Syracuse Football: Orange Bounces Back With Upset Win

After a lousy performance against Wake, the Syracuse football team responded with a huge win over No. 17 Virginia Tech. This was a season-saving victory.

This is one of those wins you talk about for a long time. On Saturday afternoon in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 ACC) took down No. 17 Virginia Tech (4-2, 2-1 ACC) by a final score of 31-17. This ended a 12-game losing streak for the Orange against ranked opponents dating back to 2012. During that span, they had lost by an average of 21.2 points per game.

"“This was the best effort offensively and defensively,” Dino Babers said following the game. “If you were at the game you could feel the energy.”"

So how do you exactly defeat a team when you were a three-touchdown underdog? Well, it starts with winning the turnover battle. Syracuse turned the ball over just once, while forcing two for Virginia Tech. And the last one sealed the deal for the Orange. Ahead by 14 points with under four minutes left, defensive-tackle Chris Slayton knocked the ball out of the hands of Hokies quarterback Jerod Evans. This was an incredible performance by the Syracuse defense, holding VA Tech to its season-low in points.

"“That’s like the moment you live for,” defensive back Chris Frederick said. “I’ve never been a part of anything like that.”"

With the Hokies putting up 137 points in their last three games, there were reasons to have trepidation. The SU defense has left much to be desired all season. And with all the injuries, the chances of providing any type of resistance against a stout offense were minuscule. But the defense had something to say about that, holding VT to just THREE first-half points.

And then there was Eric Dungey, who was coming off his worst game of the season. Last week in the loss against Wake Forest, he looked uncomfortable. Weather played a factor. The second-year QB never got into a rhythm and made a litany of awful decisions. But back in front of his home crowd, he rose to the occasion and played arguably his best game of the season.

Dungey went 28-for-53 with 311 passing yards, 106 rushing yards (led the team), and two TD’s (one rushing). The defense hardly had an answer for him. He did an excellent job of maintaining poise in the pocket, while getting all of his receivers involved.

There was a scary moment in the second quarter. Dungey appeared to suffer a knee injury and had to be helped off the field. Backup QB Zack Mahoney came into the game. With his injury history, SU fans had every right to fear the outcome. But he did come back into the game, and the rest, as they say, was history.

After the upset win, fans stormed the field and you could hear, “Dino Babers!” chants. Then in the locker room, the SU head coach provided an invigorated speech to his team. There’s a reason to smile. There’s a reason to feel ecstatic. Just a few days ago, the dark cloud of a very disappointed loss to the Demon Deacons loomed. The season felt all, but over.

Now? The Orange are alive and well and can improve to the .500 mark with a win at Boston College next weekend. And all of a sudden, a bowl game doesn’t feel all that impossible. Still a long ways to go, but there’s optimism emanating from this program right now.