PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Eric Dungey carried the ball 15 times for 42 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown run, his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, in the double-overtime win over North Carolina. The senior is tied with Ernie Davis (1959-61) and Dee Brown (1997-2000) for fourth in school history with 28 career rushing touchdowns. He accounted for 48 plays in the contest (33 passing, 15 rushing) and is now Syracuse’s all-time leader with 1,562 plays. He eclipsed the previous record of 1,554 held by Ryan Nassib (2009-12). Dungey also passed Nassib (9,358 yards) for second on Syracuse’s career total offense list. Dungey has 9,621 yards in 33 games.
–QB Tommy DeVito set career highs for touchdown passes (three) and passing yards (181) in the North Carolina game. His 50-yard pass completion with WR Jamal Custis in the fourth quarter was a career-long completion.
–DB Ifeatu Melifonwu totaled a career-high four tackles and four pass breakups against the Tar Heels. His four breakups tied for the fifth-best, single-game total in program history and are the most by a Syracuse defender since Steve Gregory recorded four against Virginia Tech in 2002.
–LB Ryan Guthrie logged a career-high 12 tackles, including a career-best 1.5 tackles for loss against North Carolina. Guthrie also recovered a fumble, his second fumble recovery in as many games.
SERIES HISTORY: Syracuse is 1-10 against North Carolina State dating to 1972. Since the series resumed in 2013 after a 15-year break, Syracuse is 1-4 with the Wolfpack winning the last four games. Syracuse has yet to beat North Carolina State at home, losing five games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I thought it might be a spark. (Eric) Dungey is a warrior, and you don’t leave your warriors at home when you go to war. I’m not going to compare football to war because my dad told me never to do that, but sometimes those guys get too much credit and too much blame. I just felt like we needed to do something different. I just felt like they had a bit of a bead on us and sometimes just changing one character throws off the defense. I don’t know if it worked or not, but it is a tactic.” — Syracuse coach Dino Babers, on his decision to replace starting QB Eric Dungey with Tommy DeVito during Saturday’s win over North Carolina.