Prognosticating a season result is not the easiest thing to do with this Syracuse team. While they enter the year with a more talented roster on paper than most in recent memory, it remains to be seen how that roster settles into the depth chart and produces on the field.
There are positive signs all over the offensive skill positions, as LeQuint Allen is back for another year at running back, tight end Oronde Gadsden II is healthy, and Kyle McCord transferred to the Orange after steering Ohio State to a dozen wins last year. Marlowe Wax is a playmaking star at linebacker, Fadil Diggs transferred from Texas A&M to anchor the defensive line, and Duce Chestnut transferred back to the program after a year at LSU, rejoining Justin Barron and Alijah Clark in a deep backfield.
However, that overhauled roster leads to questions. Who among a mostly inexperienced group will produce on the defensive line aside from Diggs? The secondary is experienced, but a lot of that comes from the safety group, leaving some questions at cornerback. Will a wide receiver or two earn opponents’ respect and help open the offense up for the established playmakers?
The offensive line group is deeper than it has been in recent memory, as four players who started double figure games return for SU and are joined by three other players who transferred into the program after starting at their previous schools. How will that group settle out and will that unit be able to develop chemistry to allow the skill positions to flourish?
Oh, and Fran Brown is a head coach for the first time.
That’s a number of legitimate questions for the most talented Syracuse roster in a long time. The schedule is not overbearing with a friendly non-conference portion and a fair ACC slate. There are a few games, though, that will likely tip the scales one way or the other for the Orange.
Outside of conference play, UNLV is the stiffest test for SU, especially considering it comes on a short week coupled with a long flight and a late kickoff for a team based in the Eastern time zone. The Rebels were a pretty accomplished team in the Mountain West last season, but do have to overcome a change at quarterback. If the Orange can succeed on this business trip to Sin City, that will bode well for the back half of the schedule.
That trip to Las Vegas is not the first game that will point SU’s season in one direction or the other. The second week of the season features a rematch with Georgia Tech at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Yellow Jackets caught Syracuse in the second game of their reconfigured, run-heavy offense late last season and pounded them early in a 31-22 loss. Tech is ninth in the preseason ACC poll, but expected to be a step or two ahead of the tier the Orange are on. This game presents both an opportunity for revenge and to establish that SU is in a better place under the new guard.
The other two games that will tilt the schedule for Syracuse are conference matchups on the road against teams on their tier of the preseason poll. Pittsburgh and California should tell the tale of if the Orange will make a bowl or not.
“Should” is a strong qualifier in that sentence, though, as most recent football seasons have been turned upside down by injuries. Injuries to top players, injuries that deplete the offensive line, injuries that gut the defense, Syracuse has seen them all in recent years.
The Orange are more talented, but need to not just stay health, but gel on both lines. While that higher caliber of talent across the roster should help SU better withstand any injuries coming down the line, a fair amount of that talent is untested at the collegiate level.
Fran Brown may be leading his own program for the first time, but he has given the team one tangible thing already – that improved talent. What may be bigger is his ability to give them some intangible things: the team’s new culture and confidence in themselves.
Brown has talked about the team being winners and the program being one that challenges for a national championship. They will not get all the way to that last one, but this season, they will be winners. Give the Orange an 8-4 regular season, a mid-tier bowl game appearance, and some momentum heading into the 2025 season and its measuring-stick schedule.
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