The boos began sporadically in the second quarter, from pockets of fans in the stands who disagreed with Syracuse’s play call on a third and short. When Syracuse scored on the ensuing snap, sounds of disagreement still rained down from its fans. 

They didn’t even wait until the play was over on the next Syracuse possession when Trishton Jackson caught a third-down swing pass that went nowhere, booing their home team before they had a chance to run off the field.

As the defensive woes got worse, the boos grew louder. Three Boston College drives in a row ended in scoring plays of 50 yards or more. Syracuse’s offense, which had started about as well as it could have, suddenly fizzled. As AJ Dillon and David Bailey gashed the Orange for big gains, all SU and its fans could do was turn and watch as the contest and their season slipped away for good, a feeling they know all too well. 

A strong first quarter by the Orange (3-6, 0-5 Atlantic Coast) quickly turned irrelevant when Boston College (5-4, 3-3) blew them up to the tune of 34 points in the second en route to a 58-27 win. The Eagles totaled 484 yards of offense by halftime, a number that spiked to 691 by the end. Syracuse’s early 17-10 lead turned into a 44-20 deficit by halftime, and whatever hope SU had of winning the game, and possibly making a bowl game, disappeared along with it. 

“It’s tough going into the halftime, score like that,” SU head coach Dino Babers said. “…There obviously came a point in the game where the game was over and you needed to get some guys out because you still have three more games to play.”

TJ Shaw | Staff Photographer

Earlier in the week, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers repeatedly emphasized the importance of physicality in determining the outcome of Saturday’s game. By halftime, it was clear who the more physical team was. It was clear who the more confident team was, the more well-rounded team, the better team. It wasn’t Syracuse. And it hasn’t been all season. 

Syracuse wasn’t the better team when, on eerily-similar plays, safety Evan Foster crashed into the box and BC scored on deep touchdown passes. It wasn’t the better team when it went three-and-out on back-to-back drives and failed to score during the last nine minutes of the first half. And it definitely wasn’t the better team when it allowed the Eagles’ pair of running backs to scamper into the endzone untouched, without even a chance of being tackled. 

“We’re hurting right now,” SU tight end Aaron Hackett said after the game. “Everyone’s hurting. It’s been a tough season.”

Considering this year’s iteration of Syracuse football is even more difficult when taking into account how good the team was last season. Ten wins for the first time in almost two decades, a bowl game win, a preseason ranking heading into this year. After peaking at No. 12 in the AP poll last year and beginning this year No. 22, many viewed this season as the second of many successful campaigns for the Orange. 

Sure, players like Eric Dungey, Dontae Strickland and Chris Slayton were gone. But in to replace their production came Tommy DeVito, Moe Neal and talented defensive ends. Babers had turned around the lowly Syracuse program from a perennial ACC bottomfeeder to a team that could contend with Clemson on a yearly basis.

That’s why when the preseason win totals were released for every FBS team and Syracuse was expected five victories, some called it “laughably low” and bets on the over eventually raised the total to seven. All three of The Daily Orange’s beat writers picked the Orange to win nine or ten games. It wasn’t a matter of if Syracuse would surpass the expected five victories. It was a matter of if the Orange would double that. 

And yet, three-quarters through the season, SU now needs to win two of its last three games to even reach five wins. Syracuse won’t be making a New Year’s Six Bowl, like some expected. It won’t come close to the 10 wins it earned last season.

No, this Syracuse team can’t be compared to that of last year. A more apt task would be to look at this year’s version of the Orange next to that of the 2016 and 2017 teams. Three years ago, during Babers’ first season as head coach, SU began the season 4-4 and finished it with four losses in a row. In 2017, after a 4-3 start, the Orange dropped their final five games. 

This year, Syracuse still hasn’t gotten to the lowly four-win mark that it has the prior five seasons. And it may not. Saturday’s game against Boston College served as SU’s most-likely victory over its final third of games. Up next are two road games and a matchup with No. 23 Wake Forest. Even as recently as a few weeks ago it appeared as though the Orange still had a shot to make a bowl game. Now, they’ll be lucky if they don’t lose the final seven games on its schedule and finish 3-9, a low untouched since 2014.  

TJ Shaw | Staff Photographer

Make no mistake; of all of the low points of Syracuse’s season thus far — the 43-point loss to Maryland, the 35-point loss to Clemson, the blown opportunity at NC State — this is the lowest the Orange have been. Not just this year, but during the past four. 

No, this team may not be as bad as the 2016 or 2017 units. But after last year’s revitalization and this year’s expectations, the disappointment surrounding Syracuse football is as wide-spread as it’s been in a long time. 

“We feel the same heartache that (the fans) do, even worse,” Andrew Armstrong said. “No one likes to lose. We don’t like to lose.”

At halftime, the Orange – who still haven’t defeated a Power 5 team – bowed their heads and looked away from the stands as they entered the locker room. But its fans, their boos as loud as ever, weren’t even watching them. They were headed for the exits. They’d seen enough. Of this game, of this team and of this lost season.

Published on November 2, 2019 at 3:26 pm

Contact Eric: erblack@syr.edu | @esblack34