Rivalry Returns with Track Meet Potential
November 21, 2018 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Syracuse's "Orange is the New Fast" meets BC's "Tempo" on Saturday
The old Big East built its reputation on rugged, tough programs. Its original members came from the Northeast and played in the seasonal climates from New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Its teams trained in intense summer humidity before playing through a change in season until November's icy cold settled into the region's bones.
It developed and fostered hardened rivalries that predated the founding of the football conference. The ones that survived realignment intensified and mark, in the present day, the standing beacons of what it means to play in this part of the country. On Saturday, Boston College and Syracuse will renew that history in the last regular season game of the year on Senior Day in Chestnut Hill.
"We go back far with this team," safety Will Harris said. "That's just how it is. BC and Syracuse. It is what it is. Both teams are bought into that. You've seen that the last few years. It's fun for us and it's fun for them. It's all in the spirit of competition."
The matchup dates back to 1924 when the Orange won, 10-0, in Syracuse. It became an annual game in 1971, at which point Syracuse led the series, 8-3. Over the next 33 years, the teams engaged in bitter battles, splitting nearly evenly. BC won 14 times to the Orange's 20, with most victories matching the teams' golden eras.
In 1984, BC beat Syracuse in Foxboro before 60,890 fans one week before the infamous "Hail Flutie" game in Miami. In 1993, the Eagles upset the No. 13 Orange on the road, 33-29, to help jumpstart a run of eight straight wins. The next year, in 1994, BC entered ranked No. 25 and promptly shut out a 14th-ranked Syracuse team, 31-0.
It bookended stretches where Syracuse returned the favor. The No. 6 Orange beat BC, 45-17, in 1987, then did it again as the 15th-ranked team in the nation in 1988, 45-20. Nationally-ranked Syracuse teams strung together four consecutive wins in the mid-1990s.
The annual meetings ended in 2004 with the Orange's 43-17 upset of the No. 17 Eagles in the infamous "Diamond Ferri Game." It remained on hiatus save for a 2010 non-league game between the two, but it revived itself when Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013 as part of the Atlantic Division.
The Orange are 3-2 against the Eagles since that season, but BC smacked Syracuse on the road last year with a 42-14 win. It was the first game decided by more than one score since 2014, when BC won, 28-7, in Chestnut Hill. It was also just the Eagles' seventh win on the road in the rivalry and fourth win in the Carrier Dome in a matchup where the home team holds a .647 win percentage.
"The last couple of years, it's been a little chippy," defensive end Zach Allen said. "We're bringing that rivalry back to what it was during the heyday when Coach (Paul Pasqualoni) was at Syracuse. We're just excited to play them, and we're sure they're excited to play us. It'll be a tough game, and it'll be a fight for all four quarters."
The matchup itself will likely be an emotionally-charged track meet. The "Orange is the New Fast" offense averaged 21.7 seconds per play and averages the third-most plays per game in the nation. It ran 95 plays against Wake Forest in under 38 minutes and averaged under 20 seconds per play against both North Carolina and Wagner.
"We practice against (tempo) every day," head coach Steve Addazio said. "There are times they go faster than us and times they don't. The vertical throw game is the component that is added in there."
"Their tempo is fast," Allen said. "We've been going against it the last couple of years, and it's the real deal. Going against a tempo offense in practice helps. No matter how much you practice, though, you have to be on your 'A game.' Both tempos are very similar."
The offense requires an elite quarterback, and Syracuse found one in Eric Dungey. The senior holds or shares 16 team records with the potential for more before the season ends. He has almost 9,000 career passing yards after having thrown for 300 yards in 10 games in his career, and he is on the verge of becoming just the second Orange quarterback with 2,000 career rushing yards. He threw for five touchdowns against Wagner this year, then rushed for three against UConn.
"Eric is maybe the best quarterback in the conference," Addazio said. "I'm not saying anything new. The guy has got great throwing capability, great running capability. He's got the intangibles. He's tough and competitive and relentless, and he just keeps the chains moving for them."
That said, Dungey's availability remains a question mark heading into Saturday. He suffered an undisclosed upper body injury in the first quarter of last week's loss to Notre Dame. It was the latest in a career marred by the occasional injury, and it could cause him to miss the BC game for the second straight season. If he can't go, backup quarterback Tommy DeVito will get the start.
"I think they are running the same offense," Addazio said. "With Eric, I'm sure he has some QB design runs, but he has a whole lot of third-down, go-pull-the-ball-down, get-a-first-down runs. That guy wants to get first downs. I think Tommy DeVito will do the same thing. He's not as experienced as Eric, but it's hard to get a lot of guys more experienced than Eric."
It matches with a defense that's helped put the offense right back on the field. Syracuse has led at halftime in all but two games this year with an 8-1 situational record. The Orange are a perfect 8-0 when gaining over 400 yards of offense and are 4-0 when holding the ball for longer than 30 minutes, so staying on the field against the defense becomes a critical goal for an opponent.
"They are a more physical team, and I think they have done a good job on defense," Addazio said. "I think they have got good players and they have really improved."
"It's going to be a big game," wide receiver Kobay White said. "They have a good defense, and their front seven is really talented like Florida State. Everybody, as a team, really wants to get that eighth win and take the next step as a program. So we've been dialed in and focused this week."
Boston College will host the No. 19 Syracuse Orange at Alumni Stadium at noon on Saturday. The game can be seen on ESPN and online via WatchESPN. The game can be heard via the BC IMG Sports Network locally on WEEI 93.7 FM with satellite radio options on Sirius 119, XM 193 and Internet channel 955.
It developed and fostered hardened rivalries that predated the founding of the football conference. The ones that survived realignment intensified and mark, in the present day, the standing beacons of what it means to play in this part of the country. On Saturday, Boston College and Syracuse will renew that history in the last regular season game of the year on Senior Day in Chestnut Hill.
"We go back far with this team," safety Will Harris said. "That's just how it is. BC and Syracuse. It is what it is. Both teams are bought into that. You've seen that the last few years. It's fun for us and it's fun for them. It's all in the spirit of competition."
The matchup dates back to 1924 when the Orange won, 10-0, in Syracuse. It became an annual game in 1971, at which point Syracuse led the series, 8-3. Over the next 33 years, the teams engaged in bitter battles, splitting nearly evenly. BC won 14 times to the Orange's 20, with most victories matching the teams' golden eras.
In 1984, BC beat Syracuse in Foxboro before 60,890 fans one week before the infamous "Hail Flutie" game in Miami. In 1993, the Eagles upset the No. 13 Orange on the road, 33-29, to help jumpstart a run of eight straight wins. The next year, in 1994, BC entered ranked No. 25 and promptly shut out a 14th-ranked Syracuse team, 31-0.
It bookended stretches where Syracuse returned the favor. The No. 6 Orange beat BC, 45-17, in 1987, then did it again as the 15th-ranked team in the nation in 1988, 45-20. Nationally-ranked Syracuse teams strung together four consecutive wins in the mid-1990s.
The annual meetings ended in 2004 with the Orange's 43-17 upset of the No. 17 Eagles in the infamous "Diamond Ferri Game." It remained on hiatus save for a 2010 non-league game between the two, but it revived itself when Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013 as part of the Atlantic Division.
The Orange are 3-2 against the Eagles since that season, but BC smacked Syracuse on the road last year with a 42-14 win. It was the first game decided by more than one score since 2014, when BC won, 28-7, in Chestnut Hill. It was also just the Eagles' seventh win on the road in the rivalry and fourth win in the Carrier Dome in a matchup where the home team holds a .647 win percentage.
"The last couple of years, it's been a little chippy," defensive end Zach Allen said. "We're bringing that rivalry back to what it was during the heyday when Coach (Paul Pasqualoni) was at Syracuse. We're just excited to play them, and we're sure they're excited to play us. It'll be a tough game, and it'll be a fight for all four quarters."
The matchup itself will likely be an emotionally-charged track meet. The "Orange is the New Fast" offense averaged 21.7 seconds per play and averages the third-most plays per game in the nation. It ran 95 plays against Wake Forest in under 38 minutes and averaged under 20 seconds per play against both North Carolina and Wagner.
"We practice against (tempo) every day," head coach Steve Addazio said. "There are times they go faster than us and times they don't. The vertical throw game is the component that is added in there."
"Their tempo is fast," Allen said. "We've been going against it the last couple of years, and it's the real deal. Going against a tempo offense in practice helps. No matter how much you practice, though, you have to be on your 'A game.' Both tempos are very similar."
The offense requires an elite quarterback, and Syracuse found one in Eric Dungey. The senior holds or shares 16 team records with the potential for more before the season ends. He has almost 9,000 career passing yards after having thrown for 300 yards in 10 games in his career, and he is on the verge of becoming just the second Orange quarterback with 2,000 career rushing yards. He threw for five touchdowns against Wagner this year, then rushed for three against UConn.
"Eric is maybe the best quarterback in the conference," Addazio said. "I'm not saying anything new. The guy has got great throwing capability, great running capability. He's got the intangibles. He's tough and competitive and relentless, and he just keeps the chains moving for them."
That said, Dungey's availability remains a question mark heading into Saturday. He suffered an undisclosed upper body injury in the first quarter of last week's loss to Notre Dame. It was the latest in a career marred by the occasional injury, and it could cause him to miss the BC game for the second straight season. If he can't go, backup quarterback Tommy DeVito will get the start.
"I think they are running the same offense," Addazio said. "With Eric, I'm sure he has some QB design runs, but he has a whole lot of third-down, go-pull-the-ball-down, get-a-first-down runs. That guy wants to get first downs. I think Tommy DeVito will do the same thing. He's not as experienced as Eric, but it's hard to get a lot of guys more experienced than Eric."
It matches with a defense that's helped put the offense right back on the field. Syracuse has led at halftime in all but two games this year with an 8-1 situational record. The Orange are a perfect 8-0 when gaining over 400 yards of offense and are 4-0 when holding the ball for longer than 30 minutes, so staying on the field against the defense becomes a critical goal for an opponent.
"They are a more physical team, and I think they have done a good job on defense," Addazio said. "I think they have got good players and they have really improved."
"It's going to be a big game," wide receiver Kobay White said. "They have a good defense, and their front seven is really talented like Florida State. Everybody, as a team, really wants to get that eighth win and take the next step as a program. So we've been dialed in and focused this week."
Boston College will host the No. 19 Syracuse Orange at Alumni Stadium at noon on Saturday. The game can be seen on ESPN and online via WatchESPN. The game can be heard via the BC IMG Sports Network locally on WEEI 93.7 FM with satellite radio options on Sirius 119, XM 193 and Internet channel 955.
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