A quick take on Syracuse’s 28-20 win against Boston College on a wet Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill:
WHAT HAPPENED: With Syracuse up 21-20 with 9:18 left in the fourth quarter, Eric Dungey threw deep to Amba Etta-Tawo, who came down with a spectacular one-handed grab for a 68-yard touchdown to give SU a 28-20 lead. Boston College had one final chance to tie after Dungey fumbled the ball at midfield with 4:28 left, but the Orange defense held after a timely sack from Josh Black and a fourth down incompletion in the end zone. The win evened SU’s record at 4-4 and kept Boston College winless in the ACC.
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ANALYSIS: Statistically, this should’ve been a dominant Syracuse performance. The Orange outgained the Eagles 524 to 287 in total yardage, and 434-64 through the air. But the game ended up coming down to the final few minutes because of far too many Syracuse mistakes. SU turned the ball over three times, with Dungey fumbling twice and getting intercepted once. And the Orange was penalized 16 times for 135 yards.
HERO: Etta-Tawo notched 10 catches for 144 yards, becoming just the fourth player in SU history to go over 1,000 yards in a single season. Despite the turnovers, Dungey’s 434 passing yards was good enough for the second-highest single-game performance all-time. Steve Ishmael (108), Brisly Estime (93) and Erv Phillips (78) all benefited.
ZERO: Special teams had another poor outing, allowing an 89-yard punt return to Myles Willis in the second quarter combined with Cole Murphy missing a 40-yard field goal. Without those two plays, it could’ve been a significantly less stressful afternoon for SU.
WHAT’S NEXT: Syracuse will have a bye week before traveling to Clemson on Sat. Nov. 5.
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