After Syracuse crammed years of pent up aggression from beatdowns past into a 60-minute pummeling of downtrodden Louisville, the Carrier Dome was mostly empty.

The diehard fans stuck around, though. They gathered close to the railing, as close to the field as they could get. They wanted a chance to say thank you.

Syracuse’s seniors filed out of the tunnel and began their final lap around the Carrier Dome, shaking hands, receiving applause and soaking in the adulation. Someone handed their baby to quarterback Eric Dungey for a picture.

They, the seniors, were there to acknowledge the fans that supported them and the fans were there to acknowledge the players’ work, giving the class that lived through three years and a combined 12-24 record the praise it well deserves amidst SU’s best season in 17 years.

“It was awesome,” senior Ryan Guthrie said. “Just really knowing how much they appreciate us. We really appreciate them. We like them for everything they’ve done for us, sticking by our side and believing in us.”

The final lap around the Carrier Dome celebrated a senior class that spent three years in football purgatory for this singular season of glory, No. 13 Syracuse’s (8-2, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) return to relevance and, as a footnote, a 54-23 beatdown of Louisville (2-8, 0-7) on Friday night.

“It’s good that we could grow in our last season and have a winning season and give this program and the fans what they deserve,” senior Kielan Whitner said.

Since joining the ACC in 2013, SU had never beaten the Cardinals. The last time the two teams played in the Carrier Dome in 2016, U of L scored three touchdowns in its first six offensive plays, including Lamar Jackson’s hurdling of Cordell Hudson. The final score was 62-28 and Jackson set an individual Syracuse record for yardage by an opposing player (610).

Last year, in a downpour in Louisville, Jackson torched a toothless Syracuse defense. SU’s Zack Mahoney-led offense — Dungey spent last November watching games with a broken foot — offered little response in a 56-10 blowout in which third-string quarterback Rex Culpepper came on and led SU with 89 passing yards.

The beatdowns have been so bad — in four ACC matchups, SU has been outscored 187-61 by U of L — that earlier this week, Babers wrote down the scores of the last two matchups on a whiteboard for the whole team to see.

“Just kind of eye opening. We were getting smacked,” Dungey said on Tuesday of past matchups with Louisville and Babers’ whiteboard antics. “It’s embarrassing really. So you know, I wanna right some wrongs right now.”

After bashing the Cardinals, it seemed justice had been done.

“This felt good for us,” Dungey said. “I really wanted to win by a lot.”

Walking down the tunnel pregame for the last time, Guthrie turned to senior defensive back Antwan Cordy.

“I feel like we’re going to have a good one today,” Guthrie remembered saying.

“I feel it too,” he remembered Cordy replying.

They were right. The outcome of Friday’s mashing of the Cardinals was in doubt for the brief period U of L trimmed SU’s lead to 10-7 in the second quarter. The Orange responded with 34 unanswered points.

Dungey led the charge and Moe Neal shredded the Cardinals defense for two 60-plus yard runs — he scored on his first touch of the game, a 67-yard draw. When not gashing Louisville on the ground, SU opted to pick up chunks in the air. And when Syracuse’s offense didn’t move forward, the ever-reliable penalty marker often came flying, punishing Louisville and pushing the needle closer to blowout territory.

Late in the third quarter, after Louisville scored a feel-good touchdown to stop the bleeding, Dungey scrambled to his left and tried to hurdle a defender, his signature move. He flying-jump kicked the defender in the chest and facemask.

A shotgun snap flew past Dungey in the fourth quarter and he ran back and fell on it in the open field. A Louisville defender hit him in the helmet after the play. The offender earned two personal fouls for his actions. Dungey popped up and celebrated the 30 yards. It was that kind of night for both teams. Every Louisville misstep matched a Syracuse success.

All 42,797 fans, the largest crowd in the Carrier Dome since Leonard Fournette and LSU came in 2015 — albeit fewer by games end — cheered loudly the entire game.

“We’ve been through a lot the past five years,” redshirt senior wideout Jamal Custis said. “For the fans to be happy for us like they were, it just felt like real family. It felt good to do that for them.”

“Obviously we’re winning a lot more this year,” he continued. “It’s good vibes all around.”

Led by the seniors, Syracuse spent the night celebrating. Whitner, an under recruited safety turned linebacker had an interception. Cordy, who missed nearly two full seasons to injuries, returned a blocked field goal deep into Louisville territory, directly setting up SU’s first touchdown. Chris Slayton, the quiet but dominant defensive tackle, wreaked havoc in the middle. And, of course, there’s Dungey.

And after Dungey missed the ends of his first three seasons to injury and the group endured Scott Shafer’s firing, three-straight losing seasons and a myriad of embarrassing moments, they deserved their moment.

Friday’s win marked more than a turnaround against an opponent Syracuse has historically struggled against. After years of being mired among the dregs of college football, the Orange’s emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the ACC this season, nearly pulling a second stunning upset of Clemson and defeating then-No. 22 North Carolina State at home to become bowl eligible for the first time in the Dino Babers era.

The cheers Friday weren’t just for the beatdown of a 2-8 team that hasn’t won a conference game. They weren’t just for a team that is not only playing for a bowl, but a good bowl. They were to thank the group of players that spent three years working and suffering on some really bad football teams, who got to finally bask in the glory of all they have achieved, and still could, this season.

So when Dungey, the ringmaster of all of this, the quarterback whose best plays are his worst, who spins out of a sack he ran himself into only to run into a big hit and pop right back up for more, checked out of the game, those remaining stood and applauded.

Dungey ran off and met Tommy DeVito, his heir, near the numbers and embraced him. Leaving DeVito, Dungey stuck one arm in the air while placing the other over his heart, a silent nod to the crowd, as the fans loudly roared for Dungey. Then, Dungey walked over and hugged Babers before blending into the bench. A chant broke out as DeVito took his first snap.

“Er-ic Dun-gey!” the fans repeated, over and over.

“It still hasn’t hit me that this is my last game in the Dome,” Dungey said postgame. “It’s really been an honor.”

After the game, underneath all the stands in bowels of the Dome, Babers got to relive his favorite Dungey moment — a forced fumble after throwing an interception against Miami last year — and players got a chance to thank the fans for coming and their teammates for supporting them.

Family members of seniors snapped pictures and Dungey and Whitner teased Guthrie, their roommate, who was still being interviewed after they were finished on the podium.

Then, Dungey and Whitner, like the rest of the seniors, walked out of the Carrier Dome one last time, victorious.

Published on November 9, 2018 at 11:10 pm

Contact Andrew: aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham