Syracuse opens Fran Brown era with win over Ohio
SU football opens Fran Brown era with win over Ohio
The SU head coach’s debut includes four TDs from team’s newest quarterback Kyle McCord.
Orange football is officially back, and the new Head Coach Fran Brown era begins.
The Syracuse Orange football team opened its 2024-2025 season against the Ohio Bobcats, and it was a packed house in the JMA Dome. The Orange, who finished fourth to last in the ACC last year with a 6-7 overall record, came ready for Saturday’s game.
The team started slow on both sides of the ball, keeping Ohio at striking distance throughout the first three quarters. A late third-quarter touchdown from senior transfer quarterback Kyle McCord to wide receiver Trebor Pena gave Syracuse the breathing room needed for the remainder of the second half.
The Orange would give new head coach Fran Brown his first win, winning by a final score of 38-22.
“I’ve just been nervous a little bit…but then as I saw those players, and I was seeing one of the Little League football coaches. I was just like, alright, let’s go play ball,” Brown said post-game.
Before kickoff, the energy roared through the Dome ceiling as the Orange ran onto the field. Expectations for this team are high, and the Orange responded well.
After winning the coin toss, the Orange chose defense first. The Bobcats pushed the ball well down the field, but the Orange defense became a wall in the red zone, forcing the Ohio offense to three field goals in the first half.
Marlowe Wax, SU’s star middle linebacker, went down with a lower leg injury in the first half and didn’t return. Wax was seen in a walking boot for the rest of the game. Nonetheless, the Orange defense held on without him.
“Marlowe’s a leader that we need, and it’s hard for him to go down, but I like how James Heard came in and took the responsibility as a young guy to come in and make a play, so that shows a lot for him, but Marlow is a big piece of the defense,” defensive lineman Fadil Diggs said.
Syracuse went three and out after a long first possession due to a pause in play for an Ohio player’s targeting review.
“When we got in the red zone, we bent, but we didn’t break. We buckled down, we made sure they didn’t cross the line,” Diggs said on SU’s first-half red zone defense. “That was our big thing. We just got to finish the drive, and I thought we did pretty good in the race on the day. We like how we buckled down and didn’t let them get there.”
After struggling in the first quarter, the Orange offensive unit found their rhythm.
McCord’s arm talent was on full display, giving the Orange an eight-point lead going into halftime. McCord threw two touchdowns in the second quarter. His second touchdown came seconds before halftime. He led the offense down the field in 44 seconds and threw a beautiful 20-yard dot to Pena. He threw for 354 yards and four total touchdowns on the day.
Pena had a game to remember, scoring three touchdowns. Post-game, he highlighted his love for his coaches and the play calling that put the ball in the playmakers’ hands.
“I think that’s probably one of the perks of playing a lot of football is you’re not always gonna have a picture-perfect start,” McCord said. “When that’s not the case, I think you just have to have trust in your preparation and know that it’s a long game and the defense did a good job.”
In the second half, Ohio came out hot, scoring in five plays and going 75 yards on their first drive. However, Syracuse showed they had something to prove, outscoring the Bobcats the rest of the half. The Orange outscored Ohio 21-6 the rest of the way.
Even though the Orange won, Brown wasn’t pleased with the performance.
“We got to stop the run. Now we got to stop the quarterback from being able to run. I mean, every game, they’re all different. We’ll see what happens next week,” Brown said.
The Orange defense gave up 255 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 39 carries by the Bobcats. Next Saturday, SU plays a run-heavy Georgia Tech team that ran for 190 yards versus the No.10 ranked Florida State Seminoles.
Next week’s home game versus the Yellow Jackets will kick off at Noon in the JMA Dome.
is the Sports Lead Producer for The NewsHouse.
is a photographer for The NewsHouse.