Top expert praises Fran Brown, expects Syracuse football to make a bowl game in 2024

ESPN's Andrea Adelson is one of the top writers in the business covering the Atlantic Coast Conference, and she recently had some encouraging things to say about Syracuse football as the Orange gets set to embark on its 2024 season.

Adelson recently joined the awesome folks with The Juice on the Cuse Podcast to discuss conference realignment, the ACC and the 'Cuse. I highly recommend carving out some time to listen to Adelson's interview.

For one, she said that she would be "shocked" if the Orange doesn't make a bowl game at the conclusion of the 2024 term. Syracuse football, by the way, opens its 2024 season by hosting non-conference foe Ohio at the JMA Wireless Dome this Saturday afternoon.

Adelson is joined by numerous ACC and national pundits who may vary on their projected regular-season record for the 'Cuse, but they seem to agree almost universally that Syracuse football should notch six victories in 2024 and attain post-season bowl eligibility for the third straight campaign.

Top ACC expert Andrea Adelson, so far, is high on Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown.

Adelson says that the ACC title race in 2024 could prove a little more wide-open than in other recent seasons. She has picked Miami to win the league championship but noted that a bunch of conference schools could go 9-3 or even 10-2 in the regular season.

Late last year, when former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown was hired by SU Athletics to replace former head coach Dino Babers, some pundits questioned the hire, given that Brown didn't have any prior experience as a head coach or a coordinator.

That's understandable. However, since joining the Orange, Brown has assembled a top-flight staff, saw numerous 2023 players return to the Hill for another season, and hauled in a strong 2024 recruiting class inclusive of college transfers and high school seniors.

Naturally, via the portal, the 'Cuse headliners this off-season were four-star quarterback Kyle McCord from Ohio State and four-star edge Fadil Diggs from Texas A&M, among others.

Adelson characterized the job that Brown and his assistants did with their portal recruiting this off-season as a "home run." She added of Brown, "It's an A+ hire for right now."

One thing that Adelson talked about is something that Syracuse football fans are discussing as well. And that's how the 'Cuse, despite making two bowl games in a row, has started out fast in the past two seasons, only to fade down the stretch, with part of the issue being depth and injuries.

"In terms of high-profile guys who came in through the portal, this is by far the most high-profile portal class that Syracuse has ever signed," Adelson said. And she thinks that through key returnees and portal additions, the Orange could have more depth in 2024 than in other recent years, which hopefully will prove critical should injuries transpire.

In the interview, Adelson mentions standouts such as McCord, Diggs, linebacker Marlowe Wax Jr., defensive back Justin Barron, tight end Oronde Gadsden II and running back LeQuint Allen Jr.

McCord, she says, is comfortable in the 'Cuse offense. He's comfortable with his receivers. He's a strong leader, Adelson notes, adding that McCord and his teammates have confidence in what they want to do in the 2024 season, which is nearly here.

"They know they can be a great team," Adelson says.