Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) will travel to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, on Saturday when it takes on Boston College (3-3, 0-3) at 12:30 p.m. The Orange is coming off a 31-17 upset with over then-No. 17 Virginia Tech, while the Eagles are coming off a bye week. In BC’s last game, Clemson crushed the Eagles, 56-10.

Here are three things BC head coach Steve Addazio said ahead of the matchup.

RELATED: This is what Dino Babers said.

Addazio wishes Pittsburgh was in the Atlantic Division

Syracuse-Boston College has been branded as a rivalry game since the Orange moved from the Big East to the ACC. The two teams had played each other in the last game of the regular season since Syracuse joined the league, but this season, the two will square up in a matchup that could determine whether one of gets into a bowl game.

The first two matchups between Boston College and Syracuse determined both teams’ bowl eligibility. In the 2013 matchup, Syracuse got its sixth win by beating BC, 34-31. In 2014, BC got its sixth win by beating SU, 28-7.

Addazio said he’d like to see Pittsburgh, who is currently in the Coastal Division move over into the Atlantic Division to increase the number of rivalry games. SU will get its crack at the Panthers in its last game of the regular season on Nov. 26.

“I think it’s fantastic … I wish Pitt was on this side. I was at Syracuse at the time and those are all big games,” Addazio said. “Syracuse, BC, Pittsburgh, they were all big contests. I think those are great within the conference when you have some geographic proximity and some history.”

Boston College needs to control the ball

Addazio said Syracuse turned its energy and intensity up a notch late against Virginia Tech, which helped propel SU to a win. Boston College has had two weeks to prepare for the Orange now after the Eagles were whooped by Clemson, 56-10. The Eagles also had a bye week last week.

“As that game went on … they’re like, hey, we have a chance to go get this thing,” Addazio said of SU’s matchup with Virginia Tech.

This week, he said his offense needs to keep the ball away from Syracuse to win the game. The Orange offense racked up 561 yards of total offense against the then-No. 17 Hokies, who were coming off a 34-3 win over a then-ranked North Carolina team.

Addazio is hoping for some wind and rain 

The forecast for Syracuse’s matchup with Boston College is a high of 55 degrees, a 60 percent chance of precipitation and 20 mile-per-hour winds. When SU played Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, got a heavy dose of rain and wind from Hurricane Matthew, which had touched land on the eastern coast of the state.

SU’s offense struggled in that matchup, scoring only seven points and allowing quarterback Eric Dungey to be sacked five times, a season-high. WFU thrashed SU, 28-9, in what was a close game until midway through the final quarter.

Addazio stressed the Orange’s ability in the vertical passing game, and said he hopes it rains when the two teams meet Saturday.

“I wouldn’t mind a little rain and wind coming in here, but I don’t control that,” Addazio said. “So that’s a little out of my reach.

“If I could, I’d call it in.”

Published on October 19, 2016 at 5:44 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati