Syracuse is bowl eligible after defeating #22 NC State

Syracuse, N.Y. -- You’ve got questions, Syracuse football has the answers

Who will start at quarterback for the Orange? Does Syracuse have a chance to defeat #22 ranked NC State? Will Syracuse keep their season home winning record? Will the orange become bowl eligible?

These were some of the questions surrounding the Syracuse football team ahead of their matchup against the NC State Wolfpack.   

QB Controversy

Speculation started brewing over who would start at quarterback for the Orange after the double-overtime comeback victory last week against the University of North Carolina, thanks to freshman Tommy DeVito.

DeVito, a redshirt freshman, entered last week’s game in the fourth inning and threw three touchdowns leading Syracuse to a 40-37 victory. He was the spark the Orange needed for the UNC game and the pressure starting quarterback Eric Dungey desired to trigger him out of complacency.

“I was raised to be competitive,” Dungey said after tonight’s victory. “And I don’t want to say I was getting complacent, but I was getting too comfortable, and you never get comfortable.”

Eric Dungey started at quarterback for the Orange after a competitive week of practice, and his performance in front of 40,769 fans, the largest crowd this season, proved why he is QB1. Dungey passed legendary Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb for the all-time lead in offense and currently owns fifteen school records. He completed 27-of-38 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns, adding a running touchdown of his own.

Defeating #22 NC State

NC State was the favorite entering the game Saturday night, but all that changed after Syracuse and quarterback Dungey struck first and took a quick 3 – 0 lead. The Wolfpack replied with a touchdown and extra point.

It only took Syracuse two plays and thirty-six seconds to answer the Wolfpack with a touchdown of their own, and NC State never regained the lead after that.

One of NC State’s last chances to try and win the game came in the fourth quarter with 3:12 left on the clock. Andrew Armstrong intercepted a pass from Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley and the Orange used the interception to add seven more points to the board taking a 51 – 41 point lead.

Head coach Dino Babers was pleased with the effort from his team and knew how important the fourth quarter efficiency was for this game considering their past late-game performances.

“It’s been plaguing the team the last couple of seasons,” Babers said of previous fourth quarter failures.  “We’ve lost, as a coaching staff, three games in the fourth quarter in the last seven years when we’ve had the lead. The last two years here [at Syracuse], we’ve lost three games [in the fourth quarter]. When we put four fingers up, it’s for a reason.”

Wins at Home

The Orange add another W to the home field win column keeping the 2018 streak alive. Syracuse is now 5-0 at home with the most home wins for the Orange since 2003.

Going Bowling

The Syracuse Football team is bowl eligible after their upset against NC State and are celebrating accordingly. Syracuse is now 6- 2 overall with the most wins since 2013. The last time the Orange attended a bowl game was in 2013 at the Texas Bowl when they defeated Minnesota. This is also the first time the Orange are bowl eligible under head coach Dino Babers.

Coming Up

Next week the Orange travel to Winston-Salem to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Nov. 3 at 12 p.m. The following week is senior night and the last home game of the season against Louisville on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. On Saturday, Nov. 17 the Orange meet Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium and finish off the regular season at Boston College on Nov. 24.