TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Eric Dungey blamed himself for killing Syracuse’s momentum.

With the Orange down 14 and Dungey already 6 yards into a scramble on third-and-7, the ball popped out. Derwin James knocked it loose and Josh Sweat recovered. Travis Rudolph reeled in his third touchdown three plays later to put Florida State up 21 early in the third quarter.

“Fumbling the ball, that’s unacceptable,” Dungey said. “I’ve got to tuck it away and I really killed the momentum.”

Dungey accounted for all 14 of Syracuse’s offensive points with two 1-yard rushing touchdowns. He ran for 46 yards and those two scores, but an 11-of-24 mark for 120 yards in the air left much to be desired. Eighty-seven of those yards came on plays mostly manufactured by others, a screen turned into a 62-yard gain by Dontae Strickland and a 25-yard floater that Steve Ishmael climbed Jalen Ramsey to grab.

Other than that, a vaunted FSU defense held Dungey to 33 yards on nine completions to help shut down the Orange (3-5, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) in a 45-21 win for the No. 17 Seminoles (7-1, 5-1) on Saturday afternoon at Doak Campbell Stadium.

“I could’ve done a lot better,” Dungey said. “A lot of mistakes that I could’ve fixed … I got to get rid of the ball and be smarter with the ball.”

Dungey was sacked twice and ran the ball twice more than he passed. He rarely had time in the pocket as Syracuse’s offensive line was bullied by the FSU front. It led to 13 rushes – only two of which went for first downs – and one hit where he was slow to get up.

Offensive coordinator Tim Lester still thinks Dungey needs to get rid of the ball more. He acknowledged receivers weren’t getting open downfield in one-on-one matchups, but would’ve liked to see the freshman throw underneath the coverage rather than over it.

“It was going to be his first real test at that speed, not a lot of time, make quick decisions,” Lester said. “I thought he made some good ones. Other times I thought he was waiting on some big play or trying to take a shot on a wheel route when a check down would’ve been just as good.”

Dungey had his lowest completion percentage of the season by 4.2 percent and several times was visibly on a different page than his receivers.

One pass hit wideout Sean Avant in the back of the leg as he set a screen for a streaking Jordan Fredericks. Another fell well in front of Brisly Estime, who appeared to slow up on a slant route.

“There were gaps,” Dungey said. “I just had to find them.”

With receivers blanketed, Dungey looked short when he did pass. Tight end Josh Parris had a season-high 35 yards on four receptions and provided an option in a short game that has often trumped a Syracuse downfield attack not often in existence.

On Syracuse’s fourth drive of the third quarter, with the Orange clinging to its last bit of life down 35-14, four of the drive’s last five plays ended with the ball in Dungey’s hands. Two rushes for 8 and 3 yards, respectively, preceded two consecutive sacks.

“I don’t know if he had a chance to play well to be quite honest with you,” head coach Scott Shafer said. “I don’t think we did a good enough job up front to give him a chance.”

Riley Dixon trotted out for his eighth punt of the day and Dungey didn’t finish another drive. Fredericks and Zack Mahoney shared the last five snaps, and Dungey watched from the sideline as Syracuse stalled out once again.

Published on October 31, 2015 at 8:56 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman