Recap: Bowl Eligible! 'Cuse Beats No. 22 NC State, 51-41

Saturday, October 27

Syracuse, NY

7 PM

Syracuse University

6-2 , 3-2

NC State

5-2 , 2-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

NC State

Syracuse

Recap: Bowl Eligible! 'Cuse Beats No. 22 NC State, 51-41

10/27/2018 11:15:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery Dino Babers Press Conference Players Press Conference Postgame Notes Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Quarterback Eric Dungey completed 27-of-38 for 411 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score, to lead Syracuse (6-2, 3-2 ACC) to a 51-41 victory against No. 22 NC State (5-2, 2-2 ACC) inside the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Oct. 27.

The win made Syracuse bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. The victory also stopped NC State's four-game winning streak against the Orange and upped Syracuse's record in home games this season to 5-0.

HOW IT WAS DECIDED
In a game that featured plenty of offense, it was the Syracuse defense that sealed the deal. NC State took over at its own 15-yard line down 44-41 with 3:12 to play. Ryan Finley's first down pass was broken up by Antwan Cordy. When Finley dumped a pass to Reggie Gallaspy on second down, Cordy closed quickly and stopped the 5-11, 235-pound Gallaspy for no gain. On third-and-10, Finley was pressured by Alton Robinson and his throw was intercepted by Andrew Armstrong and returned to the NC State 21.

On the ensuing possession, Orange ran down the clock and clinched the contest on a 5-yard touchdown run by Dontae Strickland with 1:05 left that resulted in the 51-41 final score.

ORANGE IS THE NEW FAST – AGAIN
Syracuse scored on four of its first five possessions, jumping in front 24-7.

The Orange came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. It started with the defense forcing NC State into a three-and-out and the offensive unit immediately putting points on the board, courtesy of a 29-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt. Dungey moved the Orange into scoring position by completing his first four passes for 46 yards, including a 24-yarder to Taj Harris.

Finley flashed his throwing ability on the game's next series, finding Emeka Emezie for a 67-yard touchdown that put the Wolfpack in front, 7-3.

The Orange answered quickly with Dungey carrying for six yards and then teaming with Nykeim Johnson on an 82-yard scoring play, which represented Syracuse longest play from scrimmage this season.

Following another Wolfpack three-and-out, Dungey directed a four-play, 60-yard drive that Jarveon Howard finished with a 2-yard plunge. Dungey helped set-up the score with a 45-yard pass down the sideline to Jamal Custis.

After two additional three-and-out series by NC State were sandwiched around a Syracuse possession that did not produce points, the Orange on the attack again. Strickland opened the drive with a 48-yard option pass to Sean Riley. Dungey threw incomplete on first down, but then found Custis for a 20-yard touchdown. The extra point had the Orange ahead 24-7 with 2:39 left in the first quarter.

FINLEY THROWS NC STATE BACK INTO IT
Finley and kicker Christopher Dunn helped the Wolfpack get back in the game in the second quarter. Dunn converted field goals of 25 and 29 yards, sandwiched around a 74-yard bomb from Finley to Kelvin Harmon for a touchdown. Dunn's second field goal had NC State within four points, 24-20, with 3:13 to go in the half.

The Orange had the ball one last time before intermission. Dungey completed an 11-yard screen to Moe Neal and then scrambled for a 17-yard gain. It set-up a Szymt 45-yard field goal that gave the home team a 27-20 lead at the break.

ORANGE FLIPS THE SWITCH IN THE THIRD
Syracuse fashioned its longest drive of the game to start the third quarter, taking the second-half kickoff and marching 75 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown. Dungey finished things off with a 1-yard score to extend the lead to 34-20.

NC State answered with a 1-yard TD run by Brady Bodine, but Syracuse struck again on a 31-yard scoring strike from Dungey to Harris, and the third period ended with the Orange leading, 41-27.

A FLURRY IN THE FOURTH
Less than a minute into the final period, NC State was right back in the game thanks to a 1-yard TD run by Gallaspy.

The Orange countered with an 11-play, 51-yard drive that used up 4:49 of clock time. The drive ended at the Wolfpack 23-yard line, but Szmyt tacked on three points with a 41-yard field goal to make it 44-34 with 9:39 left.

Finley worked quickly again, taking the Wolfpack 75 yards in just 2:16. He teamed with Kelvin Harmon on a 12-yard touchdown pass, and the extra point cut the NC State deficit to three, 44-41. But that was the last time NC State found the scoring column. The Wolfpack's final two drives of the game ended with Armstrong's interception and an incomplete pass from Finley that was intended for Harmon.

BABERS BITE
"I'm so excited for the seniors. To be able to play college football at the highest level is such a gift. For [last year's seniors] not to have an opportunity to have a winning season was so sad and hurt me. It physically hurt me," Orange head coach Dino Babers said. "To have an opportunity to be able to let [this year's senior class] experience that is something that I will always cherish and something I will always be proud of. It's not over, and we look at our season in two halves. In the second half of our season, we're 2-0. We still have goals that are out there, goals that need to be met. We're not satisfied and we will not settle, but I'm really happy where those young men are right now."

GETTING A KICK OUT OF IT
Szmyt, the redshirt freshman kicker, continued his stellar season. His three field goals (29, 45, 41), gave him 21 for the year, breaking the school record of 20 set by Cole Murphy a year ago.

Szmyt also moved up the school's single-season point total ledger. He recorded 15 points against NC State – six on extra points and nine on field goals – to boost his total 103, which ranks fifth on Syracuse's all-time season ledger. Walter Reyes set the record with 128 points in 2003.

OF NOTE

Syracuse (561 yards) and NC State (541 yards) combined for 1,102 yards of offense.
Dungey took over as Syracuse's career leader in total offense, passing Donovan McNabb (9,950 yards). Dungey tallied 443 total yards against the Wolfpack and now has 10,064. He is the eighth quarterback in ACC history with at least 10,000 career yards.
Finley completed 26-of-44 passes for a career-best 473 yards and three touchdowns. It was the most individual passing yards against the Orange in program history, two more than Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer (471) had in 2016.
NC State's Harmon had 11 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
The crowd of 40,769 was the largest Dome gathering of the season.
Syracuse's 24 first-quarter points were its most in one quarter of play against an ACC opponent this season.
Strickland became the third Syracuse player to complete a pass of 45 yards or longer this season when he connected with Riley in the first quarter.
Riley finished with a career-best 10 catches for 164 yards, while Johnson had seven catches for 136 yards and a score, and Harris finished with six receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Dungey's third-quarter rushing touchdown was the 29th of his career. He is tied James Mungro for third on Syracuse's all-time list and matched Wake Forest's Larry Russell for sixth on the ACC career chart for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
NC State came into the game having given up just three sacks in six games. Syracuse's Chris Slayton added to that, tackling Finley for a 6-yard loss to end the third quarter.
Wolfpack linebacker Germain Pratt had a game-best 16 tackles.

UP NEXT
Syracuse travels to take on Wake Forest Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is set for noon at BB&T Field and the game will televised on RSN.

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