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Squint, and Boston College and Syracuse share many similarities. 

Storied programs with one national title and a Heisman Trophy winner apiece. Northeastern, academically prestigious schools that joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 21st century. 

Look a little closer, and the rivals are at a crossroads. On the verge of their fourth losing season in the last five years, the Orange (1-6, 1-5 Atlantic Coast) are trending the wrong way under Dino Babers. Meanwhile, former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has instantly jolted much-needed energy into a previously middling Boston College (4-3, 3-3). 

The two rivals’ meeting in the Carrier Dome on Saturday is a reminder of how rapidly the power dynamics of the ACC can shift. Coaching carousels swing, gamebreakers transfer, and recruiting classes filter in as graduating ones exit. The scary thing for Syracuse fans is that Hafley’s only dipped his toe in the Atlantic Coast water, spending the last nine months on Zoom calls, without spring ball or recruiting visits.

“I mean, it’s been the craziest thing you could ever dream of,” Hafley said. “I don’t even think you can compare. Certainly I haven’t done as much as (Babers has) done as far as wins and success. I’m just trying to build this thing right now.”

For a fleeting moment, Syracuse represented Clemson’s sole conference rival, the only ACC team capable of hanging with the Tigers. Dino Babers put the Orange back on the map with the 2017 landmark victory over the then-No. 2 Tigers. One 94-yard Chase Brice drive prevented SU from repeating the magic a year later. 

In Chestnut Hill during that time, the Eagles played an anachronistic style of football, pounding the ball with bell cow AJ Dillon. Then-head coach Steve Addazio led three seven-win seasons, embodying the ACC’s midsection. 

Two years later, as Syracuse spirals toward its worst season since the Greg Robinson “I think I can” era, Boston College nearly upset North Carolina and Clemson. The Eagles have the third-best passing offense and the sixth-best fifth best overall defense in the ACC in terms of yards per game.

“I have a ton of respect for Coach Babers,” Hafley said. “I think right now people are starting to think some things they shouldn’t because they don’t realize how hard it is and what a good job the guy’s done.” 

While the separation on the field is beginning to show, the gulf could grow if the Eagles’ advantage in recruiting continues. SU has the 12th-best 2021 recruiting class of 14 ACC teams compared to BC’s ninth. 

“We both want to recruit the Northeast and we both obviously will,” Babers said. “They’ll win battles and we’ll win battles. Hopefully we pick more of the right ones and less of the wrong ones.”

The Eagles’ 2021 class includes four-star defensive back Clinton Burton Jr, who chose BC over offers from Alabama, Clemson and Florida. Though it’s far too early to take serious stock in the 2022 cycle, Hafley already has his second four-star commit in Peter Delaportas. Plus, he’s brought over Notre Dame’s Phil Jurkovec, who leads the ACC in passing yards, as well as OSU running back Jaelen Gill, a former four-star who gains eligibility next season. 

Babers, who’s previously downplayed the significance of recruiting rankings, has only gotten two 4-stars — Trill Williams and Tommy DeVito — to sign on in his tenure. A stinger: BC’s leading tackler Isaiah McDuffie decommitted from SU in 2016.

Although both programs focus on east coast prospects, BC appears to have found a bureau in the football-rich Washington D.C. area. Burton Jr. is from Maryland, where BC defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim coached — both at UMD College Park and the high school level. Five of BC’s 23 commits hail from the DMV compared to Syracuse’s more scattershot class, which ranges more geographically. 

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BC and Syracuse share similar geographic challenges in recruiting. Just by virtue of their location, each program loses some “foot traffic,” Craig Haubert, ESPN’s recruiting coordinator since 2006, said. Most prospects have to go out of their way to visit — though BC is much closer to metropolitan hubs — compared to most of the ACC. A recruit can knock out five or six visits in the Carolinas in a single weekend, whereas Syracuse is on somewhat of an island (and certainly not a tropical one). 

Haubert also said the luster of each program’s history has also likely worn off with many prospects. To borrow a Rick Pitino-ism, Doug Flutie and Dwight Freeney ain’t walking through those doors. 

“Kids now, they probably don’t remember the Marvin Harrisons or the McNabbs,” Haubert said. “And it probably certain doesn’t hit that Art Monk went there or Jim Brown.”

Hafley, 41, remembers watching the Harrisons and McNabbs as a high schooler. BC has been able to withstand that disconnect from legacy and the geographical disadvantages better than SU. Since Babers arrived at SU in 2016, the Orange have won 24 games to BC’s 31 (.428 to .534). Even after mediocre seasons, the Eagles are in a stronger position for the future.

Syracuse’s 2020 season is an anomaly driven by injuries and COVID-19 opt-outs. It’s the hardest year any coach has ever been faced with, and Babers has done a valiant job, Hafley said. SU’s failure to achieve Babers’ goal of being consistently good has likely hurt its reputation for recruits, though. 

“It’s hard to kind of get traction when you can’t consistently have success on the field,” Haubert said. “It’s one thing to have a good season, but kids know.” 

So forget Clemson. SU needs to recalibrate to more realistic goals and start chasing Boston College.

Danny Emerman is a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at dremerma@syr.edu or on Twitter @DannyEmerman.

Published on November 4, 2020 at 9:16 pm