Boston College Athletics
Football Hosts Syracuse in Final Home Game
November 28, 2014 | Football
Chestnut Hill, Mass. - The Boston College football team will host rival Syracuse in the final regular-season game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Eagles' 22 seniors will be honored prior to the start of the game in their final home game of their BC careers.
The game will be broadcast on the Atlantic Coast Conference Regional Sports Network. Click here for local listings. Fans can also catch the radio call on WEEI 93.7 FM and the BC IMG Sports Radio Network.
The Eagles (6-5, 3-4 ACC) are coming off a three-point loss to No. 1/3 Florida State in Tallahassee for their first road defeat of the season. They are looking for their second seven-win season in as many years. The Orange (3-8, 1-6 ACC) fell to Pittsburgh, 30-7, on the road last week and have lost the last four games in a row.
This will be the 48th meeting between the two old rivals in a matchup that dates back to 1924. Syracuse holds the series advantage, 29-18, but BC has a slight advantage at home, winning 12 of 22 games in Chestnut Hill. This will be the second meeting with both teams as members of the ACC as SU joined in 2013. Last year, the Orange defeated the Eagles, 34-31, in the Carrier Dome on a touchdown with eight seconds to play in the game.
This is the first time the squads will square off at The Heights since 2004, when both teams were members of the BIG EAST. SU won that meeting, 43-17, in the Eagles' final game in the conference.
SCARMINACH MEMORIAL AWARD RETURNS
The Eagles will award the Scharminach Memorial award to BC's Most Valuable Player after Saturday's game, a tradition that started in 1982. Orrie Scarminach was a former BC football player from Syracuse who was killed in an automobile accident in 1982. After a one-time hiatus, the award has returned. It will be presented in the BC locker room after the game.
In 2010, the award was given to running back Andre Williams after rushing for 185 yards on a school-record 42 carries and scoring a touchdown. Click here for past winners.
Each year, BC awards the Orrie T. Scarminach Memorial Athletic Scholarship Fund to a senior. Defensive lineman Brian Mihalik is the current recipient.
WILLIAMS TO HONOR McGILLIS
Senior Dominique Williams, the recipient of the Jay McGillis Memorial Scholarship, will wear McGillis' number 31 in his final home game on Saturday. Since 1993, the award has been given annually to a BC defensive back who best exemplifies the personal qualities of team dedication and leadership by example, an extraordinary competitive spirit, and personal concern for family friends and teammates. McGillis, a starting defensive back for the Eagles, passed away from Leukemia in 1992. The Eagles' spring game is played in his honor each year. Many award recipients have gone on to wear McGillis' number in the senior game as a tribute.
EAGLES RECORD BREAKERS
Graduate quarterback Tyler Murphy is just three yards shy of breaking the Atlantic Coast Conference record for single-season rushing yards by a quarterback, set by Clemson's Woodrow Dantzler in 2001. The Connecticut native has amassed 1,059 rushing yards on the year - the most among QBs in the nation - surpassing Eagle great Doug Flutie for the most in BC history. He is also two rushing TDs shy of tying Jack Concannon (1961-63) for most by a BC quarterback.
Freshman running back Jon Hilliman is looking to make history of his own. He is six rush attempts away from tying Montel Harris for the most by a freshman at BC. Harris also owns the rookie record for rushing yards with 920. Hilliman currently has 693 and is tied for 12th on BC's single-season record list with 11 rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore running back Myles Willis is 78 return yards shy of tying for fourth on BC's career list for kickoff return yards.
1984 REUNION
Members of the 1984 team best known for the "Miracle in Miami" game will be recognized between the first and second quarters. The Eagles and their families will reunited before the game and former players will be honored on the field as Nov. 23, 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of the Hail Mary pass from quarterback Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan to give the Eagles the 47-45 victory in the Orange Bowl and go down as one of the best plays in college football. The Eagles went on to win the 1985 Cotton Bowl in January.
