Syracuse Week: This Game Means Everything

This is it.

Three years plus of Steve Addazio is going to be boiled down to four quarters of football against our rivals the Syracuse Orange. The importance of this game can not be understated, as there is a ton riding on the outcome of it. Ramifications of a loss will lead to wide spread changes throughout the program, and change the direction of Boston College football.

If BC wins, the dreaded ACC futility streak will finally end, bowl eligibility is back on the table, and BC may be back on the right track to pull off a few more wins. A win may help keep the players locked in, and restore some of the faith the fans have in the direction of the program.

But if the Eagles lose, everything will continue to unravel. We might as well kiss this season, and the direction of the program (or lack there of) goodbye. If the Eagles lose to Syracuse, and especially if it isn’t close, which given the speed of Eric Dungey and that offense, it may not be, we may see the end of the Steve Addazio era as well. How can this administration justify bringing him back if he clearly can not handle the challenges of ACC football?

Addazio was given a schedule that was tailor made for bowl eligibility. He had four out of conference games that should be automatic wins, and all he needed to do was eek out 2 wins in conference against a schedule that included a weak Georgia Tech team, a rebuilding Syracuse team, and toss up games against Wake Forest and NC State. Now, if BC can’t win against Syracuse, the possibility of going 0 for the conference rises astronomically. Syracuse should be the most winnable game on that schedule. If Addazio can’t handle that, the season may tailspin.

If the season tailspins, and god forbid BC ends up at 3-9 or 4-8, Steve Addazio is gone. The amount of money and years that are left on his contract will be irrelevant. This program can not afford to go backwards when clearly other teams in the division are all trending in the right direction. If they can’t win AGAIN, with a graduate transfer quarterback, a defense that is returning a ton of talent, and a new OC/DC, then there is clearly another problem. And that problem would point to Steve Addazio.

And if Addazio is booted, you can expect an exodus of current talent on the team, which will set the program back a few years again.

Everything is riding on Saturday’s game against Syracuse, and Steve Addazio has to understand that. This matchup is not going to be an easy one, as we saw on Saturday, Syracuse is a very fast team, and easily took care of Virginia Tech, the same team that wiped the floor with BC in Week 2. If BC wins, it might save the season, and propel the Eagles in the right direction. But if they lose, this season will be lost, major changes are going to happen, and heads will roll. Buckle in Eagles fans, this is going to be a very interesting week.