From: saqx@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college
Subject: Syracuse 27  Boston College 10
Date: 17 Nov 92 04:32:28 EST
Distribution: rec
Organization: Cornell University

Syracuse 27    Boston College 10

Well, the big game has come and gone, and Orange fans are *very* pleased
with the results.  They have reason to be.  If you saw this game, you saw a
fired up, determined, intense Orange team playing to near its potential.  

The big question was whether Boston College would be able to rebound after
the thumping at Notre Damn.  I think (and so does Tom Coughlin) that the
Eagles made a good showing on Saturday, playing with intensity.  They moved
the ball well.  The defense didn't give up the big plays.  But in the end,
the BC defense couldn't stop the patient SU offense, and the SU defense
bared its teeth near the end zone, biting the Eagles with three key
interceptions.  

SU took the opening kickoff, and from the moment Marvin Graves hit the
field, I had a feeling that the game would go well.  If it's possible for a
player tp radiate a visible aura that says "we are going to win this game",
Graves did it Saturday.  I mean, you could *see* it.  SU established the run
early, hitting for decent gains with fullback Al Wooten and RB David Walker,
and setting Qadry Ismail loose around the end on the wishbone option.  The
Orange drove into BC territory, then they made their obligatory turnover as
Graves and Wooten mishandled an exchange.  BC recovered the fumble.  

Now the SU defense took the field.  The offense had looked great, and I felt
confident that if they could keep the turnovers down, they'd move the ball
and score on nearly every possession.  More interestingly, though, is how
the defense would perform.  They'd been improving every game, forcing
turnovers, stuffing the run, and containing the big plays while holding
opponents to about 10 points.  Most importantly, the secondary had nine
games behind it in which it had been burned enough times to learn a thing or
two.  How would they handle Foley and the BC receivers?  BC ran the ball
early, but SU plugged up the middle with stellar play by linebackers Glen
Young and Dan Conley.  Last week I said that it would be important to see
SU's defense pick it up a notch and play with controlled emotion.  You can
imagine my delight when I saw the SU linebackers making great plays with
fire in their eyes, and even a hint of celebration after each stop.  BC was
forced to punt and SU took over on its 20.

As I'd expected, the offense moved the ball well.  Right down the field,
converting a few third down plays with short ball-control passes.  David
Walker ran well, and soon the Orange was knocking inside the BC 10-yard
line.  On third and goal, Marvin Graves showed his stuff by dancing away
from a tackler on a broken play, then dodging and juking his way through a
dense nest of Eagles to squirt into the endzone.  7-0 SU.

Pat O'Neill continued to boot the kickoffs into the endzone.  BC tried two
runs which went next to nowhere, then a big play hit.  SU's Doug Womack got
burned on coverage and Foley hooked up with WR Clarence Cannon for a 60 yard
gain.  But Womack caught Cannon from behind (!) on the pursuit at the SU 5,
and BC had to punch it in from there, on a questionable 10-yard pass from
Foley to WR Ivan Boyd (I can be charitable in retrospect; give it to him) to
start the second quarter.  7-7 BC.  Mild concern on my part, but the offense
was looking too impressive.  SU would win if the game turned into a
shootout.  

On SU's next possession they moved the ball again, getting it inside the BC
20 before settling for John Biskup's field goal.  By now all four of SU's
outstanding wide receivers had caught passes, and both Walker and Terry
Richardson had run well.  Things were looking very good.  Graves's intensity
wasn't flagging a bit; in an interview last week, Graves said with
confidence, "We're going to win the game," and he was playing to prove it.  
10-7 SU.

BC got the ball and drove to the SU 6, with dazzling runs by Chuckie Dukes.
He's going to get his yards sooner or later; however, with the SU defense
backed up near its goal line, he's not going to get them there.  The 
Eagles tied the game on a 22-yard field goal.  This defensive sequence was
disappointing, but holding BC to a field goal must have seemed a small
victory.  BC, the team with the best rushing attack in the Big East, had
failed to score a running TD on two possessions inside the SU 10; this was
a source of hope.  In any event, the game was tied at 10.

SU ate up the rest of the period with another good drive, finishing on
Biskup's second FG to lead 13-10 at the half.  SU had controlled the ball on
its possessions, eating up clock and keeping the BC offense on the bench.  I
felt that BC had more to learn in the half, and that with proper adjustments
they might come out in the second half and handle the Orange offense.  At
13-10, that would mean trouble for the Cuse.  All Pasqualoni could say at
halftime, I'd guess, was, "Keep doing what you're doing."  

Whatever coach P said worked!  BC got the ball first, three-and-out.
SU then drove, mixing the run and pass to perfection.  First and goal.  BC
showed its teeth, stuffing the Orange on three downs.  What would SU do,
go for the field goal and a 6 point lead, or try to punch it in for a more
commanding 10 point edge?  Go for the touchdown, of course!  You've gotta go
for it in the big games.  Play action pass from the 1, a picture book
score.  If the corner opts to cover the tight end, Graves runs it in
easily.  If the corner rushes Graves, a short lob to the wide open tight end
gets the TD.  The corner bit on Graves, who floated the ball to backup tight
end Eric Chenoweth for the score.  It was Chenoweth's first catch of the
season (and there was much rejoicing (yeah!)).  20-10 SU, with confidence
growing each moment.  

Now for some craziness.  BC mounted a remarkable drive.  They came with more
passes, getting into catch-up mode.  Then the penalties started.  A
reasonable observer (and me too) might very well have considered that the
zebras were actively trying to stymie BC's hopes.  I mean, BC gets a first
down with a great pass play, and it's called back for holding.  Or an
illegal motion (which at times seemed to be nothing more than Foley's lips
moving on the signal calls).  What gives?  Well, BC wasn't about to fold,
and despite *six* of these type penalties (and a few on SU too) the Eagles
were getting into position to score.  They must have gained 200 yards on
that drive, but had naught to show for it.  Foley threw an ill-advised pass
toward the end zone, and safety Tony Jones dove in front of the tight end to
make a spectacular pick.  That was the turning point of the game, no
question.  BC had used so much time in that drive, snubbing the refs by
refusing to be stopped, but put no points on the board.  

What would have been the perfect backbreaker at this point?  How about a
99-yard drive.  Jones's interception put the ball on the SU 1, and the
Orange pushed it all the way down the field with a fantastic drive that ate
a couple minutes and culminated in Graves's second rushing TD of the day, a
1-yard plunge.  27-10 SU.

BC moved the ball again on its next possession, but in the "red zone" it was
the Orange defense that came up big.  Foley tried to force another pass, but
backup safety Darrell Parker picked it off at the 2.  The Orange wasted some
time and punted.  BC moved the ball back inside the SU 10, but failed to
score (deja vu, anyone?) when Foley's fourth down pass was (you guessed it)
picked off in the end zone.  BC had one more possession which ended on
downs, and SU ran off the last minute as Marvin Graves took two kneels.

I don't know about you, but I was *mighty* impressed by this game.  By the
numbers:

1. SU outrushed the Eagles, and stuffed the Eagle run.  The Orange gained
231 net yards rushing, while BC gained 111.  BC had the best rushing offense
in the Big East coming into the game, while SU had the best rush defense in
the Big East.  We see which side won that struggle.  SU ran the ball 52
times and passed only 19 times.  That's a prescription for winning.

2. SU controlled the ball and the clock.  BC had that one stupendously long
drive in the third quarter (with all the penalties) which must have lasted
about eight minutes, but SU still came out on top, 34:54 to 25:06.  The
Orange offense didn't strike on any big plays, but at the same time the BC
defense couldn't stop the more deliberate SU attack.  The Orange converted 6
of 11 third downs, and didn't punt until the fourth quarter.  If Graves and
Wooten hadn't fumbled the exchange on SU's first possession, it's likely the
Orange would have scored, putting points on the board all four times it had
the ball in the first half.  Add the two TD's on SU's first two possessions
of the second half, and that's an amazing stat---scoring every time you
touch the ball.  Against BC, mind you; this isn't Rutgers or East Carolina
we're talking about here.  Only after the lead had grown to 27-10 did the
Orange run some conservative series and punt.  When it's working, the Orange
offense is truly a thing of beauty.  Every type of play you can imagine is
run, and run well, and Marvin Graves makes it work.  This was unquestionably
SU's finest day offensively, even surpassing that 675-yard explosion against
Rutgers.  The execution was near perfect, and BC's defense was kept off
guard from start to finish.  

3. SU's defense has arrived.  After a woeful start to this year's campaign,
the Orange D has jelled and is now a force itself.  BC outgained the Orange
in total yards, 386-369, but as has been the case recently, it's difficult
to the put the ball in the end zone against SU.  The pass rush was a slight
disappointment; Foley appeared to have plenty of time to throw, occasionally
hurried, but usually calm and composed.  SU had only one sack, and that will
have to improve next week.  The linebackers played extremely well.  Young
and Conley had key tackles early, but Jo Jo Wooden had the best game, with
nine tackles, seven solo.  The secondary yielded 275 yards to Foley, but
those three interceptions loom large in Foley's stats.  Giving up 275 yards
but snuffing three scoring opportunities, I'd say the Orange secondary won
that battle.  

4. More than anything, this was Marvin Graves's game.  He picked this one up
and put it in his pocket from the starting gun.  Next year's duel between
Graves and Foley should be quite a sight.  A comparison:
Graves:  13/19/138/1/0    32 yards rushing
Foley:   19/32/275/1/3    -4 yards rushing
Graves looked fantastic passing the ball, and you can only wonder what
things would be like if SU threw as often as Miami, with the outstanding
Orange receivers. 

All in all, this was more than SU fans could have asked for.  The Orange
still had something to prove, playing somewhat poorly in the big games early
in the season.  The execution had been better of late, crisp and
businesslike.  They picked it up for this game, to crisp and emotional.  
Now, for the finale.  Miami comes calling this Saturday, and the Orange will
face its toughest test yet, a defense even better than that monster named
Ohio State that showed up in September.  The Orange has improved since then,
and the focus and intensity are there.  What will happen?  Useless to
speculate, but now I suspect that the Orange can really give the Canes a
game.  Will SU break Torretta's streak of pass attempts without
interception?  How will the option look fare against the Miami linebackers?
The stage is set for an awesome finale for SU, facing the #1 team in the
nation while the Orange is at the top of its game.  And it's in the Dome!
The only drawback is that Keith Jackson isn't calling it (I think he'll be
at the OSU-Michigan game) so instead we may be stuck with Musberger again.
Bring on the Canes, and let's see what happens.

By the way, we should congratulate BC on their good season, much better 
than expected.  I'm not sure how the Eagles will be affected by graduation
this year.  If anyone would like to educate me on who we can expect to see
on the field again next season, please send email.  We'll be pulling for BC
in the Hall of Fame Bowl.
-- 
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#                                                            #
#  RNJX@vax5.cit.cornell.edu                                 #             
#  Jeff Wilson                                               #
#  Cornell University                                        #
#  Department of Chemistry                                   #
#  Adirondack 46er                                           #
#  --SF author in the making--                               #
#                                                            #
#  Is what you're living for worth dying for?                #
#                                                            #
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Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college