Syracuse football: Orange offense flatlines in 34-12 loss to Boston College

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange offense continued to struggle to end the 2025 college football season. The Boston College Eagles pulled away in the second half to take a 34-12 win over Syracuse, ending the Orange season in disappointing fashion.

Both teams failed to score on their first drives. The Eagles made it to midfield but seemingly lost starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan due to injury. Syracuse started Joe Filardi at quarterback but he went three-and-out.

The Eagles tipped the ensuing punt from Jack Stonehouse, causing the ball to only travel 29 yards and setting up Boston College with excellent field position. The Eagles, with backup QB Grayson James, used a 17-yard completion to Lewis Bond to enter the red zone. However a sack from David Omopariola stalled the BC drive inside the 10-yard line. Luca Lombardo kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead.

With both teams more focused on running the football, time bled off the clock. Syracuse’s second drive continued into the second quarter. The Orange stayed on the ground with the offense, drawing flashbacks to the late 2023 offense. Much like then, a good mix of Dan Villari rushes from the quarterback position featured on the drive. Syracuse couldn’t find the red zone, but a line drive 49-yard field goal from Tripp Woody just found its way over the bar to tie the game at three.

After a Boston College three-and-out, Syracuse returned to an offense that featured at the end of the 2023. Fans will remember that due to a Garrett Shrader injury, Dino Babers, Jason Beck and the Orange offense shifted to a run-heavy offense. That offense mixed in direct snaps to Dan Villari. The Villari Wildcat offense returned as he rushed five times during a 14-play drive that burned 9:36 off the clock. The Orange stalled inside the 10-yard line but Woody nailed a chip-shot 29-yard field goal. For the first time since halftime against North Carolina nearly a month ago, Syracuse held a lead as the Orange went 6-3 on top.

Boston College countered with two chunk passes and a penalty to get back to the red zone. Demetres Samuel got flagged for pass interference on the first play of the drive. BC QB Grayson then found Lewis Bond for 18 yards and Reed Harris for 21 yards, the latter on third down, to move the Eagles up the field with less than two minutes to go in the half. Syracuse held BC out of the red zone again, with Lombardo hitting a 31-yard field goal to tie the game, 6-6 at halftime.

Syracuse started with the ball in the second half. However, the Orange offense went three-and-out. Boston College immediately responded with a three play, 79 yard drive to find the end zone first. Bond continued to torch the Orange defense, going 54 yards on the first play of the drive. Turbo Richard capped the drive with an easy 16-yard rush into the end zone. Boston College retook the lead, going up 13-6 minutes into the third quarter.

An 11-yard rush from Filardi wasn’t enough to spark the offense. The Orange defense still failed to find an answer for Bond. He caught two passes in a row for a combined 51 yards to put Boston College just outside the red zone. Syracuse held Boston College there and Lombardo missed wide right, keeping the Eagles off the board for the drive. However, Syracuse went three-and-out on offense again.

Boston College put the game out of reach with its next drive. Bond once again picked up 23 receiving yards to add to his stat line. He set a career high with 168 receiving yards on seven catches. Another Samuel pass interference call aided BC’s drive. Richard methodically extended the drive on the ground and his backup, Jordan McDonald, punched the ball into the end zone from two yards out. The Eagles took a 20-6 lead with seconds to go in the third quarter.

Syracuse once again couldn’t turn a first down into an extended drive, sapping more energy from the already depleted Dome crowd. Richard tiptoed the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown run, his second house call of the game, to send more fans to the exits.

Boston College added another touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter as McDonald entered the end zone again for the Eagles. Both BC running backs scored two touchdowns on the day as the score climbed to 34-6 in favor of the Eagles. A late drive from Syracuse allowed Villari to earn a senior day touchdown as he dived in from the one-yard line for the lone Orange touchdown.

Syracuse ends the 2025 season with a 3-9 record.