Photo by: Charles Wainwright
Sunday Sidebar: Dungey Delivers
10/28/2018 5:00:00 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – One of the most statistically-accomplished players in school history, quarterback Eric Dungey entered yesterday's game coming off two subpar performances by his lofty standards. But the senior brushed off his struggles against Pittsburgh and North Carolina to deliver one the best games of his career in leading the Orange to a 51-41 victory over No. 22 NC State at the Carrier Dome last night.
Dungey completed 27-of-38 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns. He added 32 yards rushing and another score to finish with 443 of Syracuse's 561 yards of total offense. It was Dungey's third career 400-yard passing game and his seventh with at least 400 total yards.
The victory marked the third year in a row he's quarterbacked the Orange to a win over a ranked opponent, having previously led Syracuse past No. 17 Virginia Tech in 2016 and No. 2 Clemson in 2017. The NC State win also secured bowl eligibility for the team for the time since the 2013 season.
"How about Eric Dungey?" head coach Dino Babers said while speaking to the media after the game. "Being challenged all week. He's like Seabiscuit. You don't have to whip him. You just got to show him the whip."
The whip in this case was redshirt freshman Tommy DeVito, who came off the bench against North Carolina on Oct. 20 to rally the Orange to a double-overtime victory. Dungey and DeVito engaged in a healthy competition in practice leading up to the NC State game before Babers decided to continue letting his senior signal-caller drive the Syracuse offense.
"I was raised to be competitive," Dungey said after the game. "I don't want to say I was getting complacent, but I was getting too comfortable, and you can never get comfortable."
Dungey, who currently holds 16 team records, is now the owner of one of the most hallowed marks in the Orange record book. He passed Donovan McNabb (9,950) to become Syracuse's all-time leader in total offense with 10,064 running and passing yards. In addition, he joined NC State's Philip Rivers, Louisville's Lamar Jackson, Clemson's Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson, Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton, North Carolina's Marquis Williams and Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas as the only quarterbacks in ACC history in the elite 10,000-yard club.
Of Syracuse's six touchdowns against the Wolfpack, Dungey accounted for four, including a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Orange a 34-20 advantage. The plunge was the 29th rushing TD of Dungey's career, tying him with James Mungro for third on the Orange's career list, and Wake Forest's Larry Russell for sixth on the conference ledger for most quarterback rushing scores. In all, Dungey has 82 career touchdowns responsible for, which ranks 10th in ACC history.
"I love Eric," Babers said. "I love all my guys. I'm just really proud of him and the way he competed. I heard he broke some more records. I told you, that guy is a warrior. If you're not going to play him, you better be sure.
"When he's playing like that, there's nobody better."
Dungey stepped foot on the Syracuse University campus in 2015 as an unheralded quarterback prospect with one Power-Five offer. Fast forward to 2018 and he is a senior who has helped Syracuse resurrect its football program. At 6-2 overall, the Orange are bound for a bowl game, and just this afternoon earned their first national ranking in 17 years.
Not bad for the kid from Lake Oswego, Ore. who came all the way across the country to chase his dream. Â
For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).
Dungey completed 27-of-38 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns. He added 32 yards rushing and another score to finish with 443 of Syracuse's 561 yards of total offense. It was Dungey's third career 400-yard passing game and his seventh with at least 400 total yards.
The victory marked the third year in a row he's quarterbacked the Orange to a win over a ranked opponent, having previously led Syracuse past No. 17 Virginia Tech in 2016 and No. 2 Clemson in 2017. The NC State win also secured bowl eligibility for the team for the time since the 2013 season.
"How about Eric Dungey?" head coach Dino Babers said while speaking to the media after the game. "Being challenged all week. He's like Seabiscuit. You don't have to whip him. You just got to show him the whip."
The whip in this case was redshirt freshman Tommy DeVito, who came off the bench against North Carolina on Oct. 20 to rally the Orange to a double-overtime victory. Dungey and DeVito engaged in a healthy competition in practice leading up to the NC State game before Babers decided to continue letting his senior signal-caller drive the Syracuse offense.
"I was raised to be competitive," Dungey said after the game. "I don't want to say I was getting complacent, but I was getting too comfortable, and you can never get comfortable."
Dungey, who currently holds 16 team records, is now the owner of one of the most hallowed marks in the Orange record book. He passed Donovan McNabb (9,950) to become Syracuse's all-time leader in total offense with 10,064 running and passing yards. In addition, he joined NC State's Philip Rivers, Louisville's Lamar Jackson, Clemson's Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson, Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton, North Carolina's Marquis Williams and Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas as the only quarterbacks in ACC history in the elite 10,000-yard club.
Of Syracuse's six touchdowns against the Wolfpack, Dungey accounted for four, including a 1-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Orange a 34-20 advantage. The plunge was the 29th rushing TD of Dungey's career, tying him with James Mungro for third on the Orange's career list, and Wake Forest's Larry Russell for sixth on the conference ledger for most quarterback rushing scores. In all, Dungey has 82 career touchdowns responsible for, which ranks 10th in ACC history.
"I love Eric," Babers said. "I love all my guys. I'm just really proud of him and the way he competed. I heard he broke some more records. I told you, that guy is a warrior. If you're not going to play him, you better be sure.
"When he's playing like that, there's nobody better."
Dungey stepped foot on the Syracuse University campus in 2015 as an unheralded quarterback prospect with one Power-Five offer. Fast forward to 2018 and he is a senior who has helped Syracuse resurrect its football program. At 6-2 overall, the Orange are bound for a bowl game, and just this afternoon earned their first national ranking in 17 years.
Not bad for the kid from Lake Oswego, Ore. who came all the way across the country to chase his dream. Â
For complete coverage of Syracuse football, follow us on Twitter (@CuseFootball), Instagram (@CuseFootball) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse Football).
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