9-3 is a great place to be
The Syracuse Orange surpassed most reasonable expectations with their 9-3 record….but there was one person’s expectation they didn’t surpass- Head Coach Fran Brown’s.
“I wanted to win a national championship. I wanted to go to a conference championship. Those two things didn’t happen, but I guess this is progress. I wanted to go to the national championship, there was nothing else on my mind except trying to repeat what happened in 1959 to at least 1987. Those two things were important to me. We fell short of that. We’re growing. We just have to keep pushing. I will never be satisfied with second place or third place. That’s like a loser’s mentality. But I’m happy for our players that our seniors got to raise the standard of what it takes to be a Syracuse football player.”
The mentality is what has helped Brown rise the coaching ranks and become the noted recruiter. It’s a standard Brown wants to instill within the Syracuse program as he aspires to return the Orange to national prominence.
For fans, the expectations don’t have to be the same as Fran’s. It’s not a loser mentality to be pleased with a 9-win season. While Fran’s been part of Georgia’s dynasty, we’ve been subjected to very little to celebrate over the last 20 seasons. We can be happy with the way the season concluded, especially a November that saw the Orange rebound after the disappointment in Boston to win three straight.
It didn’t take long after the Orange beat Miami before we saw a lot of laments about the losses to Stanford and Boston College. Yes, we’d love to have those back, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what getting back into the top 25 has done for the program’s profile. Nationally people are recognizing Syracuse for a successful season under a head coach who exudes enthusiasm and brings a lot of energy to the Orange.
While many fans won’t want to admit this, Dino Babers had a point with his goal of “consistently good, not occasionally great” mantra. The key for Brown will be to do what Babers was unable to do- turn the momentum into sustained success. Does that mean Syracuse needs to be in the CFP next season? In Fran’s mind, yes, but for us watching the team, getting to the point where we ask “Where is Syracuse ranked this week?” and not “Is Syracuse going to be ranked this year?”