Before he had a career-best game, before he put up 355 passing yards on a helpless Colgate defense and before he helped kick off the Dino Babers era in grand fashion, Eric Dungey did something he hadn’t in almost two years: see his older brother Matt.

Matt Dungey is on leave from his service in the U.S. Army, and was scheduled to come back to the United States around the time of Syracuse’s game against Colgate. Eric had no idea he’d be standing outside the player entrance to the Carrier Dome when he got off the bus. What followed was an often-stoic sophomore digging his head into Matt’s left shoulder during a 49-second embrace before trailing off into the tunnel.

“I was locked in, got off the bus, saw my brother. I haven’t seen him in years,” Dungey said. “So that was really cool, overwhelming, surreal to be honest. And then I had to lock back in, get ready for this game.”

The Dungey family, parents Tom and Cindy, sister Emma and Matt, sat in section 129 and watched Eric put on a show. He threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions, completed 34-of-40 passes for a staggering 85-percent completion rate and guided the Orange (1-0) to a convincing 33-7 win against Colgate (0-1) in the Carrier Dome on Friday night.

“Eric did a nice job,” Babers said. “Obviously the numbers are outstanding.”

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MORE COVERAGE:

• Amba Etta-Tawo dazzles in Syracuse debut after transferring from Maryland
• Gallery: Check out the best sights from the Orange’s win over Colgate
• Graphical breakdown: The most telling stats from SU’s 26-point win
• Syracuse rolls past Colgate in Dino Babers’ first game at SU

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To begin his sophomore campaign, Dungey completed 13 consecutive passes. It wasn’t until the 14:55 mark of the second quarter that a throw finally hit the turf, when a would-be touchdown to Ervin Philips was broken up and fell in the end zone.

Dungey lived mainly via the short pass in the Orange’s new fast-paced offense, eating up chunks of field with the help of Philips and Steve Ishmael. He lofted the occasional bomb to Amba Etta-Tawo, and those worked, too. By halftime, he had completed 17 of his 19 passes, redefining what it means for Dungey to be efficient.

Clare Ramirez | Presentation Director

But as is typical for Dungey’s own expectations of himself, there’s still plenty of ways to grow. And that may be scary for future opponents.

“I’ve got to make better reads, better decisions and sharper throws,” Dungey said, “so tons of room for improvement.”

Jessica Sheldon | Photo Editor

This is a far different Dungey from a year ago. After last season’s opener, a timid freshman stood at the podium hours after he unexpectedly took over for Terrel Hunt. This time, he was expected to deliver from the start and that’s exactly what he did.

For Syracuse’s final two drives, Dungey was able to watch from the sideline as backup quarterback Zack Mahoney took over. His work was done and because of him, a new era of Syracuse football got off to an emphatic start.

“He made some mistakes but I would imagine if you put his opening performance against the other quarterbacks that I’ve had opening performances,” Babers said, “I’d imagine it might be best.”

Published on September 3, 2016 at 1:05 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman