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Syracuse’s defense kept Boston College at bay, but first-time starter JaCobian Morgan couldn’t generate enough points for the Orange (1-7, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) to pull off a win against BC (5-3, 4-3) in the Carrier Dome. 

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s loss.

JaCobian Morgan shows poise in first start

Morgan went 11-for-16 for 124 yards in the first half against Boston College, engineering long drives with read-options and quick decisions in an uptempo offense. His legs extended plays, something both Tommy DeVito and Rex Culpepper struggled to do for SU. 

He felt the pressure and ditched the pocket to his left, finding Anthony Queeley down the sideline for a 31-yard gain. He looked off Luke Benson in the flat, instead finding Taj Harris on a slant. He made calls at the line of scrimmage in SU’s no-huddle offense, and once found Harris on a bubble screen that went for 24 yards. 

Two of Morgan’s best throws of the day didn’t even count. Rolling out to his right on BC’s 19-yard line, Morgan first lofted a pass to the front right corner of the end zone to Harris. Harris had a step on the cornerback, who was playing press coverage, but a BC safety shaded over to help over the top, minimizing the throwing window. Morgan put the ball where only Harris could catch it, which he did, but his foot came down a toe out of bounds. 

The other negated play was a 28-yard strike to Harris, which was called back for holding on Josh Ilaoa. That pass also came on the run. 

Morgan only gave the ball away once, though his big-play magic disappeared in the second half. On Syracuse’s last drive, he scrambled for 14 yards to set up an Aaron Hackett touchdown, but he went 7-for-13 with just 63 yards and an interception in the final 30 minutes. 

Tony White proving his worth

BC ran rampant on Syracuse last time the two teams met, racking up 691 total yards in a 58-27 win. The blowout led to SU dismissing defensive coordinator Brian Ward. 

Now, Syracuse’s two best defenders — defensive backs Andre Cisco and Trill Williams — have opted out of the season to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft. Injuries at other key positions have put under-qualified freshmen in tough spots. And those players didn’t even have spring ball to learn White’s new 3-3-5 system. 

But the Orange’s defense still held BC to under 400 yards. Early on, it sniffed out a screen pass to halt a drive. Mikel Jones later blew up a swing screen to Zay Flowers at the line of scrimmage, driving the receiver into the turf in the second quarter. On third and long late in the third quarter, White dialed up a blitz and Tyrell Richards nearly got to quarterback Phil Jurkovec, forcing an incompletion.

White’s unit prevented big passing plays, allowing just two completions over 30 yards. It held the Eagles to field goals, not touchdowns. 

Jurkovec struggles

For as well as White game-planned against the Eagles, Jurkovec — a Notre Dame transfer who entered Saturday leading the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing yards — had arguably his worst game of the season. 

On one play in the second quarter, Jurkovec had speedster Flowers on a deep post. Syracuse safety Rob Hanna trailed him by about 10 yards, but Jurkovec threw it a step too far. Jurkovec had Flowers open yet again during the Eagles’ next drive, this time on an out-route. Flowers settled in a soft spot of Syracuse’s zone beyond the first down marker, but Jurkovec put his pass into the ground. BC punted two plays later.

In the second half, BC had multiple trips to the red zone, but Jurkovec couldn’t find the end zone. He finished 20-for-29 for 208 yards and a touchdown. And while Syracuse’s defense certainly had a hand in Jurkovec’s rough outing, he had his fair share of unforced errors and overthrows. 

Published on November 7, 2020 at 5:23 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman