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Following its second bye week of the season, Syracuse was decimated on the road against then-No. 19 Pittsburgh on Oct. 24. Kyle McCord’s five interceptions and three pick-sixes put the game far out of reach early. The Orange then returned home for the first time in 35 days to face Virginia Tech.

The Hokies had a 14-3 halftime lead and a lead as large as 18 in the third quarter before SU mounted its biggest comeback since 2012. Three touchdowns from LeQuint Allen Jr. helped the Orange to an overtime victory, securing bowl eligibility for the first time under first-year head coach Fran Brown.

Now, with six wins on the year and four games remaining, Syracuse begins its final road trip by traveling to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to take on Boston College. The Eagles started the season 4-1 but have since dropped their last three games, falling to 1-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

“It’s gonna be a fun week,” Brown said. “We have to have a great week of preparation, but excited to have this opportunity to compete against Boston College and its fine staff.”

Here are some takeaways from Brown’s weekly press conference before Syracuse’s (6-2, 3-2 ACC) matchup versus Boston College (4-4, 1-3 ACC) Saturday:

BC preview

Brown didn’t shy away from marking his personal importance of matching up with the Eagles. He said he knows alumni like current Minnesota Vikings inside linebackers coach Mike Siravo, and is expecting to hear trash talk from him.

“It’s gonna be pretty intense,” Brown said of this Saturday’s game.

The contest also sets up a matchup with head coach Bill O’Brien. BC’s leader has been the head coach for Penn State, the NFL’s Houston Texans and he called the New England Patriots’ offense in Super Bowl XLVI.

Brown praised O’Brien and said he was excited to coach against him.

“Bill O’Brien is one of the better coaches in the country,” Brown said. “He’s coached at every level. He’s done a good job. Super Bowls. I mean, his resume speaks for itself.”

SU’s head coach also spoke on BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos. The junior ran for 1,113 yards a season ago and this season, has 1,556 total yards through seven games.

Brown said he doesn’t think people pay enough attention to how well Castellanos’ can spin it on deep balls while excelling on the ground.

“I think that quarterback is extremely dynamic,” Brown said. “So we have our hands full going against a guy like him. He’s like a little human joystick. This kid can really play football.”

Brown also highlighted edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku as a player Syracuse must contain. Ezeiruaku, a Williamstown, New Jersey, native, is someone Brown said he knows personally. The defensive end leads the conference in tackles for loss with 12.0.

BC’s NFL-like scheme does a good job of disguising who’s blitzing and when they’re going to blitz, per Brown, and Ezeiruaku plays a key role in that. For Brown, though, the key to earning his seventh win as a head coach lies in SU’s ability to tackle.

“If we tackle well on special teams, we tackle well on defense, then I think that we’ll be fine,” Brown said. “Getting an opportunity to go against a team that can run the ball extremely well, we have to tackle … that’s the number one thing that needs to happen.”

VT rewind

Against the Hokies, Brown decided to kick an extra point to go to overtime rather than attempting a two-point conversion to win the game in regulation. It was the second time in 2024 that he made the decision, and it was largely based on his confidence in his team to win the extra period.

“Once it went in overtime when they took the knee for the last play, and then we knew we had overtime, that’s where it’s like, ‘I know y’all can’t beat us in overtime,’” Brown said.

In SU’s win, Allen Jr. had his most usage of the season. Brown said it wasn’t to balance the offense per se, but more because of the consistency and belief in Allen Jr.

Another star on offense, Oronde Gadsden II, only recorded two receptions in the game and didn’t catch a pass until late in the third quarter. Despite little productivity, Brown said he’s a threat that opens up the offense even if it’s not shown in the box score.

When it comes to Syracuse’s kicking game, it’s been a noticeable weakness this year. It ranks dead last in the ACC on field-goal attempts at 6-for-12. Cornell transfer Jackson Kennedy took all the kicks against VT and made his only field-goal attempt from 44 yards out. Kennedy was the third kicker to be used this season, following Brady Denaburg and Jadyn Oh.

“I thought he competed the most the last week and a half,” Brown said. “He had the best showing, so when it was time to go into the game, we had confidence because of what he’d done in practice to put him in and that worked out for us.”

Additional notes

Brown also provided multiple updates on personnel. Wide receiver Zeed Haynes, who has not been with the team since early September due to a personal matter, returned to the sideline against Virginia Tech while wearing warmup clothes. Brown said he was excited to see Haynes on the sideline, and he’ll work his way back onto the field within the next few weeks.

Yasin Willis, Denis Jaquez Jr. and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson — who all didn’t dress for the matchup with the Hokies — likely won’t dress again versus the Eagles, Brown said. Willis and Jaquez are working their way back into the mix in the next few weeks, but Del Rio-Wilson’s injury could be season-ending.

Brown also touched on the idea of many players receiving snaps in last week’s game. SU had 23 players on offense play at least one snap and 20 on defense. The key, according to Brown, is to keep recruits within the program.

“When you recruit and you got a lot of good players, you better play them or they’re going in the portal. It’s just the nature of the business,” Brown said, “If you got good players sitting on the bench, they’re going to say bye.”

Published on November 4, 2024 at 5:40 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky