CHESTNUT HILL – Boston College had quarterback issues for part of the season but nothing compared to Syracuse.
Redshirt sophomore Dylan Lonergan will make his eighth start when the Eagles (1-10, 0-7) engage the Syracuse Orange (3-8,1-6) in a Rivalry Week matchup on Saturday at JMA Wireless Dome.
Lonergan was benched for three games this season and replaced by senior Grayson James. Lonergan would reaffirm his claim on the position with a fine showing against Georgia Tech on Nov. 15. Lonergan completed 26-of-40 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the Eagles 36-34 loss to the Yellow Jackets.
Nobody puts more stock in the quarterback position than BC second year head coach Bill O’Brien, who has personally worked with Pro Bowl QBs in the NFL and All Americans from Power-4 programs.
“The quarterback position is the toughest position in sports,” said O’Brien. “You can count probably on one hand and maybe part of your second hand who are the top quarterbacks in the National Football League.
“It is a very difficult position. So, the quarterback position requires leadership qualities, it requires intelligence, it requires the ability to process in two seconds and it requires great communication skills. It requires an incredible work ethic, a big heart, and a competitiveness second to none.
“It requires all of those things so it’s a very important position in all of sports. That’s why you hear about it a lot and every quarterback we have here is working to try and get better every day. I really appreciate that from all of them. “
According to the Syracuse game day depth chart, Lonergan’s counterpart will be true freshman walk-on Joseph Filardi, who began the season as the fourth option in second year coach Fran Brown’s quarterback progression.
Syracuse was poised to enjoy another 10-win season with Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli calling the plays under center. The Cuse had won two straight games and was in the process of upsetting Clemson, 34-21, when Angeli suffered a season ending torn Achilles tendon against the Tigers. Angeli was leading the nation with 1,317 passing yards on 98 completions with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions before the injury.
Syracuse’s hopes of contending for the ACC championship died at Clemson. Redshirt sophomore Ricky Collins looked serviceable with 24 completions for 229 yards in the following week’s 38-3 loss at Duke. But that turned out to be Collins’ highwater mark and he was briefly replaced by the equally ineffective Luke Carney. Rumors are rife that Collins and Carney will be playing elsewhere in the 2026 season.
“They unfortunately lost Angeli when they were averaging 38 points a game,” said O’Brien. “He was a really good quarterback out of Notre Dame and then they played Ricky Collins, a transfer from LSU and then they played Filardi and Luke Carney.”
Filardi came to Syracuse after a phenomenal senior year at Half Hollow Hills West High School in Dix Hills, N.Y., where he passed for 3,102 yards and 43 touchdowns with three interceptions on a team that went 9-2.
The 6-1, 195-pound, Filardi established his ACC prerequisite dual threat bona fides by rushing for 1,204 yards on 84 carries with 12 touchdowns. He was the New York State Player of the Year in 2024 and he was also one of the top lacrosse players on Long Island.
Filardi made his collegiate debut and first start in a 27-10 home loss to Bill Belechick’s North Carolina Tar Heels. He completed 4-of-18 passes for 39 yards. In a 70-7 blowout loss at Notre Dame on Nov. 22, Filardi completed a season high 14 passes for 89 yards.
“Like I said, it is a difficult position but they have a lot of really competitive guys that are going in there and giving them a chance to win,” said O’Brien. “We have to be ready for whoever they play.”
O’Brien has schemes in place to get after Filardi in the wake of what was surely an unsettling experience in South Bend, Ind.
“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to do the things you do,” said O’Brien. “We play a lot of different packages. We play a base defense, a nickel defense, a dime defense, and we have pressure packages out of all of those things.
“We are going to continue to improve on what we are doing and do it as good as we can.”