The Replay: Syracuse

October 18, 1924 brought Frank Cavanaugh's Boston College football team to the sold-out Central New York wonderland at Archbold Field. Having opened the season with two home-based wins over Providence College and Fordham, the Eagles' first road trip of the season matched them with Chick Meehan's fledgling powerhouse. The undefeated Orange hadn't left their cozy confines for wins over Hobart and Mercer, but the 24-7 win over William and Mary set up an undefeated clash ahead of a late-October trip to Penn State's New Beaver Field.

Scoring, like in so many matchups in the era predating the prevalence of the forward pass, was at a premium. John McBride's 60-yard run-to-daylight gave the first period a bit of added flair, but no scoring beyond the two-way star's 28-yard field goal put points on the board. BC failed to gain 100 yards of total offense and wouldn't threaten Syracuse's end zone after nearing a score in the first quarter. The first meeting between the two schools ended in a 10-0 victory for the Orange, after which Syracuse completed an 8-2-1 record opposite BC's 6-3 season.

A century later, the main body to a Boston College-Syracuse matchup that looked nothing like the first-ever match-up in 1924. Orange quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 392 yards and two touchdowns to eclipse even the combined numbers between the two teams, after all, and the 68 combined points were one point less than the Roaring 20's version of Syracuse scored in its entire season after the win over BC.

The headline, on the other hand, looked remarkably similar. One hundred years had passed since McBride used a rush to defeat Boston College, and on Saturday, 313 yards of total rushing included two 100-yard runners with three combined touchdowns in the Eagles' 37-31 victory over their ancient enemy.

"Give Syracuse a lot of credit," said head coach Bill O'Brien after his team snapped a three-game losing slide. "They have a good football team. [Head coach Fran] Brown's done a great job with that team, but for the first time in a while - I would say all the way back to the beginning of the season - we played a complete game. There were some things that we need to clean up, obviously, but running the football, stopping the run, fourth down defense - it was a really good win for Boston College."

Saturday offered the rare form of a simple explanation to how BC exploited and blew apart Syracuse's overall defensive strategy during its second half rally. The Eagles had already raced out to a 14-point lead by utilizing its rushing offense for a pair of explosive plays ahead of Kye Robichaux's 34-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, and a later six-play drive in the second quarter included two rushes by Jordan McDonald that went for 15 yards or longer.

The Orange eventually rallied because of McCord's ability to quickly move an offense with his arm, but his three scoring drives to create a seven-point advantage fell victim to another explosive run by Robichaux for 41 yards before the running back scored a 14-yard touchdown to tie the game in the third quarter. Having played on the razor's edge against the BC pass rush for much of the game then caught up to McCord, and a Donovan Ezeiruaku sack forced a fumble that bounced 22 yards into the end zone for BC's first safety in 12 years.

"That was a bad look for me," laughed Ezeiruaku, "because I pride myself on being an athlete, but the guys gave me a few words of encouragement. They said that nine was better than seven [after receiving the free kick], so I guess I did that one for the team."

Scoring the post-safety touchdown did more than simply extend BC's lead to 30-21 at a time when the Eagles needed good vibrations. The long drive lasted 12 plays and elapsed seven minutes while running 67 yards, after which an additional 78-yard drive went for a third consecutive offensive touchdown over 10 plays. Under both circumstances, Syracuse, which scored 10 points down the stretch of the game, found itself failing to stop the run, which continuously gashed the interior line for a 3-to-5 yard range on third down or fourth down situations.

When BC faced the rare 3rd-and-long situation, quarterback Grayson James completed the intermediate pass that escaped the offense during the first half. He had been thrust into duty after Thomas Castellanos suffered an injury on his first dropback of the third quarter, but his ability to move the offense specifically against Syracuse was made all the easier by the rushing unit that amassed its most yardage against an FBS opponent this season with a season-high 313 yards.

"The [rushing game] definitely helped me ease into the game," admitted James, "especially when you can just let the ball run behind our offensive line. They just kind of had their way with that front, and that's what we planned for, going into the game. Being able to let them do their thing - Kye, Jordan, all the backs we have are capable of making plays for us."

Robichaux finished with a rushing average of 7.1 yards per play and gained a career-best 198 yards with two scores to become the second-best running back in the 100-year history of BC's performances against Syracuse. He eclipsed the 193 yards AJ Dillon gained during 2017's 42-14 blowout win in the Carrier Dome while leading the first pair of backs with 100 yards since Castellanos joined him over the century mark during last year's game at Georgia Tech.

Dillon infamously gained 242 yards opposite David Bailey's 173 yards against Syracuse in 2019, but Robichaux and McDonald echoed their performance by pairing off with the newcomer's 133 yards and 8.9 yards per carry. They subsequently averaged to 6.1 yards per carry against the Orange offense, which gained 431 yards but rushed for an inverted, 1.6 yards per carry against a rejuvenated BC defense.

"Jordan played a lot because he practiced well," said O'Brien. "He deserved to play. He earned it on the practice field. That's really what the program is all about. Jordan was on the scout team, and we [saw] that he was doing well. He's had two good scrimmages for us during a bye week, and this guy needed a shot to play. So that's why we did it, and he was able to spell Kye. Kye was a workhorse, and they had a great game. But Jordan did a really nice job."

Neither quarterback needed to do much for BC, but James finished with 51 yards and a touchdown after throwing one incompletion in abbreviated duty. He paired with Castellanos to push the Eagles for 65 yards and two scores with an interception on 7-for-13 passing, which in turn became the first game with less than 100 yards passing since last year's monsoon-based win over Army at West Point.

It was the first time BC threw for less than 100 yards in an ACC game since 2021's loss to Wake Forest and the first time in an ACC win since the 2017 team defeated Florida State.

"At that time, it was the best decision for the team [to play James]," said O'Brien. "A little bit of everything went into that, but I felt a decision needed to be made. I try to look at the team, and that's my job. I have to make the best decisions for the team, and I thought that was the best decision for the team at that time."

With the win, BC snapped its three-game losing streak, but defeating its biggest ACC rival before a sell-out crowd at home instantaneously changed the perception of the team's season. Now 5-4, the Eagles enter their final month needing one win to clinch bowl eligibility in a league that's simultaneously gaining more parity and competitiveness.

"I just want to do what's best for Boston College football," said James. "I know I want to win. Everybody in this program wants to win, and that's where all the focus is."

Players Mentioned

Donovan Ezeiruaku

Grayson James

Jordan McDonald

Kye Robichaux

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