SYRACUSE, N.Y. The Florida State Seminoles have started coach Willie Taggart’s first season at the helm with two lackluster performances. The Seminoles were shut down 24-3 at home by then-No. 20 Virginia Tech in the season opener to fall out of the top 25 and last week had to rally late to beat FCS foe Samford, also at home, behind quarterback Deondre Francois (320 yards and three TDs passing).

  • Florida State Seminoles have gotten off to lackluster start with 1-1 record
  • Syracuse Orange confident they can snap 10-game losing streak in series with Seminoles
  • Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey accounted for 387 yards in Syracuse's loss to FSU last year

That is a boost for the Syracuse Orange's confidence as they try to snap a 10-game losing streak in the series. So too is senior quarterback Eric Dungey, somone Taggart has seen up close.

"He's a hell of a competitor. Kid loves to compete," said Taggart, who faced Dungey while he was head coach at South Florida. "He can cause you a lot of problems. Our guys are going to have our hands full going against him and, hopefully, it's just one of those bad days for him that day."

The Seminoles are 10-1 against the Orange, the most recent meeting a 27-24 victory a year ago in Tallahassee. Dungey missed most of the first half of that game with a broken right foot suffered on his fourth play under center, but he came back in after getting cleared by the team’s medical staff and accounted for 387 yards of Syracuse’s offense and all three touchdowns .

Dungey didn’t play again after the Florida State game, missing Syracuse’s final three contests while recovering from the injury. Fully recovered now, Dungey has 646 yards of total offense and has thrown for seven TDs with one interception in wins over Western Michigan and FCS foe Wagner to start his final season. He’s ready for the rematch against the Seminoles.

"This is a new Florida State team, new Florida State defense. Florida State is one of the best teams in the nation, regardless of what people say," Dungey said. "They have the most athletes, so it’s going to be a tough matchup. But I’m confident we have guys that with each week get better and better and better."

Florida State ranks 120th in pass defense (341 yards per game) and 95th in total defense (422), and the Seminoles have fizzled a lot in the first half. Halftime adjustments by the staff have been effective, though. FSU has only surrendered 10 points in the second half on 14 drives — a touchdown to Virginia Tech and a field goal to Samford.

Syracuse’s up-tempo offense has scored 117 points in the first two games to rank sixth nationally, and Dungey has hit five different players with TD passes, led by Jamal Custis with three.

"They just go very fast," FSU defensive back Levonta Taylor said. "We've just got to do our job. We know how the game is going to flow. We’re going to go out there with something to prove."