ORANGE EAGLE TROPHY UPDATE: Just. LOL.

In 1415, King Henry V of England assembled an army of about 10,500 men in Northern France with an objective of defeating the French and putting an end to what would would later be known as The Hundred Years' War. Having been slowed during the siege of Harfleur and ravaged by disease and lack of food, Henry abandoned his artillery and most of his supplies to make a quick push to Calais, where his army could rest and regroup for the winter.

Following an uncontested river crossing at Bellencourt and Voyenes on October 19th, Henry's army was suddenly shadowed by a large force of approximately 35,000 French soldiers under the command of Constable Charles D'Albret and Marshall Boucicaut. On October 24, the French army blocked Henry's path to Calais, setting the stage for a battle in which the French held a 3-to-1 advantage in manpower including a huge number of heavy cavalry.

The French held a numerical and strength advantage, but Henry formed a strong battle line on a ridge above the fields at Agincourt, a made an astute decision to place his archers on the flanks of his line. The French were eager to do battle given their numbers, but took their position in a freshly plowed field beneath the English line which had been turned into a muddy quagmire due to heavy rains.

The battle began, yet the poor footing in the field occupied by the French made movement by horseback nearly impossible. As a result, the French lay prone and unable to move as the English archers rained scores of uncontested arrows down on the exposed French position. The end result of the Battle of Agincourt? A comprehensive English victory that decimated the French military with minimal English casualties. It introduced the "two Finger salute" -- used by the English archers to show their French adversaries that the two fingers they used to draw back their bows were in-tact and ready to obliterate them (a gesture which is still viewed in the UK and France as a grave insult -- the equivalent of giving one the middle finger). Oh, and it was acknowledged by many military historians as the most one-sided and utterly devastating victories in the history of warfare...

...UNTIL NOW.

Nearly 600 years to the month of that historic battle, Syracuse University is putting a historic beating on its greatest rival...a "two-finger salute" if you will toward the stunned Boston College Eagles. 62-6. Yes, you are reading that right: Sixty-two to six!  Can it get any better for us?  Absolutely!  But it's all icing on an Orange-colored cake. Could it get any worse for BC? Hilariously, yes...just wait. Is this competition over for 2015-2016? Pretty much.Without question, the last few weeks have seen Syracuse blow the doors off this season's contest in breathtaking fashion, leaving us all wondering:

SU Field Hockey and Cross Country have themselves a weekend and deal the knockout blows

Having already defeated BC head-to-head and securing a combined 15 points for the Orange, Syracuse's Field Hockey and Cross Country teams had more than done their part to give Syracuse a solid lead in the Orange Eagle standings. But both teams had higher goals than simply vanquishing the Eagles, and over a 48-hour period each program secured the National Championship in their respective sports! Crowned in glory, SU took home some serious hardware, as well as a combined 20 bonus Orange Eagle points.

Football comes off the mat to pour salt on the wound

Faced with a heavy deficit from SU's historic dual championships, BC simply HAD to win this past weekend's matchup with SU in the Carrier Dome and earn 12 Orange Eagle points. Yet all hopes of grabbing a foothold were dashed as Cole Murphy's game-ending field goal sailed straight through the uprights. The 12 points to SU increased the Orange's advantage to its current 62-6 score.

SU Men's Soccer regroups and lends a hand foot

Boston College managed to get on the scoreboard on October 30, earning BC's only points of the 2015-2016 season to date with a hard-fought 2-1 win over SU. Having lost the shutout, however, SU's soccer team managed to regroup and go on a historic run that has included an ACC Championship (six bonus points), and a rematch with the Eagles this weekend in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Due to Orange Eagle Trophy rules changes introduced this year, the number of head-to-head points for a sport is capped. As a result, a BC victorydoes not add to their points total but rather preserves their six points. With an SU win, the points for soccer are halved, and SU actually increases its advantage to 65-3! So things could get even worse for the Eagles before the winter season starts!  LOL.

With such an advantage, is there any chance Boston College can get back in this? In all honesty, it's unlikely. There are 39 head-to-head points up for grabs in the second half of the season, including 15 in men's and women's basketball, where SU holds a presumed advantage. BC men's soccer is three wins away from an unlikely NCAA title in soccer, which would help. But even with a Natty in soccer, they would have to sweep the Spring season AND get at least one National Championship in men's or women's ice hockey -- their only two championship-caliber winter/spring programs.

There's still a chance, but I think we can safely say that Sean will be engraving yet another year on TNIAAM's side of the trophy base!  Stay tuned to TNIAAM in the new year as SU looks to build on it's historic lead in the Nation's oldest blog community competition. G'Orange!