The Tailgate: Syracuse

Most of Boston College's football fanbase didn't understand the depth of the program's history during its late-stage Big East membership. The Eagles played annual games against Notre Dame in those years, so the older battles against Holy Cross and Syracuse didn't match up to the thrills of beating the No. 1 Fighting Irish in South Bend one year after absorbing a blowout loss. The list of bowl game opponents grew longer and longer by the end of the decade, and the thought of playing Big East teams started to waver after the Atlantic Coast Conference's realignment conversation rammed into full gear.

Those who lived in Massachusetts harbored plenty of well-placed arrogance towards the rest of the league because BC occupied the front pages of its metropolitan media section. Pittsburgh was a hair below the Eagles, and Syracuse, despite its best efforts to occupy the New York City media market, was located in Central New York. By 2003, Boston looked like a city of champions, and indeed, the Boston Red Sox were one year away from joining the New England Patriots on the region's list of curse-breakers.

The ultimate ignominy, at least for Big East and sports observers who began resenting the success enjoyed by Greater Boston, would come one year after Miami and Virginia Tech departed the conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Legal wrangling and debate over the ACC's 12th team left BC in the Big East for one more season, and the power vacuum atop the conference left the Eagles with an opportunity to win the Big East football championship on the way out the door. Late in the 2004 season, the windows broke open for BC to advance, and led by a win at No. 13 West Virginia, the only thing left was a Thanksgiving weekend win over an unheralded Syracuse team.

From that moment, 20 years ago this month, something happened that hadn't happened when Donovan McNabb and Dwight Freeney laid waste to the Big East in the 1990s: a genuine upset still remembered 20 years later. Before a sell-out crowd, BC's Big East tenure ended with a 43-17 loss that's now simply known as the Diamond Ferri Game.

"It was not a good day for our football team," said head coach Tom O'Brien in his postgame remarks. "We did not perform up to our expectations. The team is obviously down at this point."

Matt Ryan infamously made his first start in that game, but not even a Heisman-level career and a plethora of NFL honors erased the game's primary storyline from the overall history books. Ferri, a two-way standout at Everett High School in Massachusetts, wound up in the lineup as a running back after Damien Rhodes damaged his left leg on the outer turf surrounding the Alumni Stadium playing surface after running a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. Walter Reyes was already out of the lineup with an injury, so Ferri found himself thrust into primary action for the first time since his days in the Greater Boston League.

Rushing 28 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns, he later returned an interception for a score while recording six tackles. This moment, maybe more than anything, created a new chapter that carried the rivalry into the ACC when Syracuse joined the conference in the 2010s.

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of his performance, and while it holds special status in the long history of Syracuse football, it's one of those moments that's sorely revived on an annual basis at BC. Maybe it's a reminder of a loss, but it's further proof that Syracuse, above all, is a natural rival who simmers good, clean hate. The ACC went out of its way to protect this matchup for a reason, and on Saturday, the next chapter draws the first head-to-head matchup of two coaches celebrating their first season with their respective programs.

Here's what to watch for when Syracuse invades Chestnut Hill on Saturday afternoon:

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Game Storylines (The Dark Knight Rises Edition)

Bane: Hope. Every man who has ventured here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy… So simple… And like shipwrecked men turning to seawater from uncontrollably thirst, many died trying. I learned there can be no true despair without hope.

The villains from Christian Bale's three-movie run as Batman offered so many different looks on characters largely confined to cartoonishly evil foils on comic book pages. Heath Ledger's Joker obviously ranks atop the list for memorable turns against Bruce Wayne, but Tom Hardy's Bane played out as an anarchist that reminded me of those stereotypical computer hackers from television shows in the early-2000s. Having to follow the Joker made it impossible for Bane to step into the light as the primary subject of the trilogy, but I always enjoyed the third movie for the sinister, all-encompassing darkness.

For that reason, let's talk about the last three games of the Boston College football season because the storyline hasn't changed since the Eagles lost their Friday night matchup to Louisville. As head coach Bill O'Brien outlined during his press conference this week, the issues plaguing the team haven't been about fast starts or an inability to close out so much as they've forced the coaching staff and players to geolocate a full, 60-minute performance worthy of a consistent adjective.

"All these games are close," said the coach during his weekly press conference. "We have to play 60 minutes. These guys practice hard. They put a lot into [their preparations]. These are close games, and we've come out on the wrong side of it a few times lately. So that's one of the things that we're definitely emphasizing, playing one play a time and playing for 60 minutes."

Bruce Wayne: What does that mean?
Prisoner: Rise.

Switching gears to Syracuse requires an intricate look at head coach Fran Brown's accomplishment in rebuilding the Orange's overall offensive attack. He more specifically inherited a team in search of a new identity after the later years under Dino Babers failed to replicate the time of possession advantage generated during the 10-win season in 2018, and the patchover work to bring transfer quarterback Garret Shrader from Mississippi State went sideways when his production dropped by nearly 1,000 yards from his 2,640 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2022.

Brown's new offense under Jeff Nixon looks different from the Babers era, but the former New York Giants running backs coach has plenty of experience building a fast-paced offense around a strong running game and a quarterback capable of both running and throwing. Transfer Kyle McCord is a big target at six-feet, two-inches and 220 pounds, but his ability to scramble and create extra yardage reflects Nixon's quarterbacks with the Miami Dolphins and the Carolina Panthers. Modest success aside, those teams had quarterbacks in Teddy Bridgewater and Ryan Tannehill who were passers with the ability to run the football.

"[McCord] can run," said O'Brien. "He makes a lot of off-schedule plays. He averages about 17 yards per completion on off-schedule plays, so he can run. He's a very good athlete. He's a bigger guy, an accurate passer, and a good decision maker. He's got a lot of good qualities. When you talk about a quarterback, he checks a lot of boxes, so it's a big challenge. I would not label him a pocket passer at all. He can extend plays and make those plays outside the pocket."

McCord's numbers already equal last year's output at Ohio State, and his 2,761 yards passing are close to matching the 3,170 yards from his only full season with the Buckeyes. His interception numbers are up by a factor of two, but the fact that he's thrown nearly 400 passes through eight games is an indicator of how Nixon and Brown intend to use him against opposing defenses.

"We have to be more physical," said defensive line Quintayvion Hutchins. "We have to be consistent with the edge and keeping him from getting out of the pocket."

Bruce Wayne: I watched you die.
Ra's al Ghul: I told you I was immortal.

Three straight losses hurt BC's chances at advancing towards this year's ACC Championship, but the quest to obtain a bowl game - and its spoils - still very much lingers for a team entering the final month of the season in need of two victories. Stepping away from the game for a week in the aftermath of the three consecutive losses helped reset the season for the remaining three games, and playing this week at home is particularly advantageous for a roster that's getting healthier for its stretch run.

"We took a look at the self-scout," said O'Brien. "See what we can do better individually, unit-wise, and team-wise. Then obviously we started to prepare for Syracuse on Sunday. Last week was all about BC and trying to get better, trying to get some guys healed up. I think it's been a good couple of weeks here, and we just have to finish this week strong and ready to go on Saturday."

BC is still without defensive back Amari Jackson after an injury ended his season, but the genuine wear-and-tear on athletes over the course of a whole season exacerbates whatever mental toughness is required to prepare for an opponent. Getting back on the field this week, even with the short break, very obviously reignited the team's competitive juice, and the anticipation within the locker room heightened as the days wore closer to the Orange.

"I wanted to get back out there," said wide receiver Lewis Bond. "It's a week to develop. It's a week to get better on fundamentals, and it's a good thing [to have a break]. But I didn't like it because we were struggling. I wanted to get back out there."

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Question Box

Can the offense sustain drives against the Syracuse defense?

BC hasn't had a running back top 100 yards since Treshaun Ward gained 102 yards on 14 carries against Michigan State, but the lack of overall rushing reared its head as a downward trend emerged against Western Kentucky, Virginia and Louisville. In each game, the leading rusher in the backfield averaged less yards per carry or found himself minimized in the next game. For example, Kye Robichaux gained 4.5 yards per carry against Western Kentucky before slipping to two yards on four carries against Virginia. Turbo Richard, meanwhile, gained 5.7 yards per carry against the Cavaliers and upped his numbers to seven yards per carry against Virginia Tech but missed the Louisville game altogether.

None of that is any one individual's fault, but it reflects the four-quarter consistency required to win football games. It's not an indictment of the running game, the offensive line, or the offense in general, but it's worth noting that the successful playcalls haven't been able to gain traction on a week-over-week basis.

Can the wide receivers break free against Syracuse's back-eight?

Syracuse loves playing zone defense, which means BC's intelligence at the receiver position could find itself on full display if players like Bond successfully gain a first step against the backfield. Zone formations require defenders to look at space, but failing to trail the right person into an area creates gaps for the speed and agility game that creates crossing routes over the middle. Bond, in particular, is an intriguing option for Saturday because of his ability to pivot and make defenders miss.

Do I successfully set up my treadmill by Saturday morning?

My in-laws are in the process of selling their house and needed to rid their basement of several things that fell into disuse over the years. Competing with my wife's sister for the proverbial yard sale, I wound up getting a treadmill out of their house with some speakers that will eventually hook up to my backyard's summertime theater set-up (don't ask but it involves a projector, a fence, a computer, and infinite understanding from my neighbors).

Getting the treadmill out of their house was a project because it didn't fit through the doorways, but my brother-in-law and I got it into the bed of his pickup truck by disassembling it in the middle of a dusty floor. It's now in my garage in pieces. My wife is displeased and informed me to set it up as quickly as possible.

It's Friday. No shot that I get it done before Saturday.

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Meteorology 101

I can't remember a time when November produced 80-degree days, but there's a part of me that's looking forward to the 50-degree sunshine forecasted for Saturday afternoon. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but autumn ranks atop my list by a wide margin. Seeing the mercury dip into the 30s at night lends itself to blankets, sweatshirts, slippers and hot ciders, so it's hard for me to really enjoy wearing shorts after Halloween.

Saturday is one of those games that will absolutely feel colder on one side of the stadium versus the other. The "sunshine side," or the side adjacent to the Beacon Garage and the old Shea Field, used to emanate and radiate warmth later in the year when the sun blasted the aluminum bleachers, but the corner next to Conte Forum was an icebox in comparison. Plan accordingly.

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BC-Syracuse X Factor

Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running. -Julie Isphording

Thomas Castellanos threw for 164 yards and three touchdowns against Louisville after throwing for 205 yards and two scores against Virginia Tech. He hasn't thrown an interception since Virginia and spent three of the last four games without a pick. His rushing yardage numbers are more modest with final tallies around 50 yards per game, but I genuinely believe he's ready to explode into November by producing some more eye-popping numbers.

I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but Castellanos is at his absolute best when he's improvising in the backfield. Syracuse usually rushes three defensive linemen, so he should find space to operate in the backfield as long as the Orange don't blitz him or shoot gaps with a linebacker. From an operations standpoint, the way he runs should bring a defender closer to the gap, which will open space and pull someone away from the area in a zone defense.

Mixing designed runs into the game plan is an expectation at this point, but this feels like a defense harboring a scheme capable of letting him cook.

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Dan's Non-Football Observation of the Week

Growing up on the Orange Line admittedly warped my worldview when it comes to Massachusetts and its overall geography. I used to think Route 128 and the Mass Pike delineated the Greater Boston area from "everywhere else," and the Metrowest region might as well have been Worcester, which itself was "Western Mass" to a guy who rarely jumped on roads outside of Route 1 at the Orange Dinosaur (#IYKYK).

Moving to Metrowest completely threw that for a loop, but I've more recently learned how disconnected this part of the state sometimes feels from the Boston region. We're not far away from Boston - Hopkinton is exactly 26.2 miles from Copley Square (#IYKYK, Part II) - but crossing the Mass Pike from the region west of the circular belt encompassing I-93 and I-95 is taking increasing amounts of time because of construction.

I laugh about it now because shutting down an MBTA station requires bus service and frantic redirections, but those of us living just outside of the highway are forced to just sit in traffic. I've rediscovered podcasts and audiobooks, but I'll end ranting by saying that I'd much rather sit in my car than dangling over Boston Sand and Gravel on a train that's stopped (#IYKYK, Part III).

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Pregame Quote and Prediction

Get mad, then get over it. -Colin Powell

Head coach Bill O'Brien visibly voiced his frustration in the aftermath of each of the last three losses' postgame press conferences. In each instance, he ran the gamut from frustration to anger to disappointment to rationalization, but he remained steadfast in his messaging that BC simply had to play better. He got mad at the situation - as did the rest of the team - but the return to practice on the following Monday changed the dynamics over the team's approach.

BC uniquely has an ability to move past its frustrations by upending a very good Syracuse team. This week, more than most, is an inflection point for the 2024 season. A win re-tracks the train while a loss - while not fatal - pushes the Eagles closer to a brink that was unimaginable during September. There's a chance that most people are mad at that fact, but this team - and this game - is more about being over it and moving forward.

Boston College and Syracuse kick off on Saturday at noon from Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Television coverage is set for The CW Network with Thom Brennaman handling play-by-play duties opposite former USC and Pittsburgh quarterback Max Browne and sideline reporter and former Harvard running back Treavor Scales.

Players Mentioned

Lewis Bond

Amari Jackson

Turbo Richard

Kye Robichaux

Treshaun Ward

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