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SU Shuts Out Rhode Island, 47 - 0

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Syracuse won the battle but may have lost the war Friday night. 

True freshman Eric Dungey threw for two touchdowns in his first collegiate game and Syracuse routed Rhode Island 47-0 in the opener for both teams. Dungey was pressed into action only after senior quarterback Terrel Hunt suffered a serious leg injury and was forced to leave the game with more than seven minutes to go in the first quarter.

Hunt, who was ejected in last season's season opener against Villanova and then suffered a season-ending leg injury that sidelined him for the team's final six-plus games, rolled to his left and stepped awkwardly before diving forward. He got up on his right foot but then dropped to the turf with 7:38 to go in the first quarter. Hunt walked to the locker room on crutches.

"Pray for Terrel. Keep your prayers out there for Terrel," Syracuse coach Scott Shafer said. "It's a tough deal. A tough deal. He'll be ok. He'll work through it."

Asked to elaborate on Hunt's injury, Shafer added: "He just cut really hard and that Achilles just popped on him. It's not good."

Fortunately for the Orange, Dungey more than picked up the slack.

"I thought Eric did a nice job," Shafer said. "We didn't want to throw him to the wolves like this so quick but God love him, he's going to have a good future. I liked his reads."

As Dungey got ready to go on the field, Shafer said he told his first-year player, "This is was what we brought you here to do. Go out there and have a blast. I winked at him and said, 'Let's go.' I thought he did a good job, and he'll get better every week, too."

Dungey, who completed 10 of 17 for 114 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Ervin Phillips, led the Orange on two touchdown drives en route to a 31-0 halftime lead.

"It was all the other guys picking me up, keeping me calm," Dungey said. "I didn't really expect to go in that early. T (Terrel) Hunt, he's like a mentor to me, and it's hard, but I know he's going to still be there helping me out."

Jordan Fredericks carried 14 times for 103 yards and a touchdown for the Orange.

"I was really excited about our young kids," Shafer said. "They did some good things."

The Syracuse defense, which had eight new starters, held Rhode Island to just 64 yards for the game. Syracuse cornerback Corey Winfield returned a Paul Mroz pass 24 yards for a touchdown at 10:56 of the first quarter. It was the first career start at Rhode Island for Mroz, a junior college transfer from Victor Valley in California. He finished 10 of 20 for 60 yards.

"I really just think we executed our schemes and did what we were supposed to do," said sophomore linebacker Zaire Franklin, who led the Orange with six tackles.

"Hats off to coach (defensive coordinator) Chuck Bullough and the kids. It was a great defensive effort," Shafer said. "I was really pleased with the way they played."

"They played great. I'm not taking anything away from Syracuse but it was bad execution on our part," Mroz said. "I could've completed some passes but I didn't."

"They did whatever they wanted to do on defense to stifle us," Rhode Island coach Jim Flemming added.

The game marked SU's first season-opening shutout since 1997 over Wisconsin.

Wide receiver Brisly Estime took a punt on his 26-yard line and snaked his way down the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown as time expired in the first half. It was Syracuse's first punt return for touchdown in 12 years.

The Rams, who finished 1-11 in 2014 and are now 4-34 in its last 38 games, recorded just one first down in the first half and the offense registered just 39 yards total offense on 23 plays in the first 20 minutes. The Rams fumbled four times in the first half, losing three. For the game, Rhode Island was held to 64 yards on 40 plays, an average of 1.60 yards per play, and just two first downs.

The game, played in stifling heat, started out in sloppy fashion with three turnovers and two penalties in the first 55 seconds.

Dungey, who came all the way from Oregon to upstate New York, was a second-team all-state and All-USA Oregon selection at Lakeridge High School. He impressed in pre-season camp and quickly moved up the depth chart.

Two other first-year players impressed for the Orange. Fredericks, a 2014 Gatorade New York State Player of the Year, ran for 103 yards on 14 carries and a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter during which he broke several tackles. Dontae Strickland had 42 yards and one touchdown on two carries. The Orange ran for 315 yards.

Hunt entered his senior season ranked 10th in program history with 2,621 passing yards and was third on SU's career list for highest completion percentage.

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