2016 Syracuse Orange football team

The 2016 Syracuse Orange football team represented Syracuse University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Orange were led by first year head coach Dino Babers and played their home games at the Carrier Dome. They were members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in ACC play to finish in a tie for sixth place in the Atlantic Division.

2016 Syracuse Orange football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Atlantic Division
Record	4–8 (2–6 ACC)
Head coach	Dino Babers (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinators	Sean Lewis (1st season) Mike Lynch (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Veer and shoot
Defensive coordinator	Brian Ward (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	Carrier Dome

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 1 Clemson xy$#		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 21 Louisville x		7	–	1					9	–	4
No. 8 Florida State		5	–	3					10	–	3
NC State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Wake Forest		3	–	5					7	–	6
Boston College		2	–	6					7	–	6
Syracuse		2	–	6					4	–	8
Coastal Division
No. 16 Virginia Tech xy		6	–	2					10	–	4
North Carolina		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 20 Miami (FL)		5	–	3					9	–	4
Pittsburgh		5	–	3					8	–	5
Georgia Tech		4	–	4					9	–	4
Duke		1	–	7					4	–	8
Virginia		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Clemson 42, Virginia Tech 35
# – College Football Playoff champion $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 pm	No. 21 (FCS) Colgate*	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ACCN+	W 33–7	31,336
September 9	8:00 pm	No. 13 Louisville	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN2	L 28–62	32,184
September 17	3:30 pm	South Florida*	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ACCN+	L 20–45	32,288
September 24	1:00 pm	at UConn*	Rentschler Field East Hartford, CT (rivalry)	CBSSN	W 31–24	31,899
October 1	12:00 pm	vs. Notre Dame*	MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	ESPN	L 33–50	62,794
October 8	7:00 pm	at Wake Forest	BB&T Field Winston-Salem, NC	ACCRSN	L 9–28	25,162
October 15	3:45 pm	No. 17 Virginia Tech	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPNU	W 31–17	33,838
October 22	12:30 pm	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	ACCN	W 28–20	34,647
November 5	3:30 pm	at No. 3 Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ABC/ESPN2	L 0–54	80,609
November 12	12:30 pm	NC State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ACCN	L 20–35	34,842
November 19	3:30 pm	No. 17 Florida State	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ABC/ESPN2	L 14–45	32,340
November 26	12:30 pm	at Pittsburgh	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ACCN/WTAE-TV	L 61–76	34,049
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule source:

Game summaries

No. 21 (FCS) Colgate

See also: 2016 Colgate Raiders football team and Colgate–Syracuse football rivalry

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 21 (FCS) Raiders	7	0	0	0	7
Orange	7	13	6	7	33

Statistics	COLG	SYR
First downs	11	25
Total yards	143	554
Rushing yards	45	117
Passing yards	98	437
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	29:34	30:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Colagte	Passing	Jake Melville	10/22, 82 yards, TD
	Rushing	James Holland	14 rushes, 45 yards
	Receiving	Owen Rockett	2 receptions, 35 yards, TD
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	34/40, 355 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Moe Neal	9 rushes, 68 yards, TD
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	12 receptions, 210 yards, TD

No. 13 Louisville

See also: 2016 Louisville Cardinals football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Cardinals	28	7	7	20	62
Orange	7	14	7	0	28

Statistics	LOU	SYR
First downs	30	24
Total yards	845	414
Rushing yards	414	121
Passing yards	431	293
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	31:28	28:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisville	Passing	Lamar Jackson	20/39, 411 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Lamar Jackson	21 rushes, 199 yards, 4 TD
	Receiving	Jamari Staples	5 receptions, 136 yards
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	25/51, 255 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Moe Neal	12 rushes, 40 yards
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	8 receptions, 103 yards, 2 TD

South Florida

See also: 2016 South Florida Bulls football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	0	28	7	10	45
Orange	17	0	3	0	20

Statistics	USF	SYR
First downs	20	30
Total yards	454	549
Rushing yards	234	199
Passing yards	220	350
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	22:12	37:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Florida	Passing	Quinton Flowers	12/24, 188 yards, TD
	Rushing	Marlon Mack	9 rushes, 115 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Rodney Adams	4 receptions, 67 yards, TD
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	32/48, 350 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Dontae Strickland	30 rushes, 127 yards
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	8 receptions, 123 yards

At UConn

See also: 2016 UConn Huskies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	14	3	7	7	31
Huskies	0	14	3	7	24

Statistics	SYR	CONN
First downs	19	23
Total yards	469	425
Rushing yards	62	144
Passing yards	407	281
Turnovers	0	1
Time of possession	21:31	38:29

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	26/40, 407 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Dontae Strickland	14 rushes, 51 yards
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	12 receptions, 270 yards, 2 TD
UConn	Passing	Bryant Shirreffs	27/45, 264 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Arkeel Newsome	15 rushes, 81 yards, TD
	Receiving	Noel Thomas Jr.	14 receptions, 111 yards

Vs. Notre Dame

See also: 2016 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Syracuse Orange

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	23	10	14	3	50
Syracuse	13	14	0	6	33

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: October 1, 2016
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy, 60 °F (16 °C)
• Game attendance: 62,794
• Referee: Stuart Mullins
• TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, and Allison Williams
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter ND – Equanimeous St. Brown 79-yard pass from DeShone Kizer (Justin Yoon kick), 14:42. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 79 yards, 0:18. SU – Eric Dungey 3-yard run (kick blocked), 12:36. Notre Dame 7–6. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:06. ND – Cole Luke PAT return, 12:36. Notre Dame 9–6. ND – Equanimeous St. Brown 67-yard pass from DeShone Kizer (Justin Yoo kick), 11:23. Notre Dame 16–6. Drive: 3 plays, 74 yards, 1:14. SU – Amba Etta-Tawo 72-yard pass from Eric Dungey (Cole Murphy kick), 10:17. Notre Dame 16–13. Drive: 3 plays, 79 yards, 1:06. ND – C. J. Sanders 93-yard kickoff return (Justin Yoon kick), 10:06. Notre Dame 23–13. Second quarter SU – Eric Dungey 1-yard run (Cole Murphy kick), 13:22. Notre Dame 23–20. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards, 3:06. ND – DeShone Kizer 3-yard run (Justin Yoon kick), 12:11. Notre Dame 30–20. Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 1:11. ND – Justin Yoon 31-yard field goal, 5:03. Notre Dame 33–20. Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 3:11. SU – Ervin Phillips 14-yard pass from Eric Dungey (Cole Murphy kick), 0:30. Notre Dame 33–27. Drive: 2 plays, 14 yards, 0:08. Third quarter ND – Kevin Stepherson 54-yard pass from DeShone Kizer (Justin Yoon kick), 11:23. Notre Dame 40–27. Drive: 4 plays, 86 yards, 1:41. ND – Dexter Williams 59-yard run (Justin Yoon kick), 8:26. Notre Dame 47–27. Drive: 3 plays, 70 yards, 1:22. Fourth quarter ND – Justin Yoon 39-yard field goal, 11:14. Notre Dame 50–27. Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 3:58. SU – Eric Dungey 5-yard run (run failed), 6:52. Notre Dame 50—33. Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 4:22. Top passers ND – DeShone Kizer – 23/35, 471 yards, 3 TD, INT SU – Eric Dungey – 31/51, 363 yards, 2 TD Top rushers ND – Josh Adams – 20 rushes, 102 yards SU – Eric Dungey – 17 rushes, 49 yards, 3 TD Top receivers ND – Equanimeous St. Brown – 4 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TD SU – Amba Etta-Tawo – 7 receptions, 134 yards, TD

At Wake Forest

See also: 2016 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	2	7	0	0	9
Demon Deacons	0	14	0	14	28

Statistics	SYR	WF
First downs	14	21
Total yards	326	330
Rushing yards	158	190
Passing yards	168	140
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	25:56	34:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	16/25, 156 yards, INT
	Rushing	Dontae Strickland	13 rushes, 74 yards, TD
	Receiving	Steve Ishmael	5 receptions, 56 yards
Wake Forest	Passing	John Wolford	13/22, 140 yards, INT
	Rushing	Cade Carney	29 rushes, 104 yards, TD
	Receiving	Cam Serigne	4 receptions, 68 yards

No. 17 Virginia Tech

See also: 2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Hokies	3	0	6	8	17
Orange	7	10	0	14	31

Statistics	VT	SYR
First downs	21	32
Total yards	468	561
Rushing yards	161	156
Passing yards	307	405
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	26:35	33:25

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Virginia Tech	Passing	Jerod Evans	20/33, 307 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Jerod Evans	11 rushes, 61 yards
	Receiving	Isaiah Ford	8 receptions, 83 yards, TD
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	28/53, 311 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Eric Dungey	24 rushes, 106 yards, TD
	Receiving	Ervin Philips	11 receptions, 139 yards, TD

At Boston College

See also: 2016 Boston College Eagles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	7	7	7	7	28
Eagles	3	7	7	3	20

Statistics	SYR	BC
First downs	23	16
Total yards	532	287
Rushing yards	98	223
Passing yards	434	64
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	30:51	29:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Syracuse	Passing	Eric Dungey	32/38, 434 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Eric Dungey	17 rushes, 54 yards
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	10 receptions, 144 yards, TD
Boston College	Passing	Patrick Towles	4/14, 45 yards, INT
	Rushing	Patrick Towles	10 rushes, 104 yards, TD
	Receiving	Michael Walker	3 receptions, 40 yards

At No. 3 Clemson

See also: 2016 Clemson Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	0	0	0	0	0
No. 3 Tigers	10	20	14	10	54

Statistics	SYR	CLEM
First downs	15	28
Total yards	277	565
Rushing yards	105	195
Passing yards	172	370
Turnovers	3	0
Time of possession	27:33	32:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Syracuse	Passing	Austin Wilson	17/27, 116 yards, 2 INT
	Rushing	Moe Neal	7 rushes, 64 yards
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	9 receptions, 84 yards
Clemson	Passing	Nick Shuessler	11/17, 177 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Wayne Gallman	10 rushes, 63 yards, TD
	Receiving	Deon Cain	5 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD

NC State

See also: 2016 NC State Wolfpack football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	0	14	14	7	35
Orange	7	3	10	0	20

Statistics	NCST	SYR
First downs	27	10
Total yards	544	218
Rushing yards	184	28
Passing yards	360	190
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	41:18	18:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
NC State	Passing	Ryan Finley	20/29, 340 yards, TD
	Rushing	Matt Dayes	27 rushes, 108 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Kelvin Harmon	4 receptions, 101 yards, TD
Syracuse	Passing	Zack Mahoney	14/25, 190 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Dontae Strickland	12 rushes, 28 yards, TD
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	4 receptions, 88 yards, TD

No. 17 Florida State

See also: 2016 Florida State Seminoles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Seminoles	14	7	21	3	45
Orange	0	7	7	0	14

Statistics	FSU	SYR
First downs	34	13
Total yards	654	233
Rushing yards	334	37
Passing yards	320	196
Turnovers	4	2
Time of possession	34:43	25:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida State	Passing	Deondre Francois	18/28, 315 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Dalvin Cook	28 rushes, 225 yards, 4 TD
	Receiving	Auden Tate	5 receptions, 77 yards
Syracuse	Passing	Zack Mahoney	16/36, 196 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Dontae Strickland	10 rushes, 19 yards
	Receiving	Ervin Philips	7 receptions, 63 yards, TD

At Pittsburgh

Main article: 2016 Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh football game

See also: 2016 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry

	1	2	3	4	Total
Orange	14	7	13	27	61
Panthers	14	21	21	20	76

Statistics	SYR	PITT
First downs	38	20
Total yards	668	644
Rushing yards	228	393
Passing yards	440	251
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	35:42	24:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Syracuse	Passing	Zack Mahoney	43/61, 440 yards, 5 TD, INT
	Rushing	Moe Neal	8 rushes, 91 yards, TD
	Receiving	Amba Etta-Tawo	13 receptions, 178 yards, 5 TD
Pittsburgh	Passing	Nathan Peterman	9/18, 251 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	James Conner	19 rushes, 115 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jester Weah	4 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TD