(AP) — SYRACUSE, N.Y. With 2:23 remaining, quarterback Thomas Castellanos rushed 8 yards for the game-winning touchdown, helping Boston College win its fifth straight after downing Syracuse 17-10 on Friday night. The Orange have now lost five straight games.
"We have a lot of confidence," Castellanos declared. We are moving. Football at BC is returning. Though not very attractive today, a victory is a win.
Garrett Shrader, the starting quarterback for Syracuse (4-5, 0-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), was sidelined due to an injury sustained last Thursday against Virginia Tech. It was not revealed what kind of damage it was.
Dino Babers, the Syracuse coach, stated that while Shrader didn't practise all week, he was unaware that he wouldn't be ready until Thursday.
With 5:59 remaining, Boston College (6-3, 3-2) took the field on its own 29-yard line and marched down for the winning score. With the win, the Eagles are now eligible for bowl games. For Syracuse to go to a second consecutive bowl, they must win two of their remaining three games.
For Syracuse, Carlos Del Rio-Wilson made his second career start, and it was evident that he lacked experience. In the first quarter, the sophomore gained 27 yards up the middle for a score and added another long gain. However, he only completed 7 of 17 passes for 37 yards and four interceptions. On 18 carries, LeQuint Allen gained 142 yards of ground.
"Carlos performed admirably. Although there were several interceptions, Babers stated that the other players have to find a way to win the game even with a backup quarterback. LeQuint came close to doing so. "Clearly quite dissatisfied in the result. We thought we had a chance to win that game. We never gave up on it. All we had to do was create enough plays—and there were enough to create.”
Castellanos passed for 165 yards on 20 of his 37 attempts. With the first half winding down, he only managed one touchdown pass, a 2-yarder to Anthony Ferrucci that gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead.
Late in the first quarter, a run by Del Rio-Wilson gave the Orange a 7-3 lead. However, the Eagles responded with an 18-play, 80-yard drive that was completed by a short touchdown pass from Castellanos. The score was enabled by a pass interference call on Jason Simmons Jr. of Syracuse in the end zone.
The Orange were kept in check by the Eagles defence. Syracuse's offence totaled 246 yards, but they only managed 10 first downs. To Syracuse's 47 plays, BC ran 94 plays.
"I felt Syracuse played hard, man," head coach Jeff Hafley of BC stated. They are receiving a lot of heat. They limited the run, and I felt like they played us better than any defence I've ever seen. They played incredibly hard, in my opinion.
This was a rough and difficult game. Hafley continued, "Congratulations to our team. "We manage to prevail. What it looks like is irrelevant to me. Now it's five straight. It's 6-3. We're qualified for the bowl, and after four victories for us and four defeats for them, I believe our players felt a little insulted.
Syracuse's Allen stated, "We're still in it." Three games remain for us. We can still have a 7-5 record and still qualify for a bowl game.
SHRADER’S STATUS:
STOPPING THE RUN:
Before Friday's game, Kye Robichaux had two straight 100-yard games, but Syracuse limited him to only 70 yards on 23 attempts.
WHAT A TIME:
BC had the ball for 42:16 to Syracuse’s 17:44, but couldn’t pull away.
