Syracuse Football: The buzz is palpable. Anticipation brews. The wait is almost over.

In early December of last year, SU Athletics officially introduced former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown, an ace recruiter who hails from New Jersey, as the next head coach of Syracuse football, replacing former boss Dino Babers.

It's true that, under Babers, a really good guy I might add, the Orange had a 10-win season and reached a couple of bowl games. Yet ever since the 'Cuse left the Big East Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 2013-14 sports seasons, Syracuse football hasn't proven all that relevant in the ACC or on a national scale.

Brown, a first-year and a first-time head coach, wants to change all of that. Since taking over on the Hill, he's assembled a top-flight staff. His 2024 roster includes multiple key returnees from a season ago, and the Orange's 2024 recruiting class features numerous talented college transfers and high school seniors.

This Saturday, Syracuse football will take the field for the first time in the 2024 season, when the 'Cuse will host non-conference foe Ohio at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Simply put, following off-season workouts and then preseason training camp, it's go time.

The Orange fan base is pumped for the upcoming Syracuse football campaign.

I attended Syracuse University as a student from 1996 to 2000. I've closely followed Orange sports since the 1980s, and I've covered 'Cuse teams for Inside The Loud House dating back to 2016.

I can honestly say that the current excitement surrounding the Syracuse football program hasn't been felt, from my perspective, since the Orange was a strong Big East squad in the late 1990s, led by quarterback Donovan McNabb and others.

In Central New York, the buzz is undeniably palpable. The Syracuse football fan base, to me, hasn't proven more jazzed about the program's prospects in a long, long time.

Naturally, buzz, anticipation and excitement won't mean much at all come Saturday, when Brown leads his roster against Ohio at the Dome. That's when the games will commence, and all this preseason chatter and hype will fade away.

Even with the 'Cuse fan base quite enthusiastic about the beginning of the Fran Brown era with Syracuse football, expectations from Atlantic Coast Conference and national pundits aren't all that lofty. That's fine by mean.

The ACC's preseason media poll projected the Orange to finish at No. 12, out of 17 members, in the conference standings. Preseason prognostications from other experts widely vary. Some folks think the 'Cuse can attain eight to nine victories, while others have Syracuse football reaching a bowl contest but going 6-6 in the 2024 regular season.

Personally, I think seven wins in 2024 is the floor for the Orange, and I recently projected Syracuse football to go 9-3 in its 12-game regular season.

To reiterate, though, all of this preseason conjecture from me and everyone else out there can soon get tossed out the window.

In a few days, Fran Brown will lead his 'Cuse program onto the field for the time as the Syracuse football head coach. This 2024 roster should prove fun to watch. And, hopefully, the Orange has a ton of success.