2013-2014 BCI Awards: Worst Moment of the Year - BC Football's Dramatic Loss at Syracuse

Sadly, there were a number of pretty strong nominees for Worst Moment of the Year. You could pretty much take your pick of any men's basketball game (though losing to Harvard again certainly stands out). Men's hockey's Hockey East quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame was stunning and depressing {I couldn't talk for about an hour after it was over - too upset). And there was the finality of elimination in the Frozen Four for men's hockey, and the feeling of coming just short of the final four for women's hockey, women's soccer, and lacrosse. It's also hard to forget BC football laying an egg in their long-awaited bowl appearance against Arizona.

But the vote ultimately went to a late, crushing loss for BC football in their re-emerging rivalry with Syracuse. The Eagles and the Orange did battle in what was, in retrospect, a really entertaining game on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. BC looked dead in the water in the second quarter, falling behind 21-7 with Andre Williams sidelined with an injury that largely ended his assault on the Heisman Trophy.

But BC persevered, moving away from the "all Andre all the time" offense out of necessity and finding new ways to score and move the ball. A third quarter touchdown pass from Chase Rettig to Jake Sinkovec tied the score at 21-21. After Syracuse took the lead back on a field goal, Rettig - who had an outstanding game, and showed the heart of a lion - gave BC the lead back by running for a touchdown.

The two teams swapped field goals in the fourth quarter, but some horrendous defense on the final drive allowed Syracuse to score with six seconds left to take a 34-31 lead, crush BC's four game winning streak, and make the Orange bowl eligible.

The game didn't have too much consequence on BC's bowl destination, but losing certainly didn't help what was left of Andre's Heisman chances, and it did pop the bubble that we'd all been floating in for weeks as BC racked up wins that ranged from the dramatic (@ Maryland) to the frustrating (@ NM State) to the euphoric and convincing (vs. Virginia Tech). Additionally, the gut-punch nature of losing in the final seconds is just really tough to get over. In fact, I'm still upset now, thinking about it. Grumble.

The Final Vote

4 - BC football last-second loss vs. Syracuse
1 - The entire BC basketball season
1 - BC basketball vs. Purdue
1 - BC women's hockey loses to BU in Hockey East championship game
1 - Baseball blows 7-2 ninth inning lead, loses to Florida State

Comments From The Panel

Dan Rubin: "Name one team that could take a 7-2 lead into the ninth inning against the #1 team in the nation and not be juiced up to win. Name one team that could blow a 7-2 lead in the ninth inning in general and ultimately end up losing by four. Yup. Good times. #Pray4NewGuy"

Grant Salzano: "Losing the women's hockey east title live on HDTV to BU, after manhandling them all year and winning our first regular season title. Not only was it a real heartbreaker, but it knocked us out of home ice in the NCAA quarterfinals, and we lost to the eventual national champion on the road to keep us out of the Frozen Four."

Anonymous: "I'll say the Purdue loss in men's basketball. That's when reality sunk in that this team is no where near the off season hype that was built up."

Next Up:

Tomorrow at 9 AM - Play of the Year

Schedule and Awardees:

Monday, July 21

-Best Female Athlete - McKenzie Meehan, Women's Soccer

Tuesday, July 22

-Best Male Athlete - Andre Williams, Football
-Best Individual Performance in a Game - Andre Williams vs. NC State

Wednesday, July 23

-Coach of the Year - Steve Addazio, Football
-Team of the Year - Men's Hockey

Thursday, July 24

-Best Moment of the Year - BC Football Senior Day vs. NC State 
-Worst Moment of the Year - BC Football's Last-Second Loss at Syracuse

Friday, July 25

-Play of the Year
-BCI Post of the Year

Monday, July 28

-Biggest Story of the Year
-Most Disliked Opponent of the Year

Tuesday, July 29

-Game of the Year (football)
-Game of the Year (men's hockey)

Wednesday, July 30

-Game of the Year (men's basketball)
-Game of the Year (all other sports)