The Football Writers’ Association of America named Syracuse its National Team of the Week Tuesday after SU’s upset of then-No. 2 Clemson Friday. It is the second time the Orange has been given the honor, and the first since 2004 when Syracuse upset No. 17 Boston College in its last Big East game.
The win over Clemson was Syracuse’s biggest since 1984, but the Orange still had stiff competition for this week’s honor. The other nominees were Arizona State after its upset of No. 5 Washington and California, which upset No. 8 Washington State. A 12-person committee votes to select the Team of the Week each week, joined by a fan vote on Twitter.
Syracuse won the award after never trailing to No. 2 Clemson Friday. The Orange had a response to every Tiger move, and the SU defense gave up just 24 points (it’s only allowed less to Central Michigan and Central Connecticut State). Eric Dungey threw for three scores in a career game, and SU pulled off its biggest upset since the Orange beat No. 1 Nebraska in 1984. Clemson fell to No. 7 after the loss.
Despite the two other top-10 upsets, Syracuse was still the obvious choice for this week’s award. The Orange’s win not only handed the defending champs their first loss of the season, it also broke the longest active winning streak in all of college football. Clemson hadn’t lost in over 11 months, and Syracuse’s win got the team more than just the recognition from the Football Writers because of it.
A number of Syracuse players were also singled out for their performance Friday. Monday, the ACC announced Eric Dungey, Erv Philips and Parris Bennett were all named conference Player of the Week. Dungey shared his Offensive Back ofthe Week title with Boston College’s AJ Dillon, and Erv was Co-Receiver of¬† the Week with Miami’s Darrell Langham. Dungey was also nominated for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week award and the Manning Award for Quarterback of the Week. The winner of the O’Brien will be announced tomorrow, while voting on the Manning Award is open on Facebook until noon Thursday.
Friday, Dungey threw for 278 yardsa nd three touchdowns while rushing for 61 more. Philips made four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Bennett led the Orange with nine tackles on the defensive side and a sack.
Syracuse doesn’t have much time to celebrate its new accolades: the Orange has undefeated Miami this weekend before it heads into a bye week.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
