George McDonald found himself surrounded in the corner of Syracuse’s press conference room in the underbelly of the Carrier Dome.

This time, though, the reporters weren’t there to skewer him, but instead to ask about his consistent excellence and his brilliance on the Orange’s final drive where he mustered up the courage to make his ballsiest play call yet.

“We’ve had it in our back pocket for a long time,” the offensive coordinator said, “and it just turned out at the right time.”

A tight-end throwback that left Josh Parris with an open path to the end zone capped the finest day yet for SU’s eccentric mastermind of an offensive coordinator. Parris’ second touchdown of the day sent Syracuse to a 34-31 win over Boston College (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) and made the Orange (6-6, 4-4) bowl eligible in front of 37,406 in the Dome.

Until SU clinched bowl eligibility on Saturday before the home crowd, many of the 37,406 in attendance were fed up with McDonald’s play calling. He contributed to blowing what many felt was a winnable game against Pittsburgh. The bowl game that had once seemed a certainty now hung on just one game.

On Saturday, though, those same 37,406 witnessed an offensive clinic. Short passes and quarterback keepers contributed to Terrel Hunt’s best day since September. A balanced rushing attack set up deeper strikes down field. And every once in a while there was a play just crazy enough to work.

Hunt hit safety Durell Eskridge with a pass down the right sideline in the final minutes of the first half to set up a 1-yard touchdown run for the quarterback. McDonald turned to Quinta Funderburk, previously a non-factor, and Jeremiah Kobena, a non-factor since Week 3, to play in key situations.

But it was his final play that proved his mettle.

“If we don’t get it,” McDonald said with a smirk, “you guys don’t like me.”

He’d watched the possibility present itself. The right end kept bull rushing during Syracuse’s final drive, Parris said. He was leaving himself susceptible to just the play McDonald had up his sleeve.

“We tried to use his strength against him,” Parris said.

McDonald said his players have been clamoring for him to call it since they ran the same one to tackle Sean Hickey against Maryland. They’ve rehearsed it for the past six weeks and the last time they ran it in practice, Parris actually dropped the pass.

But on Saturday, Parris snagged the ball out of the air and followed offensive linemen Rob Trudo and Michael Lasker into the end zone.

“Everything was unbelievable,” Parris said. “The play calling was perfect. I didn’t think he was going to call the play. It was a great play call.”

Parris was Hunt’s only option on that play. There was no extra safety valve — just a throw that would either get the Orange into a bowl game or end its season beneath the familiar Carrier Dome bubble.

But the final drive was no gimmick, nor was any of Hunt’s in-control performance. The quarterback was confident to run for first downs and make throws short of the end zone even as time was winding down. For the first time in months, he found a rhythm in the pocket.

The short throws that dominated Syracuse’s opening drive opened the door for longer ones — gambles that haven’t often worked out for Hunt this season. A 31-yard strike to Alvin Cornelius during the Orange’s second drive and a 32-yarder to Brisly Estime on its third moved Syracuse deep into Eagle territory.

Hunt pushed the Orange into the red zone on five of SU’s first six drives as Syracuse built a 21-7 lead.

“That was definitely my best game played ever,” Hunt said.

He finished 29-of-43 with 270 yards and two touchdowns, and added 102 yards and another score on the ground.

His lone blemish, though, nearly cost Syracuse its season. With 2:49 remaining and the Orange down one, Steele Divitto intercepted Hunt.

But 41 seconds later, the ball was back in his hands. He made every throw McDonald asked and even some runs that he didn’t.

The quarterback was excellent. The coordinator was brilliant. Head coach Scott Shafer didn’t have anything to say.

“You’ve had them confused all day long,” Shafer told McDonald. “Keep going.”

“And then as we went down the field he made a great call on that throwback. I thought that was an awesome call,” Shafer said, shaking his head in amazement. “Great call.”

Published on November 30, 2013 at 11:46 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2