Syracuse Football: 2nd-half explosion to destroy the Eagles was glorious

A totally anemic offense in the first half, thankfully, woke up following the intermission, enabling Syracuse football to get one win closer to reaching bowl eligibility after pasting long-time rival Boston College, 21-6, on Saturday afternoon in Central New York.

I was really proud of how resilient and gritty the Orange proved in this Atlantic Coast Conference affair. The ‘Cuse could do absolutely nothing on offense in the first 30 minutes, as Syracuse football trailed the Eagles, 3-0, at the break.

Credit the Orange defense for keeping the ‘Cuse in this game, both before the intermission and then in the final two quarters. In the third quarter, three magnificent plays by Syracuse football changed the trajectory of this conference clash and should propel the Orange into the post-season bowl conversation, at least for the time being.

Running back and Heisman Trophy contender Sean Tucker had a massive 51-yard touchdown run, quarterback Garrett Shrader boasted his own TD run of 48 yards, and wide receiver Courtney Jackson returned a BC punt 64 yards for a score. That was the ball game, my friends.

Syracuse football had a huge third quarter and cruised to a win over Boston College.

Prior to its battle with the Eagles on Saturday, the ‘Cuse had four encounters remaining in the 2021 regular season, and for my money, the Orange needed to take care of Boston College at home to have a realistic path to earning a bowl berth.

It didn’t look good early on, as Syracuse football went scoreless in the first half, but the ‘Cuse (5-4, 2-3) went into overdrive in the third quarter, and the team’s defense put the clamps down on the Eagles (4-4, 0-4) in the final 15 minutes.

I know that some Orange fans are bemoaning the squad’s recent string of close losses, and how Syracuse football could already have a half-dozen successes. That’s understandable.

The ‘Cuse fell to Rutgers by 10 points, and the Orange has also lost by three points each to Florida State on the road, to undefeated Wake Forest at home in overtime, and to Clemson in CNY.

That’s four winnable games in my book. Conversely, Syracuse football beat Liberty on the Hill by three points, and the Orange squeaked past Virginia Tech in Blacksburg by five points.

So for me, the ‘Cuse has four tough losses and two extremely close victories. It’s a one-game swing, as far as I’m concerned, and maybe Syracuse football should be 6-3 at this juncture, rather than 5-4.

Regardless, the Orange won a single game in 2020. Experts, by and large, forecast the ‘Cuse to pick up maybe three or four successes in 2021.

Syracuse football has five victories, with three games left. The Orange has a bye week coming up, giving it plenty of time to rest. Then to wrap up the regular season, the ‘Cuse travels to Louisville and N.C. State, and has a home date with Pittsburgh.

Our boys in Orange need one more win to reach bowl eligibility. But with the way that the Syracuse football defense played on Saturday versus Boston College, and how fabulous Tucker is (he had 207 rushing yards against BC), I’m aiming bigger.

Let’s grab seven or eight regular-stanza wins in 2021, shall we?