College football: SU back on course after win, testy emotions on the field
Nov. 27—The Syracuse University football team vanquished a pair of personal demons and potentially reignited the passion behind a classic regional rivalry Saturday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Syracuse beat Boston College, 32-23, to close the regular season by ending a five-game losing streak and snapping an overall 10-game skid in November/December games dating back to 2019.
The bowl-bound Orange (7-5 overall, 4-4 ACC) ended each drought in a game defined by frequent physicality and intensity that boiled over multiple times, some appreciated and other incidents condemned by head coach Dino Babers.
"I think the game was very aggressive, a lot of emotion was tied into this game, we're basically rivals, so it was a lot of emotion," said SU seventh-year senior wide receiver, Devaughn Cooper.
"As a team, we're just happy," he added. "The five-game losing streak, that's no fun at all. I think we needed this and it's going to motivate us to do well in the bowl game."
Syracuse offensive tackle Enrique Cruz was ejected for throwing multiple punches at a Boston College player after a play in the second quarter. That was among the altercations Babers categorized on the bad side, though he did say the action was instigated without providing details.
Video review appears to show the Eagles player spit through the helmet of Cruz before he started swinging wildly in retaliation.
Following the game, some SU players brought their team flag onto the field and were quickly met by others from Boston College, prompting a skirmish between groups from each side jostling over the flag while pushing, shoving, and a few punches being thrown.
SU wide receiver D'Marcus Adams ultimately attempted to plant the flag on the field, but Babers gained possession of it and walked it to the locker room.
Cooper, who was handed the flag during the incident, stated afterward that he didn't believe there was an intention to grandstand but that players were happily waving the team flag following the excitement of the victory.
Regardless, Babers was not pleased with the action from his team and said he had to handle it "like a dad."
"We're not going to be doing that stuff," Babers said. "I think the flag ended up in the right person's hand, and you saw what happened to the flag after that right person had it."
Babers spoke of the rough nature of the matchup between the lines as the type of action fans want to see in a rivalry outing, admitting that there was some good and some bad to come from the fiery demeanor on each sideline.
"There were some things that were just rivalry-type things that the players have to understand that this game is different," Babers said. "The ankle is going to get twisted, going to get stepped on, there's going to be some things that they need to be able to overcome."
Despite all the scuttle, Babers was left with the main takeaway of the opportunity for personal reflection among his team and the fan base.
He pointed to the unit rallying back in the fourth quarter to overcome the pair of overwhelming losing streaks amid escalating injury concerns entering a bowl game later this month. All bowl pairings will be unveiled next Sunday.
"It's a room for everybody to grow and for everybody to mature, because everybody wants the same thing," Babers said.
"We want people to be able to have success playing the game the right way and putting the game in the right perspective."
