After seven games of less aggressive play, Eric Dungey rekindled memories of his style over the previous two seasons. In trying to extend plays to keep SU competitive with No. 8 Miami last week — despite four first-half interceptions — Dungey took several hits that resurfaced whether his best attribute arguably puts him in harm’s way.

Down 14 in the third quarter on Saturday, he tried to jump over a Miami defensive back. He didn’t get as a high as he would have liked. What resulted was a WWE-style dropkick that put his knee into the defender’s facemask. Both players were not injured on the first-down conversion.

Syracuse (4-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) head coach Dino Babers said Wednesday morning on the ACC teleconference that “it’s just the way he is,” citing Dungey’s elusiveness and ability to make plays. The junior ranks 13th in the country in passing yards and second in the ACC behind Lamar Jackson, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner. Dungey also leads SU in rushing.

“Dungey’s the straw that stirs our drink,” Babers said. “I think he is the way he is. We tell him to be smart … You want to have a horse that’s special. You don’t want to just have a guy who’s behind center and nobody knows his name.”

Against the Hurricanes secondary, Syracuse receivers struggled to get open against man coverage. The offensive line could not block the Miami front four, which attacked Dungey for six QB hurries and four sacks. After his third interception in the first half, Dungey was 1-for-10 with 12 passing yards and a -39.9 quarterback rating. He finished the game 13-for-41 with a season-low 137 passing yards.

As a result, SU’s most effective offensive approach came from Dungey’s legs. He ran for more yards (100) than he has in any game since Week 3. That included a pair of broken-play first-down pickups that set up Moe Neal’s touchdown to bring Syracuse within four of the undefeated Hurricanes in the third quarter. When asked after the Miami game about the holes he found via the ground, Dungey credited the offensive line.

“That’s just the guys,” Dungey said. “Everybody was positive. We know what we can be. The defense played a great game. Offensively, we need to help them out.”

On the season, Dungey is averaging 60.8 rushing yards per game, a significant increase from both a year ago (32.6 rushing yards per game) and 2015 (43.9).

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Syracuse has four games remaining on the schedule. Due to upper-body injuries, Dungey has missed the final three games of each of the past two seasons at SU. The Orange is 1-5 in those games.

Before the season, Babers and Dungey said there is no concern over whether his play puts him at risk. Before the Clemson game earlier this month, Babers said there is “zero” hesitation regarding Dungey running against the Tigers. This week, Babers reaffirmed his stance that Dungey will not compromise his ability to extend plays.

“The energy we get from him is the way he competes,” Babers said after SU’s 27-19 loss at Miami. “Don’t you get energy from the way he competes? When you’re watching him, you’re going wow, O-M-G. He’s furious. He’s reckless. And we love him.”

Additional notes from Babers’ ACC teleconference:

• On team injuries during the bye week: “We’re really banged up … it’s a great opportunity for a bye.”
• Babers said defensive linemen Kendall Coleman and Josh Black, who have not played since Sept. 23, have not been running in practice. Best-case scenario is they get 10-25 snaps during the Florida State game on Nov. 4.
• On last year’s 4-8 season: “I thought one of the things we did wrong last year was (talk about) bowl games before winning games.”

Published on October 25, 2017 at 1:11 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21