Orange Wins in Dramatic Fashion on Senior Day

Saturday, November 28

Syracuse, NY

12:30 pm

Syracuse University

4-8 , 2-6

Boston College

3-9 , 0-8

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Boston College

Syracuse

Photo by: Charles Wainwright

11/28/2015 4:14:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Murphy's field goal with no time left lifts SU to 20-17 victory against Boston College

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Cole Murphy's 35-yard field goal as time expired propelled Syracuse to a dramatic 20-17 victory over Boston College on Senior Day at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Nov. 28. The Orange (4-8, 2-6 ACC) defense stepped up in Scott Shafer's final game as head coach, holding the Eagles (3-9, 0-8 ACC) to just one pass completion, stopped the visitors 11 out of 12 times on third down, and forced six BC three-and-outs.

After the Eagles knotted the game at 17 on a 43-yard field goal by Colton Lichtenberg with 2:42 remaining, the Orange started its winning drive on its own 31. Quarterback Zack Mahoney completed a clutch nine-yard pass to Ervin Philips on third-and-6 to move the chains. Two plays later, Mahoney fired a 10-yard strike to Alvin Cornelius to position the Orange in BC territory at the Eagles' 41-yard line. A Boston College offsides penalty and three straight running plays set up Murphy's decisive kick.

Philips led the Orange with 94 yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries to go with 19 yards on four receptions.

In his fourth start, Mahoney was 11-of-25 passing for 86 yards and a touchdown to earn his first career win.

Virtually all of BC's offensive production came on the ground. The Eagles amassed 239 yards of offense, including 230 yards rushing. Quarterback Jeff Smith led the way with 117 yards on 13 carries. BC running back Tyler Rouse also topped the centrury mark, gaining 111 yards on 24 carries with two scores. The Eagles did not complete a pass until the 6:41 mark of the fourth quarter as Smith finished 1-of-13 for nine yards.The nine passing yards allowed were the 10th fewest ever for an Orange opponent and the fewest since Army finished with zero yards through the air on Sept. 16, 1989.

Syracuse's relentess defensive pressure was a key factor in limiting the Eagles' passing game.

"We didn't throw the ball," BC head coach Steve Addazio said. "There was a lot of pressure being put on Jeff Smith and we were not very comfortable with that. It was a struggle."

After holding one another scoreless for the first 12 minutes of the game, the Eagles struck first on a on 1-yard touchdown run up the middle by Rouse with 2:21 remaining in the first quarter. Rouse was responsible for all 33 yards on the drive, which started after Connor Strachan recovered a Mahoney fumble deep in Orange territory.

The hosts tied the game early in the second quarter when Philips took a pitch from Mahoney and ran it two yards into the end zone to end a seven-play, 65-yard drive that spanned 3:48. It was Philips' team-leading eighth TD of the season.

The Orange defense stepped up late in the first half, recording interceptions on back-to-back possessions. Cordell Hudson picked off Smith on third down pass and returned it to the BC 34-yard line, which led to a season-long, 49-yard field goal by Murphy that gave Syracuse its first lead of the game, 10-7, with 2:25 left before intermission. Safety Antwan Cordy intercepted Smith on the Eagle's next possession to preserve SU's three-point margin.

Syracuse started the second half with a successful eight-play scoring drive. With the ball at the BC 43-yard line, Philips broke free for a career-long, 31-yard run down to the 12. Four plays later, Mahoney found sophomore Steve Ishmael for a 1-yard touchdown. Murphy's extra point made the score 17-7 at the 10:45 mark of the third quarter.

The Eagles answered back less than a minute later. Smith sprinted 51 yards to the Orange 9-yard line on first down. Rouse did the rest, finding the end zone on the very next play to cut the Syracuse lead to three, 17-14, with 9:53 left to play in the third.

Following Rouse's second score, the two teams traded punts on the next seven possessions until Lichtenberg's tying field goal.

Zaire Franklin paced the Orange defense with seven tackles, including 2.0 for a loss. BC's Steven Daniels matched Franklin for game-high tackling honors.

Shafer finished his three-year Syracuse tenure with a 14-23 overall record. The victory was the Orange's fourth in the last six meetings with the Eagles.

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