What Deslauriers, Villari and Brown said after Syracuse loss to Boston College

Syracuse fell flat in the second half and lost to Boston College 34-12 on Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome to finish with a 3-9 record and 1-7 in conference play.

Here are my takeaways from the season finale.

Villari provides a spark

In his final game at Syracuse, Dan Villari played a prominent role on offense, but this time it was in the running game.

Villari started his career at Michigan as a quarterback, and transferred to SU where he's been used in a variety of different roles, including tight end, running back and quarterback.

On Saturday, he took 11 carries (all direct snaps) for 44 yards and SU's only touchdown on the day.

With Yasin Willis out for the second straight game, Villari said he was informed midweek he’d play a major role in the run game.

“I said ‘I’m ready, let’s do it,’” Villari said.

He drew high praise from head coach Fran Brown for doing so.

"I think Dan exemplifies D.A.R.T.," Brown said. "Dan works extremely hard. He does everything right.

Opposite reactions in the 2nd half

Syracuse and Boston College were evenly matched in the first half with the teams tied at 6 at intermission. They proceeded to go in complete opposite directions once the third quarter began.

The Orange received the ball first and went 3-and-out netting zero offensive yards. On their first play of the second half, Boston College’s Grayson James connected with Lewis Bond for 54 yards. The Eagles scored two plays later and did not punt in the second half.

Syracuse couldn’t find any rhythm in the second half while the game was within reach. Their lone second-half scoring drive came while down 34-6.

Syracuse secondary with a rough day

The Syracuse secondary allowed 219 yards in the second half including 154 in the third quarter.

James replaced BC’s starter Dylan Lonergan in the first quarter and proceeded to pick apart the Orange secondary. Bond was his main target, and he recorded eight catches for 171 yards including six catches for 15+ yards.

The Orange gave up nine catches that resulted in 15+ yard gains.

Was the game plan too conservative?

Joe Filardi did not attempt a throw beyond the line of scrimmage until the third quarter. He eventually attempted a couple deep shots but by that point, the game was out of reach.

Filardi's approach was conservative, consistently finding the underneath route and never trying to fit balls into narrow windows.

Considering SU's 70-7 loss to Notre Dame last week, where Filardi went 14 for 26 and three interceptions, it did make sense the passing game was conservative. That said, Filardi was used perhaps a bit too conservatively, completing 10 of 18 passes for just 65 yards.

Looking ahead

Fran Brown declined to speak further on any potential staff changes following the season. He, instead, highlighted Jan. 10 on the calendar, the day recruits get to campus to join the team. He talked about the value in continuing to add depth to the team as one of his biggest lessons learned this season.

“We’re just going to keep receipts and work extremely hard,” Brown said.

The players also vocalized their support for their head coach. Freshman-standouts Antoine Deslauriers and Demetres Samuel Jr. talked about their faith in Brown and said that they are motivated by the opportunity to become leaders on the defense next season.

"I'm trying to build something here,” Deslauriers said. “I can strongly say that Syracuse is where I'll play next year."

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