Boston College 16 Syracuse 13: Grading the Eagles

Boston College survived a close matchup with the Syracuse Orange on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. Let's break down the game by position group and hand out grades for each position.

Because of COVID-19 this evaluation was done using the network TV feed. There certainly were moments the video missed. We did the best we could to evaluate what was visible. Also for grading: A: Great Game, B:Good Game, C: Average Game D: Below Average F: Poor Game)

(Because of COVID-19 this evaluation was done using the network TV feed. There certainly were moments the video missed)

Quarterback: C. After the first few series where Phil Jurkovec missed a few targets including a streaking Zay Flowers, he settled down. Still inconsistent for his standards. The play where he fell and sacked himself was a tough mistake that killed a drive. He wasn't asked to do much, but still finished the game 20-29 for 209 and a touchdown.

Running Backs: B. David Bailey and Travis Levy both had what I would consider solid games. They were asked to run the ball 42 times and averaged more than four yards a carry combined. But what I thought was missing were the explosives. They were able to consistently carry the ball 5-6 yards a carry, but then one play would get stuffed and the offense couldn't recover. Last year you were just waiting for Bailey to shrug off a tackle and jet it for 30-40 yards. We aren't seeing that this year, not sure what has changed. The definition of a good game, but not a great game.

Wide Receivers: B-. The Zay Flowers touchdown catch will be on the season highlight reel when this year ends. However, other than that catch he was pretty much kept to short dink and dunk stuff, that Syracuse stopped from going anywhere. Also a nice catch by Jehlani Galloway later in the game on a low pass. CJ Lewis's personal foul at the end of the game could have been crushing but luckily Syracuse was not able to capitalize.

Offensive Line: A. Thought this group played phenomenally on Saturday. In terms of owning the trenches, this was text book. Limited mistakes, they performed at as high a level as we have seen all year. On top of the success of the rushing attack, Jurkovec was not sacked.

Tight End: INC. Hunter Long was pretty much held in check for most of the game, only with a pair of catches, while Spencer Witter had one catch. Most likely they both played a bigger role in blocking schemes, it was just hard to parse out how they did on the network TV feed. Not fair to give them a grade on something hard to judge.

Defensive Line: A. Great game by this group who held Syracuse to just 52 rushing yards the entire game. Boozie Onwuka and Luc Bequette both had big plays, and Cam Horsley recorded his first sack of his collegiate career. They brought good pressure on Jacobian Morgan throughout the game and two of the four sacks.

Linebackers: A. Max Richardson played his game of the season so far on Saturday. After his fellow linebacker Isaiah McDuffie went down with an injury, Richardson just took over. He had a pair of sacks, and 10 tackles. We have been waiting for a breakout game where he becomes the defensive star, and this was it. John Lamot also played much faster than last year--looks slimmed down-- and did a really nice job filling in for McDuffie.

Defensive Backs: B. Jason Maitre had what looked to be the game changing interception later in the game. Good game, they prevented anything big from Morgan and just kept forcing him to check down. What stood out to me was the lack of YAC by the Syracuse wide outs. This group is going to have their biggest challenge on Saturday against the Irish.

Special Teams: D. Aaron Boumerhi hit all the chip shots, but missed both field goals from beyond 35 yards. Had another kick out of bounds by Danny Longman. Half of Grant Carlson's punts went back to the 20 on touchbacks. Below average game for this group.

Coaching C+. Clearly offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti wanted to go out there and dominate Syracuse on the ground and just try and grind out this game. After a huge emotional game against Clemson this made sense, and I didn't hate the gameplan, however they just continued to fail to execute. Defensively I thought the gameplan was perfect, and the adjustment, adding more pressure in the second half on Jacobian Morgan was a good call.

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