinary. This isn’t a cut to them, this is a compliment to what they’ve been able to do in populating their roster with really good players. They’re big, they’re physical, they’re tenacious, they’re violent.”

And not likely to forget last year's SU win at Alumni Stadium. Player emotions got heated at halftime leading to some pushing and shoving, followed by postgame flag waving by various SU players and an attempted flag planting, only to be quashed by Dino Babers removing the flag himself.

Meanwhile, outscored by a cumulative 30-8 over the four game losing streak, Syracuse still has its postseason goal firmly in place, needing only to split its final four contests. But which 'Cuse team will show up in front of what's expected to be the largest announced home crowd of the season?

We're going to guess a team that will come out inspired to play, then again that's what we thought would happen eight days ago on the road. Is it too crazy to think a four game winning streak, followed by a four game ACC losing streak, could be followed by some sort of winning streak to end the season against four peer programs?

Probably too crazy, as will be the ending of this game. In overtime, Syracuse will hang on to defeat Boston College 30-27.

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