Syracuse Football: Big thank you to John Wildhack and plenty of champagne to Ryan Day

In early December of last year, SU Athletics officially introduced Fran Brown as the new head coach of Syracuse football, replacing Dino Babers.

To me, the hiring of Brown by 'Cuse athletics director John Wildhack was a bold move. Before joining the Orange, Brown was most recently the defensive backs coach at Southeastern Conference powerhouse Georgia.

He came to the Hill never having served as a head coach or even a coordinator at the collegiate level. Yes, Brown's recruiting prowess was well-documented by national analysts and other observers, but still, Wildhack took a shot - dare I say, a gamble? - on Brown instead of bringing in someone to replace Babers who had previously been a head coach or at least a coordinator for a college program.

A lot of credit goes out to John Wildhack. On Saturday at home, Brown, the top-flight staff he assembled and their 2024 roster stunned No. 6 Miami to finish the regular season at 9-3 overall and in a tie for fourth place within the Atlantic Coast Conference standings after the league's preseason media poll had the 'Cuse forecast at No. 12 in the conference.

The Orange is going to a bowl game for the third straight year. When the latest College Football Playoff top-25 rankings come out later this week, the 'Cuse should make the cut. If Syracuse football wins its upcoming bowl game, the program will have reached 10 victories in a season for the first time since 2018.

What's more, Brown and his assistants crushed it on the recruiting trail with their 2024 class, inclusive of prep commits and college transfers, including senior quarterback Kyle McCord. Moving forward, the Orange staff is faring well so far in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 cycles. As such, I believe that the future for the 'Cuse is extremely bright.

Speaking of Syracuse football signal-caller Kyle McCord.

Last season, as a junior, McCord led Big Ten Conference juggernaut Ohio State to an 11-1 record in the 2023 regular season. Yet the Buckeyes' head coach, Ryan Day, wouldn't commit to McCord as the team's starter again in 2024, so McCord hit the transfer portal.

In a huge pick-up for the Orange's new coaching staff, Brown landed the four-star McCord out of the portal. Some national observers made stupid, obnoxious comments about McCord's decision, failing to take into context his long-time relationships with Brown and other Syracuse football coaches, who all hail from New Jersey.

Now, I'm not suggesting that in the current campaign, the 'Cuse is a better squad than Ohio State. But on Saturday, McCord had another monster performance, setting more Syracuse football program records as the Orange shocked Miami and the college football world.

Following week 14, per the NCAA's Web site, McCord leads the country in total passing yards, passing yards per game, and completions per contest. Not too shabby.

Also on Saturday, McCord's former group put up a clunker. At home, No. 2 Ohio State fell to bitter rival and unranked Michigan, 13-10, the fourth consecutive occasion that the Wolverines have knocked off the Buckeyes.

It remains to be seen whether Ohio State will get into the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes likely will. And Syracuse football isn't headed to the CFP. So I don't want to sound like a hypocrite here.

However, on Saturday, the Orange and McCord were amazing. Ohio State and Day, who apparently didn't want McCord, were awful. Oh, the irony.

When asked about everything that transpired yesterday, according to media reports, McCord simply said, "Everything comes full circle." Well put, Kyle.

Early on in the 2024 season, Brown joked that he should send Day a bottle of champagne for allowing the Orange to get McCord out of the transfer portal. I'll take it a step further. I'll send Day 44 bottles of champs. #OnBrand