Call this one a bullseye for Fran’s DART
The Syracuse Orange offense was the story of the 2024 season, but overall the Orange started to show some of the signs of a winning program. Under Fran Brown’s direction, Syracuse showed determination as they fought their way to the first 10-win season since 2018.
Like that 2018 team a lot of Orange fans are quick to credit the quarterback play as the reason for the team’s success. Certainly Kyle McCord played a major role in the team’s success, but I’d caution fans not to be so dismissive of a number of players who were critical to this season. The buy-in from returners like Marlowe Wax, Justin Barron, Oronde Gadsden and LeQuint Allen was critical for Brown’s debut season. Adding veterans like Fadil Diggs, Jackson Meeks and Savion Washington gave the Orange players who had been through the ups and downs of college football.
Syracuse’s schedule wasn’t as “easy” as it looked on paper in August. Yes, the Orange would love to have the Stanford and BC games back, but the team showed on multiple occasions that they were resilient. Twice the Orange marched fourth-quarter drives to force overtime where they took care of business. They battled some baffling calls in Raleigh and rallied from 21-0 against a top 10 Miami squad. Performances like that, and avoiding losing streaks, are signs of a strong culture and give hope that this team could finally find that consistently good range.
The toughest part lies ahead and not just with the 2025 opponents. Syracuse will lose many of the leaders I mentioned and if McCord is really done, then it certainly won’t be reasonable to expect the next QB to come near his performance. Who will step into these spots both on the field and in the off-season workouts? There’s a lot that Fran and the coaches can’t do themselves so it’s crucial that we see the players hold themselves to the standard.
The Orange won’t sneak up on opponents. They won’t be overlooked by the college football media to start 2025. Can they handle the spotlight, the expectations (internal and external) and avoid a step back?
From what we’ve seen of Fran Brown, it’s that he’s not going to accept mediocrity. He’s not going to allow the program to think 2024 was a smashing success. He will be right there when players return in January challenging his group to reach higher, to make the ACC Championship and the College Football Playoff. He’ll expect himself, and his coaches, to be better prepared, to make better in-game calls…and he’ll expect fans to be filling more of the Dome.
None of those things will be easy, but if Syracuse wants to reclaim it’s position among the top 25 programs, everyone must be ready to expect the challenge.