The Tailgate: Syracuse

The early 1990s weren't exactly the best of times for the New England Patriots. The franchise was less than a decade removed from its surprise Super Bowl appearance, but a series of financial missteps by ownership culminated in Chuck Sullivan's ill-fated investment in the Jacksons' 1984 Victory Tour. His father, founder Billy Sullivan, eventually sold the team to Remington razor magnate Victor Kiam, and over the next four years, a number of horrendous comments in the public sphere preceded a 1-15 season and the firing of head coach Rod Rust.

To replace Rust, Kiam and Sullivan, who was still the team president, hired Syracuse head coach Dick MacPherson. A New England legend, he'd built UMass into a four-time Yankee Conference champion before moving to the Cleveland Browns as Sam Rutigliano's linebackers coach, but he was at Syracuse after initially being tasked with rebuilding the Orangemen's overall fortunes. He replaced Frank Maloney in the process, but MacPherson had a state-of-the-art weapon at his disposal with the newly-built and recently-opened Carrier Dome.

The Carrier Dome had just completed its first year in 1980, but a loaded home schedule gave way to more balance for MacPherson's inaugural season in 1981. Indiana and Penn State were visitors from a more midwest feel, and games against Rutgers, Colgate, Boston College, and West Virginia allowed for regional rivalries to grab hold of the Dome's second season.

The last two of those games were at home, and Boston College's November trip to Syracuse featured two teams battling for a .500 overall record. Both teams were finally grabbing some traction after tough stretches in September and October, but the cross-section of characters provided a unique backdrop to the first new chapter of the matchup's storied history.

True freshman Doug Flutie, for example, started his fifth game for the Eagles after grabbing the job during the Penn State game, and he was two weeks removed from nearly beating No. 2 Pittsburgh at home. Winning two of three games before heading to Syracuse, he threw for 234 yards while producing five yards per carry on the ground with two touchdowns against the Orangemen's banged-up defense, but a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and a 7-3 lead at halftime fell by the wayside in a 27-17 loss.

There was no way of knowing the game was a final coming-out party for Flutie, who beat Rutgers and Holy Cross to lead BC to a 5-6 record in Jack Bicknell's first year, and he wasn't even the biggest Massachusetts native playing in the game after Syracuse's Joe Morris rushed for 137 of the Orangemen's 280 yards. The all-time leading rusher in program history, he scored a touchdown in one of his last calling cards before advancing to the NFL as the New York Giants' second round pick.

Morris eventually helped the Giants win Super Bowl XXI as part of a career that left him as one of New York's all-time greats, but the parallels and intersections from that game lingered for a number of years. Flutie led BC to a Cotton Bowl win in 1984 while winning the Heisman Trophy, and Bicknell rode the success to an unheralded Hall of Fame Bowl win in 1986 with Shawn Halloran under center.

MacPherson, meanwhile, filled the void created by Boston College's eventual backslide by building a national championship contender in 1987. An undefeated team, the 11-0-1 Orangemen finished the season with a Sugar Bowl tie against Auburn, though a consensus title likely would have evaded them with No. 1 Miami playing No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl's de facto championship game.

The Eagles would eventually regain their stroke in the 1990s when both teams matriculated into the Big East, but neither Bicknell nor MacPherson were on the sidelines nor experiencing the same levels of success. Bicknell had left BC after his last three years produced nine combined wins, and MacPherson had no chance to replicate his Syracuse success with the dysfunctional Patriots and their revolving door of starting quarterbacks.

The one person who was still standing, though, was Tom Coughlin. He had been the quarterbacks coach at Boston College for most of Flutie's tenure, and he came to Chestnut Hill after spending time as Maloney's offensive coordinator at Syracuse and as the wide receivers on those very same New York Giants during the late 1980s. He coached the Orangemen during the mish-mash of home games during the 1979 season, and he opened the Dome in 1980 before moving to the Eagles. He later launched BC back into the national lexicon as the head coach who replaced Bicknell before his success brought him to the Jacksonville Jaguars and later back to the Giants, with whom he won two additional Super Bowls.

"The crazy thing is that I knew a good bit [of history]," said current running back Kye Robichaux. "As a kid, I grew up watching highlights and I always liked watching football games of hard, smashmouth football and running the ball. So of course, I'd seen the Hail Mary play and everything, and when I got here, [the history] was an emphasis on my recruiting trip. They wanted to give me the history of everything, and it's something that's hard not to want to be a part of."

Coughlin spoke to Boston College last week, and his words rang through the program ahead of its fourth straight victory. One week later, he's still a pillar for the team's motivation ahead of its latest trip to the JMA Wireless Dome to face the ancient rival to whom the Eagles remain most connected.

"[Listening to people like Coughlin] gives us motivation," he continued. "We're appreciative that he took time out of his day to come see us, and once you see a legend like that on the field that comes back and shows love to his old school, we use that motivation to go do the same thing."

Here's what to watch for as the Eagles fly west to take on the hated Orange:

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Game Storylines (Stan Lee Edition)

For years, kids have been asking me what's the greatest superpower. I always say luck. If you're lucky, everything works. I've been lucky.

Games at Syracuse carry the inevitable question about preparing a team for the indoor environment, but the shortened week simplified the issue for a BC team that had been already forced indoors by nasty weather. Like previous road games in loud environments, the Eagles cranked up the volume inside Fish Field House while shifting their cadences to a more hard-coded, hand-based signal system, but the short runway to tonight's game against the Orange forced them to really understand the system early in the week.

"You work different cadences, your clap, your count," said head coach Jeff Hafley. "You work a silent count and use hand signals, and that's what you have to do in [situations] like third down. You simulate it like we did [since] we were all inside because of the rain, so fortunately, the defense had to learn how to communicate with their hands, too, which is good."

Syracuse feels significantly different than the Florida State game that caused all kinds of cadence issues between quarterback Thomas Castellanos and the offensive line. The problems that led to BC committing a program record number of penalties largely evaporated over time with the fusion between teammates, but there are still preparative steps that were required for the unique atmosphere and noise generated by the indoor, bi-annual trip to the Dome.

"[Monday] was a Tuesday practice," Hafley said, "so we had to get everything prepared [on Sunday]. It feels like a Tuesday for all of us, but we also kind of took the pads off because they're only two days away from the [UConn] game. Even though it was a non-padded practice, it was really intense, and the focus was at a high level."

I always wrote for myself. I figured I'm not that different from other people. If there's a story I like a lot, there's got to be others with similar tastes?

The advent of spread offenses and a tightening of contract rules accelerated a process in modern football that killed old school running offenses. The move to pass-happy schemes and video game numbers made it easier for teams to run no-huddle and fast-paced offenses, and even the latest rule change eliminating the cut block felt like a targeted legislative move to end contact-based offenses.

Nearly every team is moving towards a wide open style, but BC turned back the clock with its four game winning streak by emphasizing old school, power football. The well-documented dual threat of Castellanos aside, the Eagles are back to their old tricks with horsepower running backs and a power stroke offensive line, and the production is up to 10th in the nation because the running game is averaging 214.5 yards per game while finding new ways to feature different backs powering through different holes in an opponent's front formation.

"We were dead last in the country last year," Jeff Hafley said, "so we've climbed 120 sports or whatever it is in one year. It's a lot of things where a lot of guys were injured, and we had a lot of guys who gained experience. We have depth. We got really good players back healthy. We went out and we got some new players. We created competition, and we're able to rotate guys in, so we've been playing more players. That's a credit to all those guys who played last year and a credit to the new guys who came in."

Those are clear warning signs for a Syracuse defense that's been steadily backsliding against the run since its first three games of the season. To put the 53 carries and 318 yards by Virginia Tech in a bit of perspective, last Thursday was the third consecutive game where an offense ran near or over 200 yards against the Orange, and it was the fifth consecutive game where the average yards per carry took a steep jump in production.

Colgate, for example, ran for 54 yards on 38 carries without a touchdown in the first game of the year, and while the Raiders are a Patriot League opponent, the Orange averaged 89 yards allowed on the ground per game over their four-game winning streak. Army's multiple option offense produced 125 yards on the back end of the streak, but while the total number of yards by the Tigers only eclipsed the Black Knights by a one yard, the average yards per carry jumped from 2.7 yards to 3.6 yards with an extra touchdown allowed.

The next game against North Carolina moved that average to over four yards per carry in a 200-yard day, and the number jumped again to 5.6 yards per carry against a Florida State team that scored three touchdowns and again against Virginia Tech, which averaged six yards per rush.

"We've really spent a lot of time in the run game, probably more than anything else," Hafley said. "[Steve Shimko] and [Rob Chudzinski] have done an outstanding job there, and Coach [Matt] Applebaum deserves a lot of credit. He left us for a year and gained a lot of knowledge in the NFL, and I think he became an even better coach. He's doing a really good job with those guys, and he has guys playing multiple positions."

The pleasure of reading a story and wondering what will come next for the hero is a pleasure that has lasted for centuries, and, I think, will always be with us.

Notre Dame is always going to occupy special territory on the Boston College schedule whenever the Irish appear, but Syracuse is the only annual rival that's ever truly existed since Division I split into its two subdivisions. Games between the two teams date back to when Massachusetts native Calvin Coolidge occupied the White House, and annual games between 1961 and the Eagles' departure for the ACC in 2004 existed with one lone break in 1970. A non-conference game in 2010 allowed them to rebuild their rivalry, and Syracuse's jump to the ACC in 2013 made it easy for the conference to pair the teams both divisionally and within a protected matchup.

Winning this game lasts a lifetime, but plenty of teams understand how losses to Syracuse linger for decades after the final whistle. Those Tom Coughlin years, as electric as they were, only beat Syracuse once, and the 1992 team that was undefeated prior to the debacle at Notre Dame came home to a South Bend hangover and a 27-10 loss to the tenth-ranked Orangemen.

BC ended its Big East tenure by losing four of its last five games specifically played at the Carrier Dome, and while the ACC era produced the near-700 yard game against Syracuse, this week always requires a passing mention of 2004's Diamond Ferri Game.

Clear memories still exist, and it's why the ACC sought to protect the BC-Syracuse matchup in its future rotations. Is it as big as the Iron Bowl or the Army-Navy Game? When both teams are good, maybe it is, but in a year where both are searching for their sixth win and bowl eligibility, try telling the Eagles and Orange that a game against each other won't matter to the history books.

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Question Box

Which Syracuse offense shows up against BC?

Garrett Shrader hasn't been the same quarterback that won the starting job at Syracuse with those 500 yards and five touchdowns in the first two wins of last season, but at his best, he's still a quarterback who can command an offense and light up a defense. His cumulative numbers from last year - the 2,600 yards and 17 touchdowns to seven interceptions - illustrate how he's able to run Dino Babers' style, and if given the opportunity, the former Mississippi State transfer will own the BC defense with his ability to combine passes and downfield runs.

That said, Shrader hasn't been that quarterback over the last four games, and he hit a nadir against Florida State when he completed 9-of-21 passing for 99 yards. He took eight sacks against Virginia Tech and five against Clemson, and the running quarterback who gained 195 yards with four touchdowns against Purdue dropped 52 yards under zero over the last two games.

Can the Eagles win the turnover battle?

There's a direct correlation between the overall performance of the Syracuse offense and Shrader's drop in production, but it's hardly entirely the quarterback's fault. The sacks and turnovers have been a killer, and any team capable of putting pressure on the Syracuse offense is going to gain opportunities for takeaways and turnovers. Even during the winning streak, Syracuse struggled with fumbles against Purdue, but the numbers that petered out against Clemson and North Carolina reared their ugly head against Florida State and Virginia Tech. Where the Seminoles had nine pass breakups and three quarterback hurries with one interception, the Hokies had a safety, two PBUs, two hurries and two forced fumbles.

Even if the turnover numbers don't match the production, the overall story indicates opportunities, and BC, coming off a game in which UConn remained close because of mental mistakes and fundamental turnovers, needs to have its defense primed for takeaway opportunities while minimizing mistakes on the offensive end.

Orange juice - pulp or no pulp?

My wife might break a champagne flute off my computer for saying this, but pulp makes everything better. Fresh squeezed juice is phenomenal, and I love pulp in a good mimosa. I have a friend who legitimately left full blown orange pieces on the side of his glass one morning over breakfast, and I'm not that far behind him.

That's not to say that pulp-free orange juice is bad; on the contrary, it's fantastic. Orange juice in general is great stuff. But you give me some pulp and some squeeze, and I'm all in.

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Meteorology 101

This isn't going to matter at all, but it's going to be perfect weather on Friday night in Western New York. The weekend is sandwiched right between rainstorms, so the clearing skies and breezy 40 degree temperatures should give plenty of fans room to roam through Syracuse before heading to the game. That said, the game's in a domed stadium, so it's completely irrelevant.

Also, I don't know if it's just me, but domes still weird me out. I saw an interleague game between the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers on a trip to Wisconsin a number of years ago, and the closed-top stadium was the first time I ever watched indoor baseball. It was weird to me to shed my jacket before Chris Sale's first pitch and not have to check the temperatures, and I still don't really understand how to climate control a baseball or football game.

I reiterate that it's probably me. Blame it on getting stuck in too many rain delays and snowed-out football games over the years.

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BC-Syracuse X Factor

Garrett Shrader

Garrett Shrader is an above-average quarterback with the tools to make himself one of the best passers in the ACC. He deserved better than the 28-20 loss in last year's Pinstripe Bowl, and I thought he looked phenomenal during the nine-point win over BC at the end of last season. He's one of the few quarterbacks that I trusted to make plays early in the season, and those first three games against Louisville, UConn and Purdue had me believing in his ability to recreate the wheel in Dino Babers' overall offensive scheme.

He's been under duress for the past four games, and the sack numbers echo the same problems that plagued Syracuse during last season's late October and early November timeframe. The Orange were 6-0 at the time and ranked 14th in the nation after beating NC State, but a 22-20 win over Virginia exposed the issues that reared their head three games later against Clemson when Shrader took six sacks. Clemson's five sacks later cost the Orange a 27-21 loss, and as the season bore forward, every team got to the quarterback. Even BC, which lost by nine, had six sacks.

I'm not really sure where to lay that blame, but cumulative hits take their toll on an offense. Shrader's a warrior, but he needs to deliver the ball quickly against a defense that's pinned its ears back over the last four games. BC's defensive front, in particular, found its groove over the winning streak, and the different schemes and rush points are going to confuse the offense. Whether or not that translates to sacks and takeaways is a different story, but it's going to be interesting to watch the chess match unfold over the full four quarters.

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Around College Football

This is a huge week for the ACC postseason race, and having BC's game on Friday night opens the possibility for a number of real-time channel flips during Saturday's midday slate. As usual, the non-conference game between No. 15 Notre Dame and Clemson retains a bit of top billing with the noon start on ABC, but the 2 p.m. kickoff between Georgia Tech and Virginia has arguably more impact on the future fortunes within the ACC standings.

The 3:30 p.m. games are even more important, and No. 4 Florida State's trip to Pittsburgh for a game in the high 40s starts opposite Virginia Tech's game at No. 13 Louisville with Miami and NC State kicking off at 8 p.m. All of those games impact bowl positioning and the future race for the conference championship game, though it's hard for me to really discuss the whole scenario until the Eagles collect a sixth win and become bowl eligible.

Elsewhere in college football, No. 23 Kansas State heads to No. 7 Texas, and Texas A&M is at No. 10 Ole Miss for early starts on Saturday afternoon. Arizona State heads to No. 18 Utah in the mid-afternoon with Army and No. 25 Air Force playing their leg of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy series at Mile High Stadium in Denver, and a huge matchup unfolds shortly thereafter between No. 12 Missouri and No. 2 Georgia.

Later, No. 8 Alabama hosts No. 14 LSU with No. 5 Washington visiting No. 20 Southern Cal in games that will unquestionably impact the College Football Playoff race.

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Dan's Non-Football Observation of the Week

Daylight Savings Time ends on Saturday's overnight hours, and those of us with children and pets are already bracing for impact. Any change in sleep created a weird major grind for my kids, and while I've regained my ability to sleep through the night after pneumonia sidelined me to three or non-continuous hours at the start of October, I'm also not ready to deal with a screaming, cranky child for the better part of the week because our house isn't up early enough to feed them.

That said, I have a story worth sharing about my older daughter. My wife had to work on Thursday night this week, so I was on kid duty for dinner, bath, milks, and bedtime. I actually really enjoy the time, and I have some traditions for each child before I set them down in their respective cribs. I'll sing their song to them (my younger daughter is U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and my older daughter gets "The Rising" by Springsteen), give them a kiss, and give them a final goodnight wish before I close their door. Historically, my older daughter would stall for a few seconds by refusing a small kiss on the forehead with some giggles and lighthearted pushing away.

I went to put her down on Thursday, though, and she gave me the biggest hug I've ever received. I'm talking full blown arms around the neck, a big kiss on my cheek, and an "I love you."

I don't know how I walked out of the room because I was a pure puddle. I love being a #girldad. It's the best.

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Pregame Quote and Prediction

Records don't mean anything in rivalry games. -Dez Bryant

Syracuse and Boston College are two historic rivals who define the Northeast's college football scene. They're the two biggest dogs in the greater Massachusetts-New York area, and their battles against one another are locked in a never-ending saga. The one gap that does exist feels like it never happened, and the old Big East comes alive whenever they kick off against one another.

The ACC is a national conference with a footprint that's headed for Texas and California, but its central focus point is always going to be around Tobacco Road. That's all well and good, but getting BC and Syracuse on the field against each other brings the Northeast into the conference's conversation. This isn't a matchup for the faint of heart. It's tough, rugged, cold, and bruising. Records don't matter. Winning…does.

Boston College and Syracuse kick off on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. from the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York. Television coverage is available on national television via ESPN2 with online streaming available through ESPN's platform of online and mobile apps. Radio broadcast is also available through the BC Learfield IMG Sports Network with local coverage available on WEEI 93.7 FM and satellite options available on SiriusXM channel 137 and 194. Streaming audio is also available through the Varsity Network.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Castellanos

Kye Robichaux