Eric Dungey took the snap from the Virginia Tech 30-yard line and took a knee. Then, the Syracuse quarterback started walking backward.

He embraced running back Dontae Strickland with center Colin Byrne joining in. Near midfield, he rejoined the rest of his teammates who ran over from the sidelines and gave the obligatory “good game” to the Hokies players.

By the time he reached the other 35-yard line, he was engulfed by SU students who had swarmed the field, celebrating the victory.

“That’s what college football’s all about. That excitement, that energy, it’s so pure,” head coach Dino Babers said. “Anytime … you have an opportunity to experience something like that, it’s always going to be special.”

The players walked backward after the game, but Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) took a massive step forward in winning it. So many times this season, the Orange has failed to put a complete game together, falling apart after getting off to a fast start. A program hoping for a spark from a new coaching staff after seven wins over the last two years was still stuck in neutral.

But on Saturday, things changed for SU. The Orange never played from behind and the collapse that was expected to come never did. In its most dominant performance of the season, and its biggest regular season win since before the Scott Shafer era, Syracuse defeated No. 17 Virginia Tech (4-2, 2-1 Atlantic Coast), 31-17, on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

“Anytime you take over a new program, you’re trying to get everybody to buy in, to work as one,” Babers said. “That’s what happened today.”

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After winning the coin toss, VT elected to defer and let its third-ranked defense go onto the field first. On the sixth play of the Orange’s first drive, Dungey lofted a pass down the middle of the field as he got knocked down. He stayed sitting on the ground and watched Ervin Philips haul in the pass and outrun the coverage for a 58-yard touchdown just under two minutes into the game.

Dungey popped up, did his personalized celebration handshake with Strickland and ran toward the sideline as fans burst into cheers around him.

The Orange scored later again to start the second quarter on a trick play when Dungey pitched it to Strickland, who then fired a pass downfield to Brisly Estime who ran untouched for an 84-yard touchdown.

Syracuse took a 17-3 lead into halftime. The Orange was setting itself up for its first win against a ranked opponent since Nov. 10, 2012, against Louisville. But SU had gotten off to big starts before without managing to close the deal.

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“We had so many games that we could have pulled out,” wide receiver Steve Ishmael said. “We could have pulled out Louisville, USF.”

Syracuse started falling into that same script in the second half. On the first offensive possession, Dungey threw an interception in the end zone. The offense didn’t get much going and by early in the fourth quarter, the Hokies had tied the game up at 17.

But this time, the SU offense broke the script. On the very next possession, Syracuse orchestrated a nearly six-minute drive that ended with a Dungey touchdown plunge from 1 yard out. The Dome erupted in celebration while SU players and coaches mobbed each other on the sideline.

The Orange defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession, and the offense scored another touchdown right after that. After letting the Hokies hang around, Syracuse was delivering the knockout blow.

“Even before the game we felt that we had to come out with a chip on our shoulder,” Strickland said. “We were the underdogs, so we felt we had to come out with the dog in us.”

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With VT trying to make one last push, the Syracuse defense forced a fumble and recovered it, effectively sealing the game.

The Orange played a full game for the first time against a challenging opponent. Babers has frequently said that his system really starts to take shape in the middle of his second year, and in his signature win this season, he gave a glimpse into what the future could be for this program.

“Really excited for the fan base, for the administration, the community, the university, and those young men out there on the football field,” Babers said.

“I’m really happy for all of you to really get a taste of what this thing is going to look like.”

Published on October 15, 2016 at 10:45 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer