Tommy DeVito ran forward, muscling his way through defenders. No matter who on Florida State tried to make a tackle, they fell at DeVito’s feet. The redshirt freshman plowed on, trekking through the defense for what seemed like miles, but what was really only eight yards.

When he found the end zone, a place that had eluded him in his action in Syracuse’s first two games, he threw his hands up in the air to signal a touchdown, and 37,457 fans soon followed suit.

“My number was just called,” DeVito said. “You just have to go out there, have fun and play football.”

It had been 52 years since Syracuse (3-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Florida State (1-2, 0-2). Floyd Little powered through the Seminoles in that 1966 win, carrying the Orange on his back for 193 yards, in his final game at Archbold Stadium. This Saturday evening, when the first half proved to be a defensive stalemate, a redshirt freshman backup quarterback, DeVito, led the Orange from a 3-0 lead to a 30-7 domination of one of the country’s most historic teams when his starter went down with an injury.

“He’s a great player,” Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois said of DeVito. “He came out here and did what he needed to do.”

For the first quarter-and-a-half, Syracuse thoroughly outplayed the Seminoles. The Orange recorded eight first downs while limiting FSU to just one and outgained them by over 70 yards. Francois was just 2-of-9 through the air, yet Syracuse only led 3-0.

Eric Dungey and the SU offense marched all the way down to Florida State’s one-yard line in the first quarter, but they were unable to punch the ball in for a touchdown on three consecutive run plays.

Toward the end of the second quarter, while trying to run for a first down, Dungey slid on a quarterback run and was hit on the helmet by a Florida State defender after the slide. FSU was called for a personal foul and Dungey did not re-enter the game.

Dungey had been having some trouble seeing before that play, SU head coach Dino Babers said. An apparent finger to the eye blurred Dungey’s vision for several plays.

“Things happen in piles,” Babers said. “You could see one or two plays where I’m looking at him like ‘Where’s the ball going. That looked kind of weird.’ And then I’m like ‘Come here, let me talk to you.’”

Dungey repeatedly tried to re-enter the game, putting his helmet back on, joining huddles and even telling Babers he could “fight through it,” Babers said, but Dungey would not play another snap and didn’t appear to come out of the locker room for the second half.

After the hit to the helmet, DeVito played the rest of the way, and aside from another sequence of three failed rush attempts on the goal-line by running backs, DeVito led the offense spectacularly.

On his second full drive of the game, DeVito led the Orange to a touchdown, running the ball in himself, rumbling over defenders to cross the goal-line.

Tommy DeVito ran the ball in from three yards out in the third quarter for his first collegiate touchdown. Colin Davy | Staff Photographer

On his third drive, just minutes after his touchdown, DeVito fooled the entire FSU defense with a fake throw while handing the ball off to Jarveon Howard, who rushed up the middle for 46 yards on his first carry of the day.

Howard never knew that he would even see the field until that drive. SU offensive coordinator Mike Lynch told Howard he’d go in just seconds before the play.

“(Lynch) just came over and said ‘Be ready, you’re going in this series,’” Howard said, “‘It’s your time, what are you about to do?’”

He did exactly as DeVito had done.

After recording his first career touchdown on the drive before, DeVito threw his first passing touchdown to Ravian Pierce on the play after Howard’s rush. The Carrier Dome boomed.

“We were in a race to get over seven points to see if we could have a chance to win this game,” Babers said. “It wasn’t like whoever came in the game had to be outstanding … I just thought if they came in and managed the game we would have a chance.”

In five minutes DeVito led the offense to enough points to win the game, and by the end of the fourth quarter, all eyes were locked on the backup quarterback who led the Orange to a 23-point rout over the Seminole defense.

In his first two games, DeVito struggled with his deep ball and his short throw accuracy. Against Western Michigan and Wagner, DeVito completed just five of 14 passes for 65 yards. Saturday afternoon against FSU, DeVito completed 11 of 16 passes for 144 yards, a passing touchdown and rushed for a touchdown, too. His quarterback rating of 165 nearly doubled Dungey’s 88.7, and he nearly doubled Dungey’s passing yards as well.

While his first two appearances did not translate into personal success, they were the reason for his success against the Seminoles, DeVito said.

“I think (they) helped me a lot as far as being comfortable,” DeVito said. “I haven’t played much football because I redshirted last year, so I haven’t played in a while. It was good to get my feet wet, and when my number got called today, I felt a lot more comfortable being back there.”

Babers made it clear, as he has all season, that Dungey is the team’s leader, and that this Saturday he just needed DeVito to come in and manage the game, not to be Eric Dungey.

But with the Seminoles still in striking distance, SU great Donovan McNabb on the sidelines and an opportunity in hand, DeVito shined, defeating one of the nation’s greatest programs with a trigger-happy arm and a fearlessness rivaling Dungey’s.

“This game put us on the map,” Babers said in the locker room following the game.

This game put Tommy DeVito on the map.

Published on September 15, 2018 at 6:26 pm

Contact Matt: mdliberm@syr.edu