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No. 23 Orangemen Rout BC


Syracuse's potent attack found a new weapon as Jeff Lowe caught the first two touchdown passes of his career and the 23rd-ranked Orangemen beat Boston College 42-25 Saturday.

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  • The usual offensive stars contributed as Kyle McIntosh had two rushing touchdowns, Rob Konrad added one, and Donovan McNabb, second in the nation in passing efficiency, threw for two scores.

    But it was Lowe, who had 15 receptions in his first two seasons and only two this year, who provided an extra lift. He replaced Quinton Spotwood, who caught 88 passes for 12 touchdowns in 21/2 seasons before a season-ending knee injury last week.

    Syracuse (4-2) improved to 2-0 in the Big East and, with West Virginia (1-0), remained one of two unbeaten teams in conference play. Boston College (3-3, 2-2) dropped its third straight game.

    The Eagles, who trailed 28-3 six minutes into the third quarter, came back with touchdowns on Mike Cloud's 1-yard run with 59 seconds left in the period and Scott Mutryn's 32-yard pass to Anthony DiCosmo 2:09 into the fourth, making it 28-18.

    Kevin Johnson returned the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and McIntosh ran 23 yards for his second score with 5:51 left in the game. Boston College's last score came on Tim Hasselbeck's 19-yard pass to Derrick Crittenden with 2:22 left.

    The Orangemen began the day fourth in the nation with 44.2 points per game and 10th with an average of 472 ards after a 63-21 victory over Cincinnati in which they gained 637 yards.

    That started them back from a 38-17 upset loss to North Carolina State in its previous game.

    On Saturday, the Orangemen scored on three of their four first-half possessions after drives covering 82, 75 and 75 yards. Against Cincinnati, they scored on nine of 11 series.

    They took a 21-3 halftime lead, and for the fourth time in six games scored on the opening drive.

    Syracuse went ahead 7-0 on a 10-play march capped by a 15-yard run by McIntosh, the team's rushing leader. McNabb kept it going with passes for first downs of 38 yards to Lowe and 14 yards to Johnson.

    McNabb went 3-for-3 and had a 22-yard run on Syracuse's next drive, setting up Konrad's 21-yard run, his fifth touchdown of the year. On the next possession, the Eagles held the ball for 15 plays and 7:42 but settled for John Matich's 36-yard field goal.

    Syracuse built the lead to 21-3 as McNabb's 12-yard pass to Lowe 59 seconds before halftime capped a 14-play drive. Lowe scored again on a 29-yard pass after Quentin Harris ended an Eagles drive with an interception at the Syracuse 3 and returned it 63 yards to the Boston College 36.

    McNabb completed 13-of-19 passes for 182 yards and no interceptions. Cloud, third in the nation with 172.4 yards rushing per game, was held to a season-low 104. McIntosh rushed for 103 yards.

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