Predicting ceiling, floor for Syracuse in 2024 season

Following eight seasons with Dino Babers at the helm, Syracuse will now embark on a new era under first-year head coach Fran Brown. The former Georgia assistant who has already made a strong impression on the recruiting trail and generated buzz surrounding the Orange.

18 players have joined Syracuse this offseason through the transfer portal, headlined by names like former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, Texas A&M defensive lineman Fadil Diggs, and a handful of former Bulldogs. But will that translate to instant success for Syracuse in the 2024 season?

ACC Network’s Roddy Jones spoke about just that on Monday with On3’s Andy Staples, as the two broke down what the best and worst possible season could look like for Brown and Syracuse.

Ceiling: 9-3

“This was a bowl team last year with without a quarterback, like Garrett Shrader‘s shoulder didn’t work for the vast majority of the season to the point where they had to put Dan Villari, a tight end who played quarterback in high school, at quarterback. And they struggled, but they were still a bowl team despite the limitations that they had,” Jones said.

Despite facing adversity at the most important position, Syracuse still managed a 7-6 record last season. And with that position now taken care of thanks to McCord plus some overall roster strength against a majority of their competition, 2024 could represent the program’s best season since they secured 10 wins in 2018.

“I am high on Syracuse,” Jones added. “I think if you look at that schedule, like I don’t think they’re better than NC State. I don’t think they’re better than Virginia Tech. I don’t think they’re better than Miami. But everyone else I think is a winnable game for them, including Georgia Tech, which is a bit of a toss up, but including Georgia Tech. So I look at Syracuse and I think their ceiling’s 9-3.”

Floor: 6-6

Both Staples and Jones don’t see Syracuse taking any steps back despite having a different head coach. Each expressing a strong belief in the new Orange head man based on his reputation, resume, and recruiting very early in his head coaching career.

“Fran Brown’s got this infectious personality so I feel like they’re gonna play hard. Will there be some bumps as a first-year head coach?” Jones asked. “Probably. But I think their ceiling’s 9-3 and from a floor standpoint, I still think it’s still a bowl team, they’re probably 6-6 at the floor. That’s if all the toss-ups don’t go your way.”

“Fadil Diggs is a great example, Elijah Robinson obviously comes from Texas A&M, but Fadil Diggs a Jersey guy, so Fran Brown’s got those connections too,” Staples added. “Remember Fran Brown was working for Kirby Smart at Georgia, so working on establishing a culture at Syracuse that he’s going to try to mimic a lot of what Kirby Smart does at Georgia.

“This is going to be really interesting because Syracuse is not the easiest place in the world to recruit. But he’s already gotten some people to Syracuse that you weren’t sure they would go to Syracuse, so that’s a good start and the schedule is helpful.”

Brown joins the ACC as the conference’s only rookie head coach. But if he can translate some of the early positive energy surrounding the program into the season, then Syracuse won’t just maintain their recent standard, but potentially create a new one as early as next season.