Boston College defeated Syracuse 34-12 at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, mercifully bringing a difficult season to an end for both teams.

The Eagles finish 2025 at 2-10 (1-7 Atlantic Coast Conference); the Orange at 3-9 (1-7).

The first half was unspectacular for both teams, tied at 6 with the Eagles and Orange combining for just 243 yards of offense at halftime. Syracuse thrived on the ground, gaining 114 yards, 35 of them coming when senior Dan Villari ran the wildcat offense.

Boston College found its offense in the second half, putting up 111 yards on the ground and 219 through the air from quarterback Grayson James, who replaced starter Dylan Lonergan.

Lonergan sustained a thumb injury early in the first quarter, but the Eagles scored 28 yards in the second half nonetheless. They gained 330 total yards – 219 passing and 111 rushing yards -- in the deciding half.

Syracuse freshman quarterback Joseph Filardi led the Orange to a touchdown late in the game, with Villari taking a direct snap at the Boston College 1-yard line and rushing across the goal line. The two-point conversion failed.

Filardi finished 10-of-16 passing for 65 yards.

How did the Orange get to this place in 2025? A brief review...

The Achilles injury heard round the ACC

The Orange were sitting atop the football world on Sept. 20 when they defeated Clemson 34-21 on the road. Steve Angeli, a transfer from Notre Dame, was among the passing leaders in the nation entering the game and that day threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

But late in the game, Angeli tore his left Achilles to end his season.

And, as it would turn out, the Orange’s. too.

Syracuse didn’t win another game, losing eight straight – seven of them in conference.

Under Angeli, the Orange scored 153 points (38.3 average per game) in four games; two contests were played against Power Four teams. The rest of the season, Syracuse put up just 89 points in eight games (11.1 per game).

Angeli ends the season 98-of-156 passing (62.8%) for 1,317 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

His replacements – Filardi, Rickie Collins and Luke Carney – combined for these numbers: 133-of-253 passing yards (52.6%), 1,290 yards, 15 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Margin of loss

Syracuse scored 242 points and gave up 419 on the season – a margin of loss of 14.8 points per game. Throw out the 66-24 Syracuse win over Colgate on Sept. 12 – the only FCS program on the schedule – and the margin of loss moves to 19.9 points per game.

The game that won’t be forgotten

Last Saturday, Notre Dame defeated Syracuse 70-7, and fans will be talking about that one for a long time.

For the Orange, it was ugly indeed.

Notre Dame took a 21-0 lead on two pick sixes and a punt return for a touchdown to take a 21-0 before the first possession for the Irish.

Enough said for now. Head coach Fran Brown will have much more to say, undoubtedly, and address how the Orange can return to the 10-3 record they were a season ago.

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