Four days removed from a 70-7 embarrassment against Notre Dame, head coach Fran Brown stepped into the press room looking every bit like a man who’d taken the hit himself. After Syracuse’s worst defeat since 1893, rock bottom isn’t where Fran Brown plans to stay. At 3–8, he skipped the self-pity and moved straight to what comes next.

“I’m just developing a program. I would love for them to just stick with me, understand, and bet on us, and you just see all the guys on the field are young,” Brown said on Monday during his press conference as he shifted the conversation toward the future. “Watch what we do next week when signing day comes, watch what happens as we hit the portal, and watch the guys we bring in to backup Steve [Angeli].”

Instead of sitting in humiliation, he made a promise that reinforcements are coming, and the quarterback room is first on the list. When Steve Angeli went down with a season-ending Achilles injury just four games in, the offense lost its identity. Since then, the QB position has become Brown’s biggest battle. Luke Carney, LSU transfer Rickie Collins, and freshman Joe Filardi. No one ever found rhythm this season. While Collins lost his shot after a fourth straight rough outing against Georgia Tech, Filardi got his chance, but none of these combinations worked.

Then Brown went back to Collins for the Miami game, but Syracuse still fell 38-10. Following that, against Notre Dame, Filardi was thrown back into the fire for the 70-7 disaster. Whether it was inexperience, inconsistency, or both, the young QB room simply wasn’t ready to carry the offense. Which is why everything points to the return of Steve Angeli next season.

Before his season-ending Achilles injury, Angeli had already piled up 1,317 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Brown did not hesitate to underline how much he means to the program’s identity moving forward.

“…Steve is a competitor; he wants us to bring in guys who can compete to be able to play here right away,” said the head coach. “So I’m just excited and eager about the future, but most importantly, just watch us this weekend, and that’ll tell you where we are after the performance that was displayed last weekend.”

The matchup against Boston College will close a bruised and battered season, but Syracuse won’t treat it like a battle to escape the ACC basement. And that seems possible when you consider what Brown accomplished with the Orange last season. In his debut season, in his debut year, Fran Brown led Syracuse to a 10-3 record. To cap it off, the season concluded with a victory in the Holiday Bowl over Washington State. That simply doesn’t disappear because of one nightmare Saturday, and that’s why there’s still reason for optimism among the fanbase.

Fran Brown’s take on the ND loss

After Syracuse endured its worst loss in over a century, the HC opened his press conference with an apology. “Before I get going, I want to, first and foremost, apologize for the last game we played,” he said plainly, taking responsibility for the beatdown by Notre Dame. “Me, as the head football coach, I did not have our team prepared, ready to go in and compete or play at all. … I have to prepare our team way better. It is completely unacceptable.”

Here, Brown continued to take accountability for the ND loss. “I want to apologize to Syracuse, the community, our football staff…alumni, fanbase, just everyone that has any love or heart to care about Syracuse football at all,” mentioned the Orange HC. Then came the bold take. “It won’t happen again. Hold me responsible.”

Perhaps that’s why, ahead of the game against BC, Brown chose a familiar face under center again. Coming off a brutal loss to Notre Dame, where he completed less than half his passes and threw 3 interceptions, Joe Filardi will start against the Eagles. Meanwhile, freshman Carney won’t play, as the team remains committed to preserving his redshirt year.

“We’re not going to go with Luke, because I want Luke to redshirt,” said Brown. “So I think Rich should be good to go. Rich should get an opportunity to go out and try and compete, and we’ll see how that goes.” Now, while 2023 New York State Scholastic Player of the Year Rich Belin will make his collegiate debut at some point in the game against BC, it’s a fresh chapter for Syracuse’s QB room.