Week four of the college football season is usually a little too early to make a big picture statement. Teams are still finding themselves, conference play is just about to get started, and there’s plenty of games still to be played.
But there’s one thing for certain this coming weekend. Syracuse football needs to play Clemson close, or this season is completely going down the drain.
I’m not asking for a win. Even in an off-year, the Tigers are still a blue blood of college football that can show up and compete with the best of the best.
But, Syracuse, for the sake of this program, cannot get blown out on Fran Brown’s first trip to Death Valley.
If you listen to any of Fran Brown’s press conferences, you will hear a lot of talk about Syracuse’s culture and moving it forward. The reason Brown put Steve Angeli back into the game against Colgate after Rickie Collins threw an interception? He said it was because the culture needed to keep on moving forward.
Well, that culture has a big test this weekend. Clemson is reeling back. The Tigers are below .500 and lost their ACC opener last weekend. This is a Clemson team that is in everyone’s eyes, struggling. So where does the ‘Cuse fit into this? Well, if Syracuse can’t even keep it close, then there’s going to be a lot of questions about the progress of the program.
Fran Brown had plenty of signature wins in year one. But he also had one of the greatest quarterbacks in Syracuse football history. With Kyle McCord gone, Brown now has to prove that he can put a team together that’s able to compete with the best of the best.
That wasn’t shown against Tennessee. And UConn and Colgate don’t count. It’s week four now, and it’s time for SU to show something big.
