Recap: Boston College WINS vs Syracuse, 34-12

On Saturday afternoon, the 1-10 Boston College Eagles football team faced off against the 3-8 Syracuse Orange for a battle between the ACC’s two lowest-ranked teams. The game started about as poorly as you could imagine for BC when starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan went down with an injury on the first drive of the game. Grayson James, who has started 4 games himself this year, filled in for him. James threw for 16/24 passes, 288 yards, 0 TDs, and 0 INTs, leading a steady offensive attack in his final game as an Eagle.

After a couple of drives from both teams that went nowhere, BC found some life when Grayson James completed a pass to Lewis Bond for 17 yards. Syracuse followed that up with a facemask penalty, so the Eagles got set up nicely in the redzone, but were only able to get a field goal out of it. Syracuse went all in on their ground attack on the next drive, keeping the ball on the ground for all seven plays. They punched their way into field goal range as the second quarter began, tying the game up at 3-3.

After another Eagles punt, Syracuse once again pounded the rock. Their next 65 yard drive featured 10 runs and 3 passes to get to the BC 11-yard line, where they kicked a field goal to go up 6-3. Boston College’s offense was much more daring, completing 20 yard passes to Lewis Bond and Reed Harris before eventually also being stopped at the 13-yard line. Luca Lombardo hit his kick for BC, tying the game back up at 3-3 as it entered halftime.

After the BC defense squashed Syracuse on the opening drive of the second half, Grayson James found Lewis Bond for a 54-yard gain on the next drive, eventually leading to a 16-yard TD rush by Turbo Richard to give BC a 13-6 lead. There were a few more failed drives by both teams following that, including Luca Lombardo’s only missed field goal of the season, a 40-yarder. But then Grayson James put together another solid drive down the field with a lot of great ball placement. First finding Lewis Bond for 23 yards, then drawing a pass interference penalty for Reed Harris, and then finally a teardrop pass up the seam for Jeremiah Franklin. Jordan McDonald punched in the touchdown to give BC a 20-6 lead as the third quarter came to a close.

The Boston College onslaught continued after Syracuse’s offense sputtered out on their possession. On BC’s second play of the next drive, Turbo Richard turned a corner on the left sideline and ran all the way down to the endzone for a 46-yard score. Turbo finished the game with 102 rushing yards and 2 TDs, another stellar performance to close out his great season. Boston College claimed a 27-6 lead in a game that was turning into a blowout.

The next pair of drives was more of the same. Syracuse went nowhere. Boston College drove down the field with a 41-yard pass to Kaelan Chudzinski, followed by a 14-yard TD rush by Jordan McDonald. BC led 34-6 with under 10 minutes remaining. Syracuse finally answered on their next drive, scoring a 1-yard Dan Villari rushing TD and failing a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 34-12. But still the final few minutes ticked away and Boston College held on without any problem to secure the victory.

That’s the final game of Boston College’s 2025 season. BC finishes 2-10 overall, 1-7 in the ACC, a disaster from the start. Early in the year, BC blew two games late to Michigan State and Cal, starting them at a 1-3 record rather than a potential 3-1. Then through a huge amount of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, growing pains with quarterback Dylan Lonergan, and a struggle to win in the trenches, BC suffered 10 total losses in a row. But the players kept fighting, staying in an early game with Notre Dame and coming close to upsetting Georgia Tech. They were finally awarded for their hardship with this game against an injured Syracuse team that got them an ACC win, saving them the embarrassment of a winless year.