Syracuse (1-0) crushed Rhode Island (0-1), 47-0, in the Carrier Dome on Friday night. Here are three observations from the Orange’s season-opening win.

1. A loss in a win

On Syracuse’s third possession, Terrel Hunt rolled to his right and scrambled toward the Syracuse bench. After the play, at the 7:33 mark of the first quarter, Hunt laid on the ground and trainers rushed to him. He left the game and later went to the locker room on crutches, and never returned due to a lower-body injury.

Hunt was replaced by true freshman Eric Dungey, who won the backup quarterback spot over junior Austin Wilson during training camp. Dungey went 10-for-17 for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 20 yards on eight carries and displayed shiftiness whenever the pocket collapsed on him.

Scott Shafer will address the media after the game and will speak on Hunt’s injury.

2. Skilled players

Even without Hunt for nearly the whole game, a list of Syracuse skill players impressed on offense.

Sophomore hybrid Ervin Philips, who left the game at halftime with a lower-body injury, had two catches for 41 yards and two touchdowns. The scores were the first two of his career, and both came on passes from Dungey.

In the running game, George Morris started in place of Devante McFarlane and ran for 71 yards on 12 carries. But the most impressive rushing performance came from freshman running back Jordan Fredericks. Fredericks ran 14 times and collected 103 yards and a touchdown. His longest rush of the game went for 31 yards, and his touchdown was a 13-yard run that he broke tackles during.

Freshman running back Dontae Strickland got in on the action in the fourth quarter, running for a 21-yard touchdown to give Syracuse a 47-0 lead. Between Dungey, Strickland and Fredericks, a freshman was involved in every one of the Orange’s offensive touchdowns.

On special teams, junior wide receiver Brisly Estime ran a punt return 74 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half. Estime, who was complimented throughout training camp for his play, eluded two tackles on the far sideline before beating half of Rhode Island’s punting unit in a foot race.

3. Thompson and Raymon see the field

Ron Thompson and John Raymon, two defensive linemen who were sidelined for a significant portion of Syracuse’s training camp, each played a handful of snaps. Thompson was working back from a lower-body injury that put a walking boot on his left foot, and Raymon from an upper-body injury that had a brace on his right arm.

Both came on the field in Syracuse’s “Okie” package, which the Orange uses in third-and-long situations. The package uses three defensive linemen and adds an extra safety. They only saw snaps in the Okie, with Raymon playing nose tackle and Thompson as one of the two defensive ends.

Playing Thompson and Raymon, albeit in scattered special situations, is a good sign for the Orange and its young defensive line. Thompson, a junior, has been touted as the team’s top pass rusher. Raymon, a fifth-year senior, has missed the better part of the last two seasons with various injuries, and is the only experienced upperclassman of SU’s interior defensive linemen.

As a whole, Syracuse’s defense swarmed the inferior Rhode Island offense throughout the game. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Rams had zero rushing yards and just two first downs. The Orange started sprinkling second- and third-team defensive players in the middle of the third quarter.

Published on September 4, 2015 at 10:14 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse