BOSTON – Syracuse head coach Paul Pasqualoni struggled to hold back a smile in his postgame press conference Saturday. After beating Boston College, 43-17, there was a lot to be happy about.

Syracuse finished the 2004 season with a winning record, clinching a share of the Big East title. The win made the Orange bowl eligible and it gave Syracuse a small chance at a Bowl Championship Series berth.

But the question remains: Is that enough to save Pasqualoni’s job?

Probably not. If the 51-0 opening loss to Purdue didn’t clinch P’s fate, the 34-24 debacle at Temple on Nov. 13 was icing on his goodbye cake. Receiver Andre Fontenette said at the time it was embarrassing to lose to one of the worst college football teams in the country.

He was right. How bad would the BCS look now if it accepted a 6-5 team that lost to Temple?

It’s easy to dream about the possibilities. A win against the Owls would’ve guaranteed Syracuse that BCS berth and it probably would’ve saved Pasqualoni’s job.

But you couldn’t blame the Orange for being ecstatic Saturday. It delivered an emphatic right foot to BC’s hindquarters as the Eagles begin their journey to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

If it was Pasqualoni’s last game at Syracuse, what a way to end a career.

On his way to midfield to shake BC head coach Tom O’Brien’s hand after the game, Pasqualoni was hoisted onto Matt Tarullo’s and Quinn Ojinnaka’s shoulders, giving him a bird’s-eye view of O’Brien, who would later say in his postgame press conference that he refuses to play a Big East team after this year.

On Pasqualoni’s way out of Alumni Stadium, he was greeted with cheers by family and fans. It was a big change considering two weeks earlier, Orange fans shouted profanities at Pasqualoni, calling for his dismissal.

It had become so bad that is was common to see a sign at an SU basketball game calling for P’s job, too.

But maybe a better reflection on Pasqualoni is what his players say about him.

Many don’t acknowledge that Pasqualoni’s job is in jeopardy, but those that do stand by their coach.

‘This team has a great coach and he should stay where he is,’ Tarullo said. ‘He is one of the greatest coaches in college football and he’s a great man. He deserves to have this job and he deserves to be in a bowl game.’

‘It’s never been the coaches that are the problems, it’s us,’ running back Damien Rhodes said. ‘This is the first time this season we’ve all come out to play. If we did that every week, we’d be chillin’ in Tempe (at the Fiesta Bowl) right now.’

Unfortunately for Pasqualoni, Orange players don’t decide who their coach is, and unless Pittsburgh stumbles next week against South Florida, Syracuse will have to chill somewhere other than Tempe, Ariz.

So in the grand scheme of inconsistency and underachieving, maybe a 6-5 season isn’t all that bad considering four of those losses were to ranked teams. What will probably be Pasqualoni’s final season may be just a footnote in a successful 14-year career. But somewhere near the end of Pasqualoni’s story at Syracuse is an exclamation mark for Saturday’s win – BC and Syracuse’s final matchup in the Big East.