Boston College
Syracuse
Eagles Fall To No. 22 Syracuse, 39-28
November 24, 2001 | Football
Nov 24, 2001
By CONNOR ENNIS
Associated Press Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - James Mungro ran for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns as No. 22 Syracuse beat No. 25 Boston College 39-28 on Saturday night to clinch second place in the Big East.
The decisive win was a needed comeback for the Orangemen, who were embarrassed 59-0 at top-ranked Miami last week.
Syracuse (9-3, 6-1) also needed to show some offense to try to make itself more attractive to bowls like the Gator Bowl and the Insight.com that have ties to the Big East but aren't required to take the league's second-place team.
In his final game at the Carrier Dome, Mungro didn't waste any time making sure it would be a special day. The senior's first carry - a 15-yard gain - put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, just the sixth Syracuse player to accomplish that feat.
His two touchdowns gave him 14 for the season, tying the school record Floyd Little set in 1965. His 29 career touchdowns stand second only to Little's mark of 35.
Boston College running back William Green, who came into the game tops in the nation with a 153-yard average, finished with 182 yards and two touchdowns.
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| William Green tears through the Syracuse defense on his way to a 40-yard TD.
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Another Syracuse senior Kyle Johnson - who was granted a rare sixth year of eligibility following an ankle injury last season - ran for a touchdown and caught a scoring pass.
R.J. Anderson, who threw for 247 yards and a score, guided an offense that looked potent after its abysmal showing last week.
Behind a safety and a field goal in the third quarter Syracuse built a 19-point lead and weren't threatened the rest of the way.
A 15-yard touchdown from pass from Brian St. Pierre to Dedrick Dewalt followed by a 2-point conversion made the score 39-28 with 4:23 left.
St. Pierre finished with 217 yards and two touchdowns.
The Orangemen held a 28-14 halftime lead after a wild first half that saw two one-play scoring drives and three touchdowns of 40 yards or more.
After a 6-yard touchdown run by Johnson put Syracuse up 7-0, Green and the Eagles (7-4, 4-3) needed just a little over three minutes to tie the game.
On first down Green took a handoff at the Orangemen 40 going left, burst into the Syracuse secondary, bumped into one of his own players, shrugged off Syracuse defender Jameel Dumas at about the 5 and continued into the end zone to make it 7-7.
Anderson and Mungro each had 1-yard scoring runs in the second quarter to put the Orangemen up 21-7, but Green got BC back into the game with a 62-yard touchdown run.
Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney, a Bronko Nagurski Award finalist, made sure the first wasn't just filled with offensive highlights as he set up an Orangemen score by stripping the ball from St. Pierre.
One play later Anderson found Johnson alone down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown pass that gave the Orangemen a 14-point lead.
