When the ESPN cameras were pressed in his face on a delirious evening at the Dome, Fran Brown proclaimed something that might seem premature but is impossible to argue. “Syracuse is back!” It was the viral statement that jolted through the college football atmosphere, replayed on memes and Instagram/TikTok reels in the hands of fans everywhere.
Brown took over a program that had gone through the motions for the large part of 20 years. Pinstripe Bowls were the high points, 3-4 win seasons were the low ones. And “back?” Unless you meant that Scott Shafer looked like an assistant on the 1959 squad, nothing particularly felt nostalgic about the good ol’ days.
But on a Saturday afternoon in late November, in front of a packed house, with plenty on the line for a top ranked Miami squad, yeah… this felt like what it used to feel like around here. And he used his power of persuasion to sell Kyle McCord on the same vision. On a day that Ohio State failed to score two touchdowns, in a humiliating loss to the Wolverines, McCord stood tall and scorched the Hurricanes defense in a thrilling 21-point comeback.
It all felt different, and yet the same. How long have Orange fans waited for scenes like this? At least since ’01 when the Orange finished 10-3 and the vibes of the Big East still rang true. The 10-win season was nice with Dino Babers, and all those Ryan Nassib touchdowns were fun, but it felt pretty far away from the glory days. This one sat pretty close to the way the Dome used to rock with McNabb and Freeney and Coach P.
Who knows if it’s repeatable. How many times to you get a top shelf QB from one of the 10 best programs in the country? And how often do you land a beautiful puffy ACC schedule which included Stanford, Cal and Boston College, yet missed the top 2 teams of the league in SMU and Clemson? Then again, SU had to face #6 Miami… and dumped the Canes out of the title game and likely out of the playoff altogether. Losers walk.
Brown walked into the SU hallways and saw something few others did. And he convinced this team that it was plausible, attainable, to go win big things. For his next act he needs to repeat it next year. But first things first. Let’s enjoy feeling how it used to feel around here.
