Syracuse beats Boston College 20-17 on last-play field goal

Behind a spirited effort, Syracuse sent Shafer out a victor Saturday, beating Boston College, 20-17, on a 38-yard field goal from Cole Murphy at the buzzer.

Syracuse (4-8) announced Shafer would not be returning as head coach on Monday. “That’s something we need to do”. We’re going back to the old days.

BC tied the game 17-17 on a 41-yard drive with 2:42 to play.

Saddled with an 0-7 SU record against ACC opponents, Boston College enters Saturday afternoon’s Eagles vs. Orange betting matchup at the Carrier Dome with one final chance to avoid a winless conference season and climb out of the basement in the ACC Atlantic.

Quarterback Zack Mahoney finished the game with 88 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-26 passing. Tyler Rouse ran for 111 yards and scored twice to pace the Eagles. “He did well”, Addazio said.

The Orange had lost eight straight, but the players rallied around their coach one final time, carrying him off the field on their shoulders in celebration. Shafer also saluted the soldiers at Fort Drum’s 10th Mountain Division, who invited the football program to train each August during Shafer’s tenure as head coach. Over under has seen the Boston College Eagles go a 2-7 so far, while the Syracuse Orange go 7-1. “I wish him nothing but the best”. Syracuse finished with 153 yards rushing and held the ball for almost 10 minutes longer than BC. Jeff Smith gave the squad a spark with an 80-yard TD run and a short passing TD – both in the fourth quarter – but BC generally has had terrible quarterback play all season.

Lichtenberg’s kick, however, was trumped by Murphy’s winning 36-yarder. “I don’t like where we are in terms of our wins and our losses right now, but I like where this team will progress and grow to”. “We accomplished the goal”, Ishmael said. “It was like a movie out there”.

Boston College Eagles rank at 118 for scoring 18.3 points where as Syracuse Orange rank at 85 for allowing 29.4 scores. This one was close and this time the Orange prevailed, thanks to BC’s anemic offense.

Syracuse gained a 10-7 halftime lead, capitalizing once on a turnover, and the Orange defense limited the Eagles to 80 yards, all on the ground, as Smith failed to complete a pass and was intercepted twice.