The Quest For Belk may or may not come to fruition but the quest to go to a bowl, any bowl, will be fulfilled. Terrel Hunt led the Orange down, down the field in the final minute for a thrilling 34-31 victory over the Boston College Eagles on Saturday, closing out the inaugural ACC season at 6-6.
What a game, you guys. Who saw this kind of scoring coming? Especially in a game in which Heisman hopeful RB Andre Williams left early and Syracuse came in without many an offensive weapon. Somehow, it became a showdown of Terrel Hunt's arm and Chase Rettig's legs. Still not sure how that happened.
Hunt basically reaffirmed his place atop the QB pecking order, and not a moment too soon. He showed plenty of flashes of his Wagner/Tulane glory and proved that he's spent his first season at the helm improving. His work late in the game was impressive, warts and all. He finished 29 of 43 for 270 yards, 2 TDs and an INT as well as 90 yards & a touchdown rushing.
Who had Alvin Cornelius and Josh Parris as their picks for the team's MVP receivers before the season started? The blocking WR led the Orange with 7 catches for 81 yards while all Parris did was score two touchdowns, including the game-clincher, to go with 47 yards.
Ryan Norton looked to be having another terrible day early with a missed 33-yarder. Pretty much all faith in him had been exhausted. And then all he did was hit a 42-yarder and 44-yarder to keep SU in contention.
SU will not sit back and wait to see where they fit in. There are a lot of bowl-eligible teams in the ACC and chances are the Orange will end up being a space-filler somewhere we wouldn't normally end up. Whatever. After watching this team fight back and earn their eligibility, anything sounds good.
Yet To Be Determined 6-6 MAC or Sun Belt Team…gird your loins.
