Syracuse football fans are pumped for the start of the Fran Brown era, as the team's first-year head coach and his roster will begin their 2024 season on August 31 at home in a non-conference battle with Ohio.
Since he officially took over the program in early December of last year, Brown and his top-flight staff have injected a buzz into the 'Cuse, as they've recruited at a high level across various cycles to date.
The Orange's 2024 class at the high school level is in the top 40 nationally, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, while the Syracuse football 2024 cycle via the transfer portal is currently in the top 10 overall on the On3 Web site.
Now, as we've discussed many times in recent months, stellar recruiting is one thing, but we'll have to see how that translates on the field when games are played. Still, while some national observers view the 'Cuse as potentially a middle-of-the-pack group in the Atlantic Coast Conference this coming campaign, other pundits do believe that the Orange has the ability to surprise folks in 2024.
A top analyst dishes on his floor and ceiling for Syracuse football in the upcoming term.
Recently, ESPN and ACC Network analyst Roddy Jones chatted with Andy Staples of On3 regarding the 'Cuse, and some highlights of that conversation were relayed in a piece by On3 national writer Kaiden Smith.
Can Florida State AND Miami make the playoff? | ACC ceilings and floors with @RoddyJones20, who says don’t count out N.C. State in the ACC title race either https://t.co/464PsfbxNF
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) May 27, 2024
As a bit of context, over the past two seasons, Syracuse football has sported a combined 13-13 overall mark, making a bowl game in each campaign, while losing both of those post-season affairs.
Jones says that he believes the Orange's ceiling in 2024 is a 9-3 record, while the team's floor is a 6-6 mark. For what it's worth, in late January of this year, I did a super early forecast of Syracuse football in the upcoming campaign, and I projected a 9-3 record as well.
Here's one quote from Jones: “I am high on Syracuse. I think if you look at that schedule, like I don’t think they’re better than N.C. State. I don’t think they’re better than Virginia Tech. I don’t think they’re better than Miami. But everyone else I think is a winnable game for them, including Georgia Tech, which is a bit of a toss up, but including Georgia Tech. So I look at Syracuse and I think their ceiling’s 9-3."
Jones noted that in 2023, Syracuse football made a bowl game, and the team had some pretty significant issues at quarterback, due to injuries. In 2024, rising senior Kyle McCord, a four-star transfer from Ohio State, will be the 'Cuse starting signal-caller, and that's a huge positive for the Orange's prospects later this year, from my perspective.
Jones, and Staples, appeared to agree that they don't envision the 'Cuse regressing in 2024 from a season ago, despite having a new head coach in ace receruiter Brown, who is also a first-time head coach at the collegiate level.
"Fran Brown's got this infectious personality so I feel like they’re gonna play hard. Will there be some bumps as a first-year head coach?” Jones said. “Probably. But I think their ceiling’s 9-3 and from a floor standpoint, I still think it’s still a bowl team, they’re probably 6-6 at the floor. That’s if all the toss-ups don’t go your way."
That's well said by Roddy. I think his points and analysis are logical. My only slight adjustment is that I think the Orange's floor is 7-5, not 6-6, based on the squad's 2024 schedule that, on paper, looks relatively manageable.