Dino Babers held his weekly press conference before Syracuse (4-6, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) plays its final home game against No. 17 Florida State (7-3, 4-3) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. With two games left on its schedule, SU needs two wins to guarantee a bowl berth and one more would get it to five wins. If it gets to five wins, SU could get into a bowl game if there aren’t enough six-win teams.

Check out three things Babers addressed Monday.

Eric Dungey getting a second opinion

Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey sat out the Orange’s matchup with North Carolina State after he was hit high against Clemson and left the matchup with the Tigers. Zack Mahoney started against the Wolfpack, finishing the game 14-of-24 for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception. On Monday, Babers reiterated that he didn’t expect Mahoney to step in and be as good as Dungey had been and that he thought Mahoney played well against N.C. State.

Babers said Dungey was at practice last week, but he has not yet been cleared to practice by doctors. The SU head coach said Dungey is also getting a second opinion from doctors and that they do not yet know what injury he has. When asked whether Dungey’s injury might be career-ending, Babers said he’d rather not speculate on the quarterback’s injury. The depth chart has Dungey, Mahoney and Austin Wilson all listed as potential starters for the Florida State game.

“They were going through tests and now they’re going through secondary tests, they’re getting a second opinion,” Babers said. “So we have to wait for a second opinion.”

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Babers has not been contacted to fill Baylor’s head coach opening

After firing former head coach Art Briles over a sexual assault scandal, Baylor hired interim head coach Jim Grobe. But the school will be looking for a replacement and Babers, who coached under Briles at Baylor until 2011, is a natural fit. Babers knows the Baylor offense, which Baylor had previously recruited for.

“No, there’s been no contact,” Babers said about whether a firm or Baylor had contacted him about the potential opening.

Babers later said he’s focused on bringing SU to a bowl game after a question about potential interest in college football openings this offseason. A Wall Street Journal report wrote that 17 women have filed sexual or domestic assault complaints against Baylor football players in a four-year span under Briles. The report also alleged that Briles knew about an incident but did not report it.

Cordell Hudson being worked back into SU’s lineup

After missing two games earlier this season, cornerback Cordell Hudson was active for SU’s game against Clemson, traveled with the team but did not play. He was active but wasn’t playing defense when the Orange faced North Carolina State.

Redshirt freshman Christopher Fredrick played in place of Hudson, who started earlier this season and at times last season. Fredrick made a nice pass breakup on the first drive of SU’s matchup against N.C. State, but Clemson wide receiver Deon Cain burned Fredrick for a 65-yard touchdown the week prior.

“I think you need to (get) Cordell back in,” Babers said, “… conditioning-wise you’re not up to par with the other guys with where the other guys are at (after missing a few games). I think it’s just a matter of working him back in. Now, you also have to play well and Fredrick’s played OK.”

Published on November 14, 2016 at 1:50 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati