Syracuse football: Why Saturday’s game against BC is more than just a rivalry

Who will declare themself ‘King in the North(east)’

For college football fans in the Northeast, the almost annual matchup between the Syracuse Orange and the Boston College Eagles has always been known as one of the sport’s most historic and contested rivalries.

Between 1969 and 2004, the two programs played every season—14 of those games (1991-2004) played in the BIG EAST before BC moved to the ACC in 2005. But, since Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013, the Orange have won six of the 11 conference games played against the Eagles.

“This is a great, great rivalry, which is what college football is all about,” said Bill O’Brien during his weekly press conference. “All of these regional rivalries, with conference realignment, have kind of changed a lot, but there are still these [matchups]. Syracuse is a [very good] team.”

This is the 58th meeting in the all-time series, and, according to Syracuse Athletics, BC is SU’s fifth-most frequent opponent in program history.

“Of course whoever we play is rival, but this one stands a little bit more,” said Head Coach Fran Brown on Cuse Sports Talk.

Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images

BC has always been considered a rival of Syracuse, given the history and regional proximity, but, this year, the stakes feel different. Two first-year head coaches in Fran Brown and Bill O’Brien, both vying to establish themselves in the ACC, and with recruiting implications on the line, Saturday’s game against BC feels like an opportunity for Fran Brown to pull ahead, in some regards, and further cement himself as a household name in the Northeast.

When Syracuse AD John Wildhack hired Fran Brown, he told the college football world what he believed Brown lacked in head coaching or coordinating experience, he more than made up for in the ability to recruit the players in the region and rebuild this football program.

Of Syracuse’s 30 commitments in the class of 2025, 13 are from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, and three are from Pennsylvania.

BC recently flipped three-star Buckingham Browne and Nichols RB Bo MacCormack (‘25) after he had initially committed to Syracuse in late March — one of several contested athletes between these two teams.

There will be recruits at this game, 89 to be exact, many of whom are from the Northeast. If Brown wants to buy some insurance on his program’s future, what better way to do so than in front of almost 90 kids visiting the opposing school.

Kickoff is set for noon on The CW. It’ll be the first of a two-game road trip for the Orange before the team returns to the JMA Wireless Dome for the final two games of the regular season against UConn and No. 4 Miami (FL).