Are you paying close attention? While the Georgia Bulldogs rested and recovered during their Week 4 bye, one of Kirby Smart's many proteges looked the part of the Power Four's next great up-and-coming head coach. That would be the second-year head coach at Syracuse in Fran Brown. After losing the first Aflac Kickoff game in Week 1 to Tennessee, the Orange responded by getting to 3-1.
It may have been some self-inflicted nonsense from the Clemson Tigers, but Brown's Orange dominated their ACC foe in Death Valley to the tune of 34-21. This was a game that was impacted by weather, as well as Orange starting quarterback Steve Angeli getting hurt. Frankly, it did not matter, as the Orange improved to 3-1 on the season and getting a huge first road win in conference play.
While the Angeli injury puts a damper on everything, Syracuse is going to play hard for Brown with Rickie Collins in at quarterback. Since taking over at SU last year, Brown is 13-4 overall and 6-3 in ACC play. The Orange got a 10-win season a year ago by beating Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. Right now, Brown has total buy-in from his players and staff, no matter the circumstances...
The Orange had the hardest schedule of any ACC team coming on and Syracuse is thriving yet again.
Kirby Smart has to be proud of the job Fran Brown is doing at Syracuse
When Brown got hired by Syracuse, it felt like a bit of a reach by the Orange to get a slice of what has made Georgia so special. Well, that seems to be exactly what happened. There are other strong branches off Smart's coaching tree, namely Dan Lanning at Oregon and Shane Beamer at South Carolina. However, it is the manner that Brown handles adversity during a game that sets him apart.
Over the years, Syracuse has had good, but not great teams. Being the biggest school in New York helps, but being a private school defined by basketball can be hard to overcome at times. What has been fun to watch is this team showing no quit, no matter the challenge at hand. This on-field attitude will win Syracuse more games than it ever did under guys like Dino Babers, Doug Marrone and such.
Overall, this was not an easy job for Brown to take. Some may have argued that he was underqualified for it coming in. In a way, he is perfect for what this team and program needs. No excuses, just make it happen. Syracuse may not ever get to the level of Georgia or some ACC equivalent of that under Brown. That being said, you must recognize good coaching when it is happening right in front of you.
It is a long season, but Saturday's road upset of Clemson shows everyone Syracuse has the right guy.