Syracuse

were going to help us. I just know that we did it a certain way the two years before and it didn’t work. So, it didn’t make sense to keep doing the exact same thing. That’s not my nature.”

Babers said one of the goals has been “to rotate and do things from a physical and game standpoint that gives different units an opportunity to rest their bodies.”

Although the strategy hasworked, Babers remains wary.

“We’re in a situation where it seems like we’re healthier,” he said. “We’re still one or two or three injuries away from where we were.”

The biggest factor in the team’s November struggles was the health of Dungey, or lack of it. The dual-threat star, a fiery presence on the field and off, sat out the final three games of each of the past three seasons with injuries.

This year Dungey is healthy and, unlike yesteryear , has often displayed he’s more than willing to opt for a slide to safety instead of a head- on collision with a defender when he’s running the ball. He is one of 15 seniors on the team.

Syracuse had five rushing TDs and 264 yards on the ground in the 41-24 victory over the injury-riddled Demon Deacons, tops for the teamthis season in conference play. Dungey took advantage of Wake Forest’s attempt to limit the passing game and rushed for a team-high 119 yards on 24 carries, scoring on a 26yard run. He now has six 100-yard rushing games and 30 TDs on the ground in his career, and his 1,867 career rushing yards place him 12th all-time among ACC quarterbacks.