Some people are not going to like this

[baggerbob]

I know we have been living through mediocrity for the last 20 years but that is not in Fran’s dna. I agree with others that I do not look at any team on the schedule and say it’s a loss. That use to be the situation.
We just got the biggest commit in over twenty years and people want to continue with doom and gloom. Enjoy the win and start being more positive.
It may be a difficult season we may run the table no one knows in July in the portal era.
Enjoy the ride and trust in Fran and the coaches. In less than two years they are accomplishing what most people were saying was impossible at Syracuse.
The narrative is changing time to get aboard the Franchise and believe.

In past years the last game of last year ends up a blowout going down 21-0 against a top 10 team. Instead Fran, Coaches, and players came back , won the game. And they knocked Miami out of the playoffs.
This is a new era of Syracuse football, so people need to get with the program.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

To highlight Go’s point, I want to flag this chart, which is quite scary:

View attachment 253440

When you are not good (D/STs), not returning a lot of starters can be a good thing. The portal will hopefully ease some of the O losses.

That being said we are young, we lack experience, and we have a lot of new faces. With less talent on paper.

 

[RF2044]

You never know how a season is going to unfold.

Last year before the start of the season, a lot of posters [self included] thought our schedule was insanely weak, with a bunch of tomato cans. Then, it turns out that we ended up playing against 8 teams that qualified for bowls, which means that it was a much tougher schedule than many of us expected.

If you'd told me before the season that we'd lose to BC, a pretty weak Stanford team [at home], and get blown out @ Pitt, I would have been greatly concerned. And yet, we got to 10 wins.

Next year's schedule looks like murderer's row. 5 teams that were in the playoffs, several of them "road" games [I'll count Tennessee in this category, even though we aren't at their stadium].

Getting to a bowl game is imperative. There's no shame in 6 or 7 wins, on paper.

Anything more than that, is a lot of momentum heading into 2026.

Really need Angeli or Collins to emerge as a difference maker. If one does, maybe Fran shocks the college football world again.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

It is hard not to have PTSD as a Syracuse fan. Like many on this board we have been through a long periods of feeling good about the team and getting slapped back to earth. I really hope we have a good season next year. It has been a while since we have had back to back stellar seasons. I really hope it happens.

After 2018, I thought we had turned the corner. We lost Dungey to graduation but we had belief that DeVito was going to keep the momentum going. He came in versus UNC the year before in relief for the injured Dungey and looked like he was ready to lead us to the next level. Then SU got boat raced against Maryland. That one really hurt.

Even last year, I thought they had turned the corner and then McCord started throwing pick 6s on national tv against Pitt. Part of me feared we would lose the rest of the games. Then against Miami when we went down 21...I was thinking same old Syracuse. I am still shocked by that turnaround...in a good way.

All I am saying is when have been doing this to ourselves as fans for years. In the summer we build up the team and the QB position and say we are going to keep winning and it has not always happened. It is hopefully a different era on the hill.

This is a big year for Fran and the Orange. Our checkered history still leaves me on the wait and see camp. I will continue to be hopeful but there are no guarantees!

 

[DomeHolmes]

My take is no one is a fortune teller and none of us really have a clue what this season will be like. It’s purely a guess, there are so many variables that no one has any idea about that are going to occur. I’m certain none of you was predicting 10 wins last year

I think with the addition of McCord and the schedule, most here were quite optimistic. Lots predicting 9-10 wins last year.

Almost nobody is this year. But Replace ND, Clemson and SMU with UNLV, Wake and, Stanford and the schedule looks more like last year. And many would be expecting 8 wins if Angeli is 80% of McCord.

IMO you don’t need to be a fortune teller to know that road games vs Clemson, ND, Miami, SMU, GT and Tennessee (de facto) is probably the toughest road schedule in the country and a 6-7 win season is likely.

 

[orange_in_VA]

I expect the offense to regress a bit but really hopeful the defense somehow gets better. If the defense is as bad as last year and the offense is worse it's gonna be a long season. I'm very excited about the young talent on this team but they are young. Anything better than 6 wins with this schedule is a great segway into 2026 when we should have one of the highest rates of returning production (assuming top players don't transfer out).

 

[Cuse12]

I expect the offense to regress a bit but really hopeful the defense somehow gets better. If the defense is as bad as last year and the offense is worse it's gonna be a long season. I'm very excited about the young talent on this team but they are young. Anything better than 6 wins with this schedule is a great segway into 2026 when we should have one of the highest rates of returning production (assuming top players don't transfer out).

Great point that I haven’t truly given enough weight to for this year, the defense is truly going to determine the outcome of this year. To expect our offense to bail us out the way it did last season is not realistic with the loss of McCord. Could the offense somehow be as good? Sure it could, but unlikely. The defensive unit making a large step compared to last year is necessary for us to get to that 7+ win mark this year when I truly think of it. I think the offense will be fine enough in some capacity with Nixon at the helm, let’s hope ERob has these guys up another few notches this year.

 

[Niastri]

The thing that gives me hope for the defense is how well they played late in the season... They suffered losing defensive linemen Tank Wilson, Kevin Jobity and Braylen Ingraham to season ending injuries early.

This forced a bunch of guys into the starting role and into the rotation before expected.

After those DL injuries the team was really short handed and handled it fairly well. This season,I think the depth in the middle of the defense is deeper and probably better.

They pulled a bunch of rabbits out of their hat at the defensive back positions and have a lot of talent back there as well.

I really expect that the defense is going to be a bit better than last season,with less of a makeshift defensive line.

 

[PAcuse]

I think we can all agree about any given day, but this year we need that to happen 5 times which is asking a lot.

We only played ONE Top 40 Sagarin team last year, and only three Top 50 teams. How is that a more difficult schedule than expected?

It is a different season but based off of last year's final rankings we play FIVE Top 25 teams with none of them being in the Dome. Even if a few of those teams drop this year, they will likely still be Top 50 and getting a W away from home is asking a lot.

Some preseason computers called it a cupcake run and so did ALOT of members of this board. We chewed our why through four 10‑win programs, three ranked teams, and a .574 opponent win rate,

We had plenty of any given day moments last year so it might be possible to repeat so of that magic.

My main point is YES it is brutal slat of teams we play but somethings FSU sized collapses happen...

 

[AngryOtto]

When you are not good (D/STs), not returning a lot of starters can be a good thing. The portal will hopefully ease some of the O losses.

That being said we are young, we lack experience, and we have a lot of new faces. With less talent on paper.

We have young players but we have a lot of returning depth. Jobity and Jaquez are back from injury and are seniors. Duce and grant are seniors. McDonald and sparrow are seniors. A number of the other players are sophomores or juniors that have game experience. That is good depth and experience that returns.
O we have some question marks. Jury is out on Oline. Feel we have depth and experience at wr and te. Qb has talent but limited actual game experience. Rb we have Nixon, Willis, hart and James. Young but all have been in the program at least a year.
I think we have a good blend of experience, transfer talent and youth for a good season.

 

[anomander]

6-6 and close, competitive losses is a huge difference from 6-6 and mostly blow outs. The former keeps the ball rolling, the latter you start to question is it the same old, same old?

I think the 2nd year of growing the culture goes a long way in competing every game. We definitely don’t have the high end talent guys that we did last year that led to our success, but we have a potential winning formula. We have some road graders on the OL. Willis should strive back there and give us a whole new big play potential out of the backfield. He won’t be as good catching the ball, but he should make up for it running. I think he’s set up for a huge coming out party with the OL brought in. If Angeli is solid he has enough weapons to keep it honest through the air. The offense should be pretty good again. Defensively, i think we’re missing the JB, Wax, Cinco, and Diggs, but we have some nice pieces, including some beef. I think we have a real shot at being a solid team with a tough schedule . Get to 7-5/6-6 with competitive losses and we’re fine.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Really good thread of comments. One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned was that last year we bounced back in every game after a loss. Some of them very demoralizing losses too.

The difference between a brutal bad year and another great year will be if we can get back to the dome after Clemson and hammer Duke, get revenge on Pitt after SMU, for sure win the finale with BC. Sweetener if we can crush Belichiks girlfriend and UNC on Halloween night.

That's 4 games that will be tougher to stomach if they go the wrong way because it could lead to some prolonged losing streaks which honestly I'm not sure how our staff or players will handle.

Also on the looking ahead to the year after. I agree with everything but my concern is if we lose Nixon in the next offseason. That's really going to hurt. Him staying this year is going to win us some extra games.

 

[Newhouser]

Fran obviously brings a different element to the blueprint but traditionally our team is good when the QB is good. This year will follow the same history.

 

[SmilinBob]

I expect SU to win the games they are supposed to and be competitive in the others.

I do not expect a Joe Fields vs Purdue type thing.

 

[jr4750]

For those that want Fran extended, I think JW probably is being much more cautious after the check he cut to make Dino leave. That said, a 7 or more win season this year, and its a must to add years to his current contract, up his pay and buyout.

 

[cusefan88]

The DT group will determine a lot and I think they have a nice rotation. Perry, Wilson, Rooks, and Thomas are all experienced upperclassmen. Not to mention the 5th is another veteran in Fuentes-Cundiff.

Just need to stay healthy and have a good rotation.

 

[GoSU96]

For those that want Fran extended, I think JW probably is being much more cautious after the check he cut to make Dino leave. That said, a 7 or more win season this year, and its a must to add years to his current contract, up his pay and buyout.

I’d work with Brown on priorities. He might rather spend money to get Nixon to stay through 27.

Last year was as good a job as I’ve ever seen.

 

[BKCuse]

Personally I think Angeli is ready to take off as starter. He can be great for us. People are sleeping on him.

At least 1 team on schedule will have a bad year.

Johntay Cook will have a tremendous year.

I expect we can get 8 Wins

 

[Archbold44]

This is the toughest schedule Syracuse has EVER faced.

Our home slate is not favorable. It would have been nice to get Cal, Wake Forest, or Virginia at home. Instead, we get Duke and UNC. Duke was a 9-win team last year and spent a bunch on a QB via the portal. Pitt/BC are rivals that always play us tough (see last year). UNC has Belichick. UConn is well coached. Beyond Colgate, there is not a team here that it is beyond reason for them to upset us like Stanford did. This coaching staff lost to a terrible Stanford team at home. Only Colgate will be worse than what Stanford was last year. In fact, I would go so far as to say it will be difficult to get to 6-0 at home. Not impossible. Difficult.

On the road, we do not have any teams that are slated to miss a bowl. Quite the contrary, we have 5 teams that are expected to be in the playoffs (and a few--Clemson/ND--to make a deep run). Georgia Tech is rightfully a sleeper. Tennessee is, strangely, the most winnable game. They made the playoffs last year and if they go 9-4 without a playoff run, their coach should be safe. If we win that one, that is our buffer for a home loss.

We have little returning talent on offense and our defense lost a few key players to graduation also (and was already quite underwhelming last year). And then we suffer a hit of losing two DL recently in the portal. If our defense nevertheless improves from last year... perhaps that unit can steal a game for us this year with a performance like Pitt inherited from us... a few defensive TDs, etc.

We have a much better program in terms of coaching, etc. But it is one thing to pull an upset. It is another thing to face a gauntlet of teams that are just in a better situation right now. Dick MacPherson stole a game against Nebraska. He did not have to also play Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Miami that year in addition to our normal rivals. In Coach P's first season, we blew out #5 Florida at home. But then we went to Florida State and were beat 46-14. We also lost to East Carolina. We only played one other ranked team all year en route to 10-2.

Injuries could make each of our tough games more winnable than it looks now. But it is also just as likely that we suffer injuries that make a winnable game less winnable. You root for 12-0, 13-0, 17-0. But the objective reality is that this team's over-under is validly 5.5. Steal one road win, stub your toe once at home.

 

[MadNY3]

I’d work with Brown on priorities. He might rather spend money to get Nixon to stay through 27.

Last year was as good a job as I’ve ever seen.

With the year we are about to have, I don’t think Nixon will be in super demand.

He just got extended, so it will be about how much he wants out potentially.

 

[CuseIsGodsTeam]

6-6?

This fanbase man.

 

[David321]

I'll tell you who wouldn't like this thread, Fran Brown. And probably anyone else on the team.

 

[JeremyCuse]

There's good points being made on both sides here but people are also falling into the same trap they did in 2019 after Babers won 10 games. Now I am not comparing Dino to Fran, I think Fran clearly has shown an ability to recruit at levels Dino simply couldn't dream of and 10 wins in 1st year (albeit against a lighter schedule when you look at our OOC but still) shows he will likely will be the better overall coach as well.

However, just like in 2019 there appears to be a number of people who think we can replicate the prior 10 win season or will have 8+ wins just because of how last year went. That's simply not how this works. This year schedule is infinitely harder and SU has to essentially redo the entire offense from a skill position standpoint or close to it. Most importantly this team doesn't have Kyle MCcord or its top 4 playmakers that is a huge burden to overcome. SU's made strides already under Fran but were not Bama, PSU or Clemson, we just don't reload at least not yet. This team getting to 7-5 this year would be a huge accomplishment when you look at how tough the schedule is this year with zero gimmies beyond Colgate, even Uconn will be a battle.

I hope people will adjust their expectations as I fear there's going to be a lot of fans facing a reality check next fall especially if this team ends up at .500 which would not be a huge surprise even if they played reasonably well.

 

[JeremyCuse]

6-6?

This fanbase man.

View attachment 253469

Why is the prediction of 6-6 somehow a bad sign of the fanbase? Again look at the schedule and look what SU returns.

 

[AngryOtto]

There's good points being made on both sides here but people are also falling into the same trap they did in 2019 after Babers won 10 games. Now I am not comparing Dino to Fran, I think Fran clearly has shown an ability to recruit at levels Dino simply couldn't dream of and 10 wins in 1st year (albeit against a lighter schedule when you look at our OOC but still) shows he will likely will be the better overall coach as well.

However, just like in 2019 there appears to be a number of people who think we can replicate the prior 10 win season or will have 8+ wins just because of how last year went. That's simply not how this works. This year schedule is infinitely harder and SU has to essentially redo the entire offense from a skill position standpoint or close to it. Most importantly this team doesn't have Kyle MCcord or its top 4 playmakers that is a huge burden to overcome. SU's made strides already under Fran but were not Bama, PSU or Clemson, we just don't reload at least not yet. This team getting to 7-5 this year would be a huge accomplishment when you look at how tough the schedule is this year with zero gimmies beyond Colgate, even Uconn will be a battle.

I hope people will adjust their expectations as I fear there's going to be a lot of fans facing a reality check next fall especially if this team ends up at .500 which would not be a huge surprise even if they played reasonably well.

I would not say last years schedule was weak. 9 teams we played went to a bowl. I believe we were in top three teams that played bowl eligible teams.
This year on paper seems real difficult but again that’s on paper. We have no idea the product the teams put out or the strides Syracuse has made in the off season.
Concerning Fran and an extension. Based on recruiting alone I would extend him. Add in his community outreach, work ethic and player development both on and off the field I would get it done now. I know people are gun shy because of Dino but there is a clear difference between Fran and Dino.