Syracuse opened the Dino Babers era with a 33-7 win over Colgate on Friday. The Orange put up 554 yards of offense and contested a few single-game school records. Here’s a look at where some players and units stood out.

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Eric Dungey, sophomore quarterback

Dungey was the star in Babers’ new offensive system. He was 13-for-13 in the first quarter, finished with just six incompletions on 40 attempts and had a career-high 355 passing yards. Dungey hit Steve Ishmael on comebacks, found Ervin Philips in the flat and connected with Amba Etta-Tawo over the top.

After last season ended early for Dungey because of an “upper-body” injury, it was unclear if he’d be the same quarterback that showed flashes of brilliance. Dungey proved he can stay in the pocket a bit and dink and dunk down the field.

Clare Ramirez | Presentation Director

Amba Etta-Tawo, redshirt senior wide receiver

Etta-Tawo was the sole explosive deep threat for the Orange’s offense. He ran the go routes, Dungey lofted the passes high in the air and Etta-Tawo went up to get them. The transfer from Maryland hauled in 12 receptions for 210 yards and a score in his SU debut.

His first catch of the game was a 43-yarder in the end zone while fighting off a defensive back who was called for pass interference for SU’s first score. It wasn’t even his best of the night, though, because in the third quarter, he pulled in a pass with tight coverage on the sideline and dragged his left toe for a 40-yard gain.

Ervin Philips, junior wide receiver

Philips tied the school record for catches in a game set by Art Monk in 1979. He finished with 14 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. By the end of the first quarter, Philips already had seven grabs for 60 yards — more catches than he’s ever had in a game.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• Moe Neal’s touchdown on first-ever carry provides reason for optimism
• 3 things we learned from Syracuse’s win over Colgate
• Gallery: The best sights from the Orange’s season opener on Friday

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Syracuse’s running game 

Take out Moe Neal’s 49-yard touchdown run on the first carry of his career and the Orange ran for 68 yards on 34 carries. That’s 2 yards per carry against an FCS team. Colgate was dead set on stopping the run, which showed, but there were seemingly no holes created by SU’s offensive line except on Neal’s burst. Other than that one, Dungey had the longest of the day with 12 yards.

Jessica Sheldon | Photo Editor

Punt return unit

Colgate’s first and only score of the game was a direct result of poor play by the punt return unit. Linebacker Shyheim Cullen went for the block and ended up crashing down to take out the punter’s legs. The running into the kicker penalty gave Colgate a first down instead of a three-and-out on its first possession. It scored a touchdown later in the drive.

The Raiders punted again on their next drive from their own 31. This time, no one went for the block and the punt was low and short. Returner Brisly Estime couldn’t come up in time to field the ball so instead of being fair caught at about the 33-yard line of SU for a net of 36 yards, it bounced another 20 to rest at the 13-yard line.

Estime’s two punt returns went for 21 yards total.

Published on September 4, 2016 at 7:15 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus