Syracuse loses big in season finale

The Orangemen could not hold off Boston College without star quarterback Eric Dungey, losing 42-14.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. » AJ Dillon rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns, and Boston College beat Syracuse 42-14 on Saturday in the season finale for both teams.

It was the fifth straight loss for Syracuse (4-8, 2-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) since its scintillating upset of then-No. 2 Clemson just over a month ago. Boston College (7-5, 4-4) has won five of six.

Syracuse was coming off consecutive lopsided losses to Wake Forest and Louisville in which the Orange allowed 120 points and a whopping 782 yards rushing, a perfect scenario for the Eagles and their star freshman tailback.

Dillon had twice topped the 200-yard rushingmark in a game, only the second freshman in ACC history to do so, and entered the game ranked fourth in ACC history in rushing yards by a freshman with 1,239. Dillon, who had 23 carries, scored on his first of the game, a 22-yarder midway through the first quarter, tacked on an 8-yard TD late in the first quarter, and added a 1-yard score early in the third for a 35-14 lead.

The Eagles, who only punted once, had gained a 28-7 lead midway through the second on Jeff Smith’s 64-yard run and a 30-yard fumble return by Will Harris.

Darius Wade completed 16 of 20 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown for BC — a 46-yard pass to Travis Levy in the fourth — and hit 10 different receivers. He finished with a quarterback rating of 200.7.

Redshirt freshman Rex Culpepper made his first career start for Syracuse in place of Eric Dungey and acquitted himself well, completing 24 of 34 passes for 280 yards. Culpepper showed a nice touch on a deep throw for 44 yards to Steve Ishmael in the second quarter to set up a 17-yard touchdown catch by Erv Philips that narrowed the deficit to 28-14.

Senior Day proved special for Ishmael despite the score. He finished with 11 catches for a careerhigh 187 yards to end his Syracuse career with 2,891 yards, eclipsing Marvin Harrison’s school record of 2,728. Ishmael also set a school record for receptions in a season with 104, breaking the mark of 94 set a year ago by Amba Etta-Tawo, and recorded his eighth 100-yard receiving game of the season, also a school mark.

Syracuse entered the game allowing 31.3 points per game, the worst mark in the ACC, and the Eagles surpassed that on the first drive of the secondhalf, thanks in large part to big plays. Before Dillon scored on a 1-yard run to extend the lead to 35-14, the Eagles had notched 10 plays of 15 yards

or more. THE TAKEAWAY Boston College: With Dillon, the Eagles have a stellar run game that finished with 333 yards against the Orange andwill serve them well in the postseason. BC also has an opportunistic defense with 18 interceptions. Defensive back Lukas Denis notched his sev- enth pick of the season late in the second quarter.

Syracuse: The Orange finished 4-3 at home and an announced crowd of only 30,202 turned out on a drizzly day, a far cry from the 42,475 when Syracuse upset Clemson on a Friday night in mid- October. It remains an uphill struggle to capture the attention of a city that’s focused more on Jim Boeheim’s basketball team.

RECORD TIME: Ishmael and Philips entered the game with 175 receptions combined, just behind the ACC record of 184 for most receptions by two teammates, set last year by Philips and Etta-Tawo. Philips had eight catches for 65 yards as the two set a new record with 194.

DUNGEY NO-SHOW: The Orange played without Dungey for the third straight game. He’s recovering from a lower-leg injury and threw a few passes before the gamewearing a big black boot on his right foot.