Written by Brett Korpi
Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday, October 22, 2016
After a week off, the Boston College Eagles (3-3, 0-3 ACC) will open the second half of their season with their homecoming game against longtime rival, the Syracuse Orange (3-4, 1-2). It will be the 50th meeting between the two schools. Syracuse has had the advantage in the series with 30 wins to 19 losses.
Syracuse enters the game coming off a 31 - 17 upset win over Virginia Tech at home. While the Eagles got rolled by Clemson 56 - 10.
Let's take a look at the questions alumni will be pondering as they return to the Heights for the festivities.
How would you describe the first half of the Eagles season?
As Dennis Green once said,"They are what we thought they were." The Eagles have beaten up on teams that they should beat, and lost to teams that are more talented. Georgia Tech being the exception. They should have picked up the win in Ireland but they let the Yellow Jackets off the hook.
That being said, the season thus far has to be a disappointment. You want to see improvement and that has just not happened against good teams. They have been defeated at home and on the road by the top echelon of the ACC. Now, you may say they can be forgiven for that, however, other ACC teams have not looked as bad as the Eagles did against Clemson.
The Eagles are hosting Syracuse this week, who just won convincingly against Virginia Tech. The Eagles need to be able to compete in the conference and as they stand right now, they cannot. They have lost 11 conference games in a row.
What do you want to see from them in the second half of the season?
As they stand at 3-3, they still have a chance at a bowl bid. However, over the course of the final six games they have to start thinking about the future. Quarterback Patrick Towles is a graduate transfer and will be gone after this year. Head Coach Steve Addazzio needs to figure out what he has in Darius Wade. The offense has not looked good as a whole under Towles, and unless he plans on bringing in a transfer every year, Addazzio has to start thinking about the future. Especially if he plans on being here for awhile.
It will also be interesting to see the continued emergence of red-shirt freshman running back Davon Jones. He has basically been splitting carries with running back Jon Hilliman most of the season and at times, has looked like the most explosive player on the field.
Now, what can we expect from the Orange?
Offense. Syracuse is ranked 26th in total offense nationally and is led by quarterback Eric Dungey. He has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns, with another six touchdowns on the ground.
Wide receivers Amba Etta-Tawo and Ervin Philips are Dungey's top targets, combining for over 1,500 recieving yards and 10 touchdowns.
Since Syracuse has a potent offense, does that mean the Eagles defense will struggle?
Good question, the Eagles have struggled against good offenses and have dominated poor offenses. It has been the defensive backs who have struggled the most as well. We saw against both Virginia Tech and Clemson that the defensive backs were getting burnt on a consistent basis and there were plenty of blown overages. So it is a cause for concern, given that Syracuse's strength is their passing attack.
What your prediction for this one?
Based strictly on what I have seen this year, I have to go with Syracuse winning, 34-17. The Eagles defense struggles against aerial attacks and Syracuse has the momentum coming off the big victory last week.
Weekly Fun Fact
Former Eagle great and current NFL star linebacker Luke Kuechly will have his number retired during a half time ceremony.
Kuechly is the most decorated defensive player in Boston College football history. He swept every major postseason award, including the Dick Butkus Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Award and Lombardi Award. He was a two-time first-team All-American and led the nation in total tackles in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He also registered a school-record 532 tackles in just three seasons.
Following his junior season he was selected ninth overall by the Carolina Panthers. He continued his dominance in the NFL, being named 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year. He has registered at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons and has been named to the Pro Bowl three times.
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday, October 22, 2016
After a week off, the Boston College Eagles (3-3, 0-3 ACC) will open the second half of their season with their homecoming game against longtime rival, the Syracuse Orange (3-4, 1-2). It will be the 50th meeting between the two schools. Syracuse has had the advantage in the series with 30 wins to 19 losses.
Syracuse enters the game coming off a 31 - 17 upset win over Virginia Tech at home. While the Eagles got rolled by Clemson 56 - 10.
Let's take a look at the questions alumni will be pondering as they return to the Heights for the festivities.
How would you describe the first half of the Eagles season?
As Dennis Green once said,"They are what we thought they were." The Eagles have beaten up on teams that they should beat, and lost to teams that are more talented. Georgia Tech being the exception. They should have picked up the win in Ireland but they let the Yellow Jackets off the hook.
That being said, the season thus far has to be a disappointment. You want to see improvement and that has just not happened against good teams. They have been defeated at home and on the road by the top echelon of the ACC. Now, you may say they can be forgiven for that, however, other ACC teams have not looked as bad as the Eagles did against Clemson.
The Eagles are hosting Syracuse this week, who just won convincingly against Virginia Tech. The Eagles need to be able to compete in the conference and as they stand right now, they cannot. They have lost 11 conference games in a row.
What do you want to see from them in the second half of the season?
As they stand at 3-3, they still have a chance at a bowl bid. However, over the course of the final six games they have to start thinking about the future. Quarterback Patrick Towles is a graduate transfer and will be gone after this year. Head Coach Steve Addazzio needs to figure out what he has in Darius Wade. The offense has not looked good as a whole under Towles, and unless he plans on bringing in a transfer every year, Addazzio has to start thinking about the future. Especially if he plans on being here for awhile.
It will also be interesting to see the continued emergence of red-shirt freshman running back Davon Jones. He has basically been splitting carries with running back Jon Hilliman most of the season and at times, has looked like the most explosive player on the field.
Now, what can we expect from the Orange?
Offense. Syracuse is ranked 26th in total offense nationally and is led by quarterback Eric Dungey. He has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns, with another six touchdowns on the ground.
Wide receivers Amba Etta-Tawo and Ervin Philips are Dungey's top targets, combining for over 1,500 recieving yards and 10 touchdowns.
Since Syracuse has a potent offense, does that mean the Eagles defense will struggle?
Good question, the Eagles have struggled against good offenses and have dominated poor offenses. It has been the defensive backs who have struggled the most as well. We saw against both Virginia Tech and Clemson that the defensive backs were getting burnt on a consistent basis and there were plenty of blown overages. So it is a cause for concern, given that Syracuse's strength is their passing attack.
What your prediction for this one?
Based strictly on what I have seen this year, I have to go with Syracuse winning, 34-17. The Eagles defense struggles against aerial attacks and Syracuse has the momentum coming off the big victory last week.
Weekly Fun Fact
Former Eagle great and current NFL star linebacker Luke Kuechly will have his number retired during a half time ceremony.
Kuechly is the most decorated defensive player in Boston College football history. He swept every major postseason award, including the Dick Butkus Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Award and Lombardi Award. He was a two-time first-team All-American and led the nation in total tackles in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He also registered a school-record 532 tackles in just three seasons.
Following his junior season he was selected ninth overall by the Carolina Panthers. He continued his dominance in the NFL, being named 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year. He has registered at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons and has been named to the Pro Bowl three times.