Field Level Media
Aug 31, 2018
Senior Eric Dungey set a Syracuse and ACC quarterback record with 200 rushing yards and added a touchdown on 15 carries while also passing for two scores, leading the visiting Orange to a 55-42 season-opening victory over Western Michigan on Friday.
Dungey went 7 of 19 for 184 yards as the first of three quarterbacks used by Syracuse. Jamal Custis caught six passes for 168 yards and two scores. Moe Neal and Dontae Strickland each scored two rushing touchdowns for the Orange (1-0).
Western Michigan quarterback Jon Wassink passed for 379 yards and three touchdowns while getting intercepted twice. LeVante Bellamy gained 120 rushing yards on 11 carries and scored twice while D'Wayne Eskridge caught eight passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
Syracuse, which led 34-7 at halftime, jumped to a 24-7 lead in the first quarter.
Dungey got his big night underway by tossing a 27-yard scoring pass to Custis.
Following an interception, Syracuse made it 10-0 on Andre Szmyt's 26-yard field goal. Neal scored on a 1-yard run on Syracuse's next possession.
The Broncos (0-1) got on the board on Bellamy's 7-yard run with 3:10 left in the quarter.
Neal scored his second touchdown from 3 yards out in the final minute of the quarter.
Dungey's 36-yard run on Syracuse's next possession led to Strickland's 1-yard scoring run early in the second quarter. Szmyt's 43-yard field goal gave Syracuse a 34-7 lead.
An Orange turnover allowed the Broncos to score in the first minute in the second half. They cashed on Wassink's 21-yard pass to Eskridge.
Eskridge then got behind the Syracuse defense on an 84-yard scoring pass from Wassink.
After an Orange punt, Bellamy found paydirt on a 64-yard run with 5:19 left in the third quarter.
Dungey, who sat out a few series, returned to the game on Syracuse's next drive and immediately provided a spark. He hit Custis with a 21-yard scoring pass to make it 41-28.
The Broncos answered with Wassink's 4-yard touchdown run, but Strickland scored from 1 yard out in the final minute of the quarter to make it 48-35.
Kielan Whitner's interception set up Dungey's 27-yard run in the opening minute of the fourth to extend Syracuse's lead to 20. A Wassink 17-yard touchdown to Jayden Reed with 2:50 remaining capped the scoring.
--Field Level Media