Syracuse walked into Death Valley to show ACC champ Clemson that the Orange can leave a bitter taste. A double-digit lead into the third quarter. And just when Orange head coach Fran Brown’s squad looked ready to flip the ACC script, disaster struck in the form of a grim injury to QB Steve Angeli.

The Notre Dame transfer had been Syracuse’s spark plug. After a slow opener, he caught fire against UConn in Week 2, leading an epic comeback and finishing that stretch atop the nation in passing yards. Against Clemson, he looked every bit a veteran with his calm and decisive traits. Then, in a blink, it all unraveled. 

Late in the third, Angeli tried to extend a play with his legs. No defender touched him. No big hit, no pile-up. Just one step, a wince, and then the nightmare. The QB grabbed the back of his leg and crumbled to the turf. Non-contact. And for Fran Brown, it’s worse than just a bad Saturday. Trainers rushed in, but the QB couldn’t put weight on his leg. He’d already been dinged up earlier in the half, playing through it with a brace, but this was different.

By the time Steve Angeli reappeared on the sideline in crutches and a boot, the writing was on the wall. His replacement is LSU transfer Rickie Collins, a redshirt sophomore with tools but nowhere near the same command. Angeli still managed a stat line of 18-of-31, 244 yards, and two touchdowns. But stats don’t measure leadership. They don’t measure how he turned a stagnant offense into a weapon. And they certainly don’t measure how devastating it is for a locker room to lose its guy mid-celebration of a 34-21 road win.

After the game, Fran Brown announced Steve Angeli will be out for a long time. He wouldn’t confirm if it was an Achilles injury, only saying “Steve won’t probably play next week, things of that nature, but he’s fine.” Losing their star QB may shift Syracuse’s season, but if there’s one constant, it’s the fiery presence of their HC. 

Fran Brown’s no-nonsense era in Syracuse

In just over a season, Fran Brown turned a program that was fighting for bowl eligibility into one that dares to challenge the ACC establishment. A 12–4 record through his first 16 games, capped by a Holiday Bowl win over Washington State, stamped him as one of the sport’s fastest-rising names. The fire lit up the internet this week when he sat down on the I AM ATHLETE podcast with Darien Rencher. Asked about tampering in the transfer portal, the Orange HC didn’t dress it up. 

Fran Brown compared rival programs to dudes hitting on his wife. Bold, blunt, and unforgettable. “I don’t even care bruh,” he said. “Don’t let me find out, and then I’ll see you. Cause I ain’t no b—h.” That’s not exactly what the NCAA compliance office wants to hear, but it’s the kind of swagger that resonates with players. In a landscape where over 20 Orange players bolted after last season, his words are a battle cry to keep his locker room tight.

And Syracuse will need that edge now more than ever. With Kyle McCord, LeQuint Allen, Oronde Gadsden II, Fadil Diggs, and Marlowe Wax all gone to the pro league, the Orange are leaning on Coach Brown’s personality to hold it all together. The upcoming slate, Duke, SMU, Pitt, UNC, Miami, and Notre Dame, reads like a gauntlet. Without Steve Angeli, Syracuse’s margin for error shrinks to nothing. But if Fran Brown has proven anything, it’s that he thrives in chaos.