Syracuse-Duke Football (Sep 27 2025)
On the bright side, I don’t have to read any more articles about Fran Brown leaving for the SEC anytime soon. Not sure if you saw the press conference, but he apologized to the entire fan base for that no-show performance today. I’m very concerned moving forward. We have no quarterback. How bad could Luke Carney be at this point? It’s clear that Collins has physical gifts, but he doesn’t have what’s required in between the ears.
And for all the praise that Fran Brown gets, he is a defensive coach. And the defense was absolutely to blame as much as the offense was today.
Quote from orangeskin on September 27, 2025, 2:44 pmThe defense quit on that possession. That's it for me today. What a disgrace. I'll be curious to see what Fran says about this.
A full out apology to the fan base. You don't see that often...
Brown's greatest skills lie in communications - handling media, recruiting, building relationships with his players.
Beyond that, he is a defensive coach whose two teams have been/are poor on defense. They are 112th in points allowed per game and 114th in yards per play allowed this season. Last year, they were 96th in points allowed per game and 110th in yards per play allowed.
That is the side of the ball Brown should be expected to help more on and his hiring of coordinators reflects that. Jeff Nixon is more than capable of running an offense on his own after calling plays at Baylor for three seasons, but Elijah Robinson is calling plays for the first time at Syracuse (and is basically a scapegoat for the defensive shortcomings). Brown needs to be involved in fixing the defense.
If he cannot, he won't be at Syracuse forever and it won't be because someone from the SEC hires him.
I don't think anyone is pretending that Fran Brown is going to be here as long as Coach Mac or Coach P were. This is just where SU falls in the football pecking order. But, let's look at what he did last year and what his team has done so far this year. Yesterday was a catastrophe. But how many teams actually have a capable backup quarterback?
Let's also look at two pier programs who think they are head and shoulders above SU.
Rutgers is on its second run with a recycled coach who hasn't won a GD big game ever. They have accomplished nothing. They have beaten three cream puffs this season and lost their only two conference games. And they haven't beaten a ranked team and something like 25 straight games. And when do you ever hear Schiano's name mentioned among coaches coveted by other teams? You don't because he isn't. Everyone knows he is a used car salesman that New Jersey fans, who are so desperate for an ounce of relevance, buy anything he says.
They have accomplished nothing. They have beaten three cream puffs this season and lost their only two conference games. And they haven't beaten a ranked team and something like 25 straight games.
Then there's Boston College. Boston College is to college football with Charlie Brown is to kicking the football when Lucy holds it. The talk from their fan base is that with Bill O'Brien, they are going to become this powerhouse. And they do nothing but dismiss The Dazzler and Haffley. Well, how was it worked out for them so far? Three straight games, three losses. And they really should have won all three games. Two of those losses were at Stanford and Home against cow, they had big leads in both of them and blew it.The talk in their off-season was that those two teams are pathetic in BC will run roughshod over them. And trust me, their complete lack of respect for SU and Fran Brown is laughable. Now they have a record of 1-3 and are in serious jeopardy of not qualifying for a bowl game.
Losing Angeli was a huge blow, for sure. But SU is halfway to bowl eligibility. Will get they get there? Who knows. Let's everyone take a breath and see where the rest of the season goes. And remember that Fran has greatly raised the quality of recruit that comes here to play.
Fran Brown talks about winning national championships, not being better than Rutgers and BC. From Sept 24:
“I never told anyone this, but when I first got to Syracuse, someone asked me, 'What would be a good record, 8-4?'” Brown said, and now he’s getting agitated because this is the source of his frustration. “So you want me to pick four teams that are going to beat us? Then who am I?”
“We were trying to win the national title, and we didn’t do that,” Brown said of his first Syracuse team. “We were trying to win the conference championship, and we didn’t."
That aside, my overall point is that Brown gets a pass for how much the defense has struggled in his time here, including last season. Everyone is quick to point the finger at Robinson, but Brown is also a defensive coach, having coached defensive backs throughout his career. Nate Sheppard, who ran for 168 yards and two TDs for Duke:
“At the third level, we saw that their tackling was a little subpar,” Sheppard said. “So we knew if we could get up to that level, that we could have some big plays today.”
That game was lost yesterday on defense. Duke ran one more play than Syracuse, 65-64, but average yards per play was 7.7 to 4.9. They would have almost certainly lost with Angeli healthy. Collins struggled, but the defense was atrocious. It's just not as noticeable because everyone can (and does) point at the quarterback.
Just got back in the saddle here (Thanks Jim and Wes!); it appears that it was not a moment too late.
Discouraged by the performance vs. Duke, but my discouragement was trumped by the US Ryder Cup team and Georgia.
Quote from NCOrangeMan on September 30, 2025, 8:57 pmJust got back in the saddle here (Thanks Jim and Wes!); it appears that it was not a moment too late.
Discouraged by the performance vs. Duke, but my discouragement was trumped by the US Ryder Cup team and Georgia.
Welcome! At least the US rallied in the Ryder Cup to make things interesting. Not so for our dear Orangemen.
Saw a video on Collins earlier saying the talent is there to score 40 points a game. He sat down with Fran on Saturday night to review the entire tape. Let’s see if that translates into this Saturday.