Syracuse football: Takeaways from 42-38 victory over #6 Miami

Where were you for SU’s biggest football win this century?

Syracuse Orange football fans witnessed the program’s top win of the century yesterday – no exaggeration – as Fran Brown finished off his first regular season with a 42-38 victory over the #6 Miami Hurricanes. It was a game that left everyone on the edges of their seats throughout the second half, but I won’t leave you on yours as we dive into the final takeaways of the 2024 campaign.

Cardiac ‘Cuse is a Football Friendly Term

It would have been so easy for ‘Cuse to completely lose focus after having their first TD of the game taken off the board on an illegal formation penalty. It would have been even easier for them to lie down once the ‘Canes built a 21-0 lead. I should know – I’ve covered my share of games that got out of hand early and never came close to being reeled in.

But those Syracuse teams were not led by Fran.

Instead, the Orange turned to the man they’ve leaned on all season – field general Kyle McCord – to reignite both their offense and the Dome crowd. And he did.

Four straight completions for 65 yards got SU into goal-to-go territory before LeQuint Allen punched it though for the score. From there, the game went from being in danger of a rout to a very winnable battle. The oft-criticized defense forced a three-and-out, with Duce Chestnut breaking up a slant for the stop, the Orange offense scored again before half, and then 39 seconds into the third quarter, it was a tie game.

When has Syracuse ever had that kind of momentum shift? Short answer, no – this was the largest comeback in program history. The one over Virginia Tech was close… but the difference this time is while watching, I really did have confidence that they could rally. To do it, this team showed the best of what Brown’s coaching has done.

Whether it was Jackson Meeks and Trebor Pena making absurd catch after absurd catch – both finished with over 100 yards receiving – Devin Grant, revealed postgame to be playing on a Torn MCL for the past month, taking a fumble back for the first Orange lead, or LeHurdle Allen finding one last burst of speed to ice the game, there’s credit to be shared all around.

Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

DOME SWEET DOME

The Dome sold out once earlier this season, and it came close again against Miami, with a paid attendance of 40,486. But SU’s 12th Man undoubtedly played its biggest role of the season against the Canes.

Right from the jump, the Loud House moniker made itself known. The crowd spiked up past 105 dB at points in the game, with the ESPN broadcast saying it topped at 119. The Orange faithful made themselves especially known at a critical juncture in the 4th quarter. With an important 3rd-and-7 coming up, Mario Cristobal had to use one of his precious timeouts to prevent a delay of game penalty – one he no longer had to spare for when Allen delivered the knockout punch.

SU finishes the season 6-1 in their house, the best since a perfect 6-0 slate in 2018. It’s only the 3rd time this century they’ve reached six home wins in a single season.

While Senior Day was technically last week for family travel reasons, this was also an excellent final Dome sendoff for the likes of 5th-years Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron. Both could have chosen to walk away after a bittersweet final victory last November, but this time they got to do so with a packed house instead.

Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

The Game Has Changed

Before the season, the one real question was whether or not Syracuse football could ever really be “back” or not. As exciting of a hire Fran was, and as much work he did to immediately solidify the roster, but could anyone really take SU above a middling, bowl-is-the-ceiling program?

I’ll just let him answer that now:

Fran Brown is real, and he’s here to stay. And as crazy as it is, these are just a few of his accomplishments in year one:

It’s impossible to say what the future holds – such as whether Fran will be able to land another extremely talented QB in the portal and/or lock up a bunch of the recruits who were on visits – but the Orange-shaded CNY sky is now the limit.