Syracuse won its 2015 season opener in blowout fashion against Rhode Island. Here are a few thoughts from the game:
QUARTERBACK WORRIES: There’s no other way of putting Terrel Hunt’s situation other than this: It stinks. It stinks that Hunt worked his way back from a broken leg one year ago, and couldn’t stay healthy through one half of football. It stinks for Syracuse, because Hunt was the unquestioned leader of the team, and now he’ll be relegated to the sidelines for the rest of the season after suffering a torn Achilles. True freshman Eric Dungey replaced Hunt and had a solid college debut, completing 10-of-17 passes for 114 yards and a pair of TDs. “We really didn’t anticipate or want to throw him to the wolves like that so quick, but God, I love him,” Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said. “He’s going to have good future here. I liked his reads. He was on the right reads and he was on the right side of the field.”
» Related: Hunt injured, Syracuse rolls in opener
FRESHMAN RUSH: In all, there were 15 true freshmen that saw the field, but besides Dungey, two stood out in particular. Running back Jordan Fredericks lead all rushers with 103 yards on 14 carries and added a touchdown. Fellow running back (and walk-on) tacked on 75 yards on a game-high 17 carries. In all, the Orange backs rushed for a combined 312 yards. “I’m really excited about the young kids,” Shafer said. “A lot of young kids that we recruited that we felt were pretty good football players did some good things.”
BRISLY’S BACK: Syracuse receiver Brisly Estime was limited to just five games last season because of a foot injury. But Estime is healthy again, and he let everyone know that in SportsCenter fashion. Estime took a 74-yard punt return to the house, which wound up being featured on the Top 10 for the evening. It marked the punt return TD for Syracuse since the 2003 season (Marcus Clayton against West Virginia). “God I missed his healthy legs last year and it’s good to see him running around out there,” Shafer said. “We had some great effort blocking down the field on that too, really playing through the echo of the whistle.”
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