Syracuse scores 26 straight, snaps 5-game skid by beating Boston College

BOSTON — Garrett Shrader completed 21 of 27 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, and Syracuse scored 26 straight points to overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, snap a five-game losing streak and beat Boston College 32-23 on Saturday night.

Oronde Gadsden II caught six passes for 106 yards, Devaughn Cooper caught seven for 80 and a touchdown and Damien Alford caught four for 83 yards and the go-ahead score for the Orange (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Sean Tucker ran for 125 yards and two TDs for Syracuse, which won its first game since Oct. 15, when it improved to 6-0 and No. 14 in The Associated Press Top 25.

Emmett Morehead completed 29 for 38 passes for 252 yards for BC (3-9, 2-6), but he also fumbled twice. Zay Flowers caught eight passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, surpassing 3,000 yards in his career and setting a school record with his 11th and 12th TD catch of the season.

BC took a two-score lead early in the fourth after Morehead found Flowers for 30 yards down the sideline to the Orange 28-yard line. A penalty and two Pat Garwo runs made it 17-6.

But Shrader hit Cooper for for an 8-yard touchdown and then, after BC went five-and-out, Shrader needed just three plays and 50 seconds to go 73 yards, taking an 18-17 lead on a 58-yard strike to Alford with 7:05 to play.

BC's next possession ended on a strip-sack by Steve Okechukwu at the Eagles 37, allowing the Orange to extend the lead to 25-17 on Tucker's 5-yard TD run. BC turned the ball over on downs and Tucker broke free for a 29-yard score to make it 32-17.

Morehead hit Flowers from 2 yards out to cut the Syracuse lead to 32-23, but the 2-point attempt failed.

THE TAKEAWAY

Syracuse lost five straight after beating 15th-ranked North Carolina State and improving to No. 14 in the AP Top 25. They were all to winning teams – three of them ranked.

BC failed to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015.

ZAY DAY

Flowers broke the school’s single-season record with his 11th touchdown, and then also grabbed the BC all-time mark with his second — the 29th of his career. That surpassed Kelvin Martin, a favorite target of Doug Flutie in the 1984 Cotton Bowl season.

Flowers was already the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards, finishing with 3,056, and receptions, now with a total of 200. He is one of 12 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award for the top receiver in college football.

GOING BACKWARDS

Syracuse’s last possession of the first half began with Anwar Sparrow strip-sacking Morehead at the BC 20. But the Orange linebacker was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for excessive celebration, pushing them back to the 35.

Shrader moved them down the field and hit Gadsden II for an apparent touchdown, but it was pulled off the scoreboard because of a holding penalty. On the next play Enrique Cruz was flagged and ejected for taking several swings at a BC player.

An incompletion on fourth-and-35 from the BC 37 turned the ball over on downs.

There was more pushing and shoving at the end of the half until the officials separated the teams as they went to their locker rooms, and again at the end of the game when the Syracuse players tried to bring their flag to midfield.

TAKEAWAYS

On Syracuse’s first two drives, BC came up with a strip sack and a blocked punt – good for 10 points.

Bryce Steel stripped the ball from Garrett Shrader and fell on it at the 17. But the Eagles could only advance to the 11 before Connor Lytton kicked a 28-yard field goal.

The following Orange possession also stalled and BC blocked the punt, recovering at the Syracuse 15. Three plays later Morehead connected with Flowers for a 7-yard score that made it 10-0.