2025 Clemson Schedule Series: Syracuse |
Grayson Mann
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- Friday, January 31 2025
After a conference opener with Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Clemson’s home ACC opener on Sept. 20 will feature a team and coach with quite the outside impact in 2024.
Syracuse may get some applause when the Orange enters the stadium, with Fran Brown being the hero Clemson needed at the 11th hour of the 2024 season. Following a loss to South Carolina that eliminated the Tigers’ chances of a College Football Playoff at-large bid, all eyes were on Syracuse and Miami. We’ll touch on the scope of that later. Dabo Swinney joked that if Clemson were to win the national title, Brown would be with him for the championship parade, being celebrated as the man who gave the Tigers just enough to sneak into the postseason. Syracuse’s season read much more than what was done for others within the conference; instead, it was a historic year for Brown’s first year as the head coach. How did Orange’s 2024 season shape up? What moves has Brown made in the offseason to be a conference contender in his second year in charge? 2024 Results: 10-3, 5-3 ACC Postseason: Holiday Bowl - W - Washington State (52-35) In Brown’s first year as the leading man, he did a lot to establish confidence that Syracuse might be a team that can land some consistency. The Orange finished with 10 wins for the first time since 2018, a squad that Clemson fans remember for taking the eventual national championship Tigers to the brink of defeat after Trevor Lawrence's midgame injury. Syracuse’s 10-win season featured plenty of success but also some head-scratching results that might’ve stopped a good season from being great. Starting earlier in the season, the Orange began 2024 2-0, with wins over Ohio and Georgia Tech, kicking off the Brown era with promise. Then came Stanford, one of the first cross-country matchups in the ACC, one where the conference newbie emerged victorious. The Cardinal (2-6) ended up finishing 2024 just ahead of Florida State’s 1-7 record in the conference. Still, Brown’s unit rebounded, picking up three straight wins to garner a 5-1 start in mid-October before a road trip with Pittsburgh flipped the season on its head. In what would finish as a remarkable season for Kyle McCord, his five-interception performance against the Panthers would go down as the worst performance of his career. Despite that kind of setback, the Orange managed to rally into late November at 8-3, where one of the best games of 2024 took place. McCord played virtually flawless football, throwing for over 380 yards and three touchdowns as the Clemson faithful anxiously cheered on the Orange to secure a bid for the ACC Championship. Add two LeQuint Allen touchdowns, and it was enough for one of the most dramatic upsets of the season, one where Brown publicly congratulated Swinney immediately in his on-field interview right after the game’s conclusion. "Syracuse is back" 🍊@FranBrownCuse pic.twitter.com/y1fGLuzKF1 Syracuse capped off a memorable regular season with breaking history in its bowl game. As if more Clemson-Syracuse ties were needed, McCord broke Deshaun Watson’s single-season passing record, recording over 450 yards through the air and five touchdowns to defeat Washington State in the Holiday Bowl. The win gave Syracuse double-digit victories for the first time in years, but Brown tied Paul Pasqualoni (1991) for victories in his first season as the head coach. Moving past the successes of 2024, what has Brown and this staff done on the recruiting trail and in the portal to ensure 2024 isn’t just a one-year run for this program’s future? 2025 Recruiting Class Overall Rank: 56th Top Signee: Four-Star DB Demetres Samuel Jr. (Palm Bay, FL) Compared to some of its ACC counterparts, Syracuse's recruiting is certainly a peg below its competition. Samuel Jr. should have an opportunity to compete for this Orange defense instantly, but it will come down to how Brown develops the remaining 34 signees in this class. 2025 Transfer Class Overall Rank: 96th Top Commitments: QB Rickie Collins (LSU,) OT Naquil Betrand (Alabama) Syracuse’s number may be low according to the expert’s evaluations, but there may be some immediate contributors in this group. Collins will be a part of a position group tasked with replacing the production of McCord, who is currently a part of the Shrine Bowl, to boost his NFL draft stock. Betrand should provide some nice depth upfront for a unit that played relatively well in 2024. With Brown’s fire at the helm, the Orange will look to replicate success in 2024 that hasn’t been replicated in quite some time. Moving into the 2025 season, Brown would much rather be playing in the ACC title game than gifting a conference foe a spot.2025 Clemson Schedule Series: Syracuse
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