Game 4/4 in the Dome to start the season is the annual FCS matchup
Syracuse Orange football has the benefit of not having to travel at all early in the season, as SU will play four straight Dome games to begin the 2024 campaign. The downside is that following their conference game against Stanford – yes, really – the Orange have just one more contest in front of their fans before once again spending all of October on the road. Maybe not the best tradeoff from the powers that be (scheduling)…
While history hopefully won’t repeat itself on that long road trip, ‘Cuse first has their one game on the calendar that really shouldn’t cause even slight concern. Presenting the next FCS fun time tribute:
Holy Cross Crusaders
School: The College of the Holy Cross
Nickname: Crusaders
Mascot: None – Iggy the Crusader retired in 2018
#BRAND Slogan: #GoCrossGo
Alternate #BRAND Slogan Suggestions: #MaintainTheCrusade or “No Longer Knighted”
Recommended Blog: Underdog Dynasty
Conference: Patriot League (FCS)
History vs. Syracuse: SU’s domination in the series is as consistent in football as in lacrosse, with a 13-game winning streak dating back to 1959 and a 24-5 record overall. They’ve only met once since the turn of the century – five years ago to the date of this game, when Holy Cross was trounced 41-3 inside the Dome.
Coach: Dan Curran, first season. After 11 years leading Merrimack (six at D2, five at D1), Curran was hired to replace the departing Bob Chesney. He was a fullback at New Hampshire and went on to have an eight-year pro career with stops in the Arena Football League as well as with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks. Curran began coaching as Merrimack’s offensive coordinator in 2010 before becoming the Warriors’ HC.
2023 Record: 7-4 (5-1)
Recapping Last Season:
A year after going 11-0 in the regular season and advancing to the FCS Quarterfinals, the Crusaders had another strong campaign. Two of their losses were against FBS teams in Boston College and Army – and both were only by a field goal. They dominated conference play, outscoring opponents 245-153, and their one loss was to eventual Patriot co-champion Lafayette, again by just three points. For good measure, they smashed Georgetown 31-10 to close out the season, so we’ll shoot them a NunesBucks™ bonus when they come to town.
Matthew Sluka was one of the most mobile players in Division 1 last season – no QB had more rushing yards than his 1,247. He also added 1,723 passing yards and scored 29 total touchdowns with just five interceptions. Holy Cross doesn’t have his services for another year, but SU fans should remember him all the same. The Crusaders had another thousand-yard rusher and a thousand-yard receiver too – the duo of Jordan Fuller and Jalen Coker scored a combined 33 TDs and helped the squad accumulate over 460 yards on average.
Senior LB Jacob Dobbs played head-and-shoulders above most of the defense with 123 total tackles, six sacks, and three forced fumbles. Freshman DL William Robinson made a big first impression with 4.5 sacks of his own and he should be one of the main pieces for 2024 and beyond. K Luis Palenzuela made all 55 extra point attempts but only 3/5 field goal tries.
2024 Season Outlook:
Holy Cross will play twelve total games this season. Non-conference matchups are against New Hampshire and Yale, and at Rhode Island, Bryant, ‘Cuse, and Harvard. The six Patriot opponents remain the same: vs. Fordham, Lehigh and Bucknell, and at Colgate, Lafayette, and Georgetown.
Sluka hit the graduate transfer portal and Coker will try to ignite the hapless Carolina Panthers’ offense, leaving Fuller as the sole remainder from the big three. Right Guard C.J. Hanson is also gone after being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs. Still, most of the receivers and o-line stuck around. Joe Pesansky is set to move under center full-time after starting two games last season and throwing 32/55 for 499 yards, five TDs, and two picks. He’ll be backed up by Tennesse Gatorade POTY Braden Graham.
Speaking of freshmen, Curran’s first recruiting class is split pretty evenly between both sides of the ball and highlighted by three-star corner Marco Coleman. With three seniors departing at the position, he could be a day-one starter. LB Frankie Monte and S Curtis Harris-Lopez – the number two and three tackle leaders, respectively – will take over as defensive captains.
Syracuse Game Date: Saturday, September 28
Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, New York
Odds of Orange Victory: 99%
Very Early Outlook vs. Syracuse:
The last two Holy Cross teams would have unironically been a challenge for SU, but this one? Not so much. Curran seems like a solid choice to keep grabbing the New England recruits in their range, but replacing a receiver with almost half of your total air yardage and the QB who ran a steady diet of read options is not easy. The Crusaders should put points on the board – maybe even find the endzone once or twice – but Fran Brown will still comfortably rotate the twos and threes in during the second half.