The Syracuse football team defeated Boston College to finish the season at 4-8, one win better than their total from 2014.
Well, it may not have been pretty, but Syracuse was able to squeak out a victory on a last second field goal and send Scott Shafer off with a win. It was a bittersweet victory for Shafer, who was fired this past week after eight consecutive losses.
The first half was a slow start for the Orange, as they gave up an early touchdown to Boston College and turned the ball over once. Finally, the offense got moving thanks to a couple big grabs by Steve Ishmael and some runs by Jordan Fredericks. Syracuse was able to throw a two yard touchdown pass to Ervin Philips to tie the game, then took the lead later on a career-long 49-yard Cole Murphy field goal.
Syracuse led 10-7 at the half.
The second half was a roaring start for SU, who drove the ball for another touchdown on their opening possesion. This time it was a 1-yard strike to Ishmael to take a 17-7 lead. It looked like all the momentum was on their side, but two plays later BC scored on a 12 yard run. The SU defense had just given up a 50-yard QB keeper the previous play which had set Boston College up.
BC was able to tie the game late in the fourth quarter on a 43-yard field goal after converting a 4th and 3 earlier in the drive. With just over two minutes to go and all their timeouts, Syracuse took over.
After a couple of solid runs and a short pass to Philips, Syracuse was moving the ball. The ground game worked extremely well against Boston College’s #1 defense. George Morris got involved with a couple sizable runs, then Philips got the ball again and ran it into field goal range with just under a minute left. From there it was a simple matter of keeping the ball on the ground and eating up the clock.
Syracuse got it down to the 18 yard line and called timeout with three seconds left. After two attempts to freeze the kicker by Boston College, Cole Murphy drilled the 35-yarder right down the middle for the game winner! 20-17 SU, game over.
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After the game there were a lot emotions visible by Shafer. He initially had no reaction to the kick going through, almost as if he couldn’t believe it had happened. Then there was excitement and joy as he was swarmed by his players.
You could just see the relief on his face, but also the sadness as he realized this would be his last game in the Orange and Blue. After shaking hands with Boston College coaches, Shafer was hoisted onto the shoulders of two of his offensive linemen and paraded around the field.
At this point Shafer was overcome with emotion and the tears started to flow. He began hugging, high-fiving, and celebrating with anyone he could get in range of. For a solid five minutes, Shafer was in another world and nothing else mattered. It was just him and his team, and they had won. I can only imagine what that must have felt like.
And so ends the Scott Shafer era. After just three years, he has been tossed to the curb and Syracuse is left with nothing but questions. Was it the right move? Who will the new coach be? Will we lose any recruits or current players because of this? Unfortunately I don’t have the answers for you. I’m sure we’ll find out about the coaching situation fairly soon, but the rest of those questions might remained unanswered for quite a while.
At least in the end Shafer was able to walk off into the sunset as a victor. It must have been quite vindicating for him to go out like this. He’s put so much energy into this football team and I for one will miss that. So here’s to you Coach Shafer, I hope wherever you end up you are appreciated for all your hardwork and dedication. Syracuse University will always remember you and your tireless efforts to rebuild this program.
And with that, a new era of Syracuse football is about to begin. Let’s go Orange!