Sunday Sidebar: Orange Crush

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – While quarterback Eric Dungey has grabbed most of the headlines the last two weeks, the Orange defense has been as big a reason as any for Syracuse's back-to-back conference wins against Virginia Tech and Boston College.

After allowing 36 points a game in the first six contests, the Orange have surrendered just 18.5 points per game the last two weeks. That number shrinks to 15 points allowed per game when you remove Boston College's 89-yard kickoff return touchdown, a score that did not come against coordinator Brian Ward's defense.

Reasons for the improvement include Syracuse's stellar performance on third down and in the red zone. Virginia Tech and Boston College were a combined 8-for-26 (.307) on third down and scored just two touchdowns on eight trips to the red zone.

The unit has been particularly effective in the first half of late, giving up just 13 points in the first two quarters to the Hokies and Eagles.

Against Boston College yesterday, the Orange held the Eagles to season lows for completions (7) and passing yards (64). They forced BC to go three-and-out on 41.7 percent of their offensive possessions (5/12) and recorded two takeaways, including intercepting a pass for the fifth game in a row.

"Boston College is a certain style of offense. They want to do certain things, and then based off of what quarterback is in the game, there's some tendencies that you have to take advantage of," Orange head coach Dino Babers said. "I thought Coach Ward and the defensive coaches did a nice job of taking advantage of those tendencies and just playing the numbers.

"We tried to take away their strengths, and for the most part we did."

Linebacker Parris Bennett turned in another big-time performance, finishing with a team-high 11 tackles against the Eagles. He also intercepted Patrick Towles deep in Orange territory midway through the third quarter to preserve a 14-10 SU advantage.

Bennett anchored a unit that sealed yesterday's win by stopping Boston College on fourth down from the Syracuse 18-yard line with less than two minutes to play.

"As a defense, we like making fourth down stops close to the end zone," Bennett said. "We like having the game in our own hands. It's a great feeling knowing we can go out there and close the football game."

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Parris Bennett

Eric Dungey

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