Syracuse Sit Down: a Talk with Samantha Croston

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Just as Washington State preps for the Holiday Bowl, the Syracuse Orange suit up seeking to stay ranked in the College Football Playoff polls and end their season with 10 wins.

We spoke with CNY Central sports director Samantha Croston today on her perspective on the Orange.

JACK WALLACE: We have Samantha Croston with us today from CNY Central Sports Director, talking to us about Syracuse Orange and what this matchup means with the Cougs for the first time in a very long time, these two teams meeting in both in particularly good seasons, they’re best for both teams since 2018. So, so, yeah, talking about Syracuse, I know the offense is the best focal point, especially what we’ve seen out of Kyle McCord. So break us down a little bit of what Kyle brings to this game, what it means to have him playing the in this game.

SAMANTHA CROSTON: Yeah, well, thanks for having me. I mean, to start, I think everybody was just so pleased to find out that he would be playing. You know, how I can go with bowl games sometimes and when it was announced about a week ago that he’d be playing in it officially, I think that the Syracuse fanbase knew that that meant, alright. We’re gonna have a real chance to do something special here, and Syracuse could get to that 10-win season they’ve been looking for.

I think that what Kyle McCord brings to the table is less about even his throwing ability and more about how many different people he throws in to. Obviously, we know that this is a guy who is gonna throw this ball. I mean, he is setting records at Syracuse in just one season for passing yards. But beyond that, he has a lot of different weapons that he feels comfortable throwing into. We saw a Oronde Gadsden, who, of course, was a a big time wide receiver at Syracuse for the past few years, but also Trebor Pena who didn’t get as many touches last year, he’s getting touches now. Also have Lequint Allen in the running game. So I think with Kyle McCord, the biggest thing that he’s bringing is his versatility and how many different weapons he feels comfortable throwing too.

JW: And speaking of just having this many weapons, I mean, what Fran Brown has brought to this program as fast as he’s done it. I mean, and I remember the Dino Babers’ day and seeing how the progression was slow, but then with Brown, it’s been just as remarkably fast run-in, and so what have you seen out of his coaching style and what he’s able to bring to Syracuse just to get them to be 9 wins and on the cusp of 10 so fast?

SC: Yeah. I mean, when you talk about weapons, he’s the most powerful gun Syracuse has. I was actually here starting my career when Dino Babers was here, and he certainly brought something to the table too. But when you talk about Fran Brown and his coaching style, I think it’s specifically the buy-in that everybody has to what it is that he’s trying to accomplish here.

He came in day one as a first-year head coach with a mission with his philosophy DART, which means discipline, accountable, relentless, and tough. He had a vision for exactly what he wanted this program to be. And very frequently, he brings up the quote, unquote, “good old days of Syracuse” and a place and a time where people really felt pride to be a part of the Syracuse fanbase. That’s what he’s trying to return back to. And because he believes so much in this community, has made his intention so clear from the start that he plans on staying here until his daughter graduates, and who knows whether or not that will happen.

But that intention that that intentionality and being so clear about about what he wanted this program to have, I think all of a sudden people started to really believe again. But even beyond that, every time we cover him, you know, even all the players will tell you how hard they’re working in practice, how it’s been a different level of intensity this year. Everyone has bought in more, and the results are being seen, honestly, not only on the field, but even within our community. The fanbase hasn’t been this excited in over 20 years. That’s a fact.

JW: Well, in seeing how much the fan base is showing up and being there, I did see on social media that some were not as thrilled about having to go so far for the bowl game that, obviously, San Diego is about as far as you can get from Syracuse for a bowl game. But, what do you expect out of sort of the fans and the the reaction to still go into a big game to play in, to play in a big brand in in Washington State, and and what have you sort of seen out of the that reaction inside?

SC: Yeah. Listen. At first, people were a little bit upset. There were some people who wanted Gator Bowl, Pop Tarts Bowl, somewhere where there was a direct flight even. Could people go from Syracuse to Florida instead of having to go all the way across the country? But I will tell you that even just a week ago, he had a party to try and raise money for name, image, and likeness trying to keep the same caliber of players around for years to come, and there was a really big turnout of that.

So, I do think that you could still expect to see a decent amount of fans since people are really bought in now and really love what the program is becoming. And as as much as I know about Fran Brown and the one year that I’ve covered him, the other thing I’ll say is that although you wouldn’t think that Syracuse is the sort of place that’s a hotbed for recruiting because it is so far away, Coach Brown views everything as an opportunity. So if he doesn’t have a lot of players from California on his roster right now, I know that he’s gonna be looking at this game at 8:00 EST on national television as an opportunity to bring in some of those recruits.

JW: So what do you think has been, the key factor on the defensive side of the ball? Because I know some games have been have been sort of rough on that end when Syracuse has stumbled this season, which has not been that many times, but what it has been. And even in their wins, like the Miami game where the offense was phenomenal, but the defense didn’t do as well, which against Miami isn’t really too much to to be, ashamed of. But, what do you sort of see in that defensive side?

SC: I feel comfortable saying, and I don’t think anyone would be surprised to hear that Syracuse superpower is their offense this year, not their defensive side of the ball. But when the defense is really humming, it’s because of the leadership. Honestly, there are a lot of guys on the defensive side of the ball this year who have been around the program for a long time.

Justin Barron, one of the safeties, this guy who comes to mind, and someone who actually thought about leaving and going into the portal, got convinced by Fran Brown to stay and now leave this entire defense. I think when they’re playing well, they’re communicating well, and they do that when you see guys like Marlowe Wax on the field. So you talk about a little bit of a drop in in defense. Marlowe Wax was out for a few games, can’t sit here and say that didn’t have something to do with it.

And even going into this game, when I think about the guys who have entered the transfer portal so far, they’re losing a lot of their pretty good defensive backs. So that’s one place where things could look a little iffy, but I think that at this point in the season, with the amount of work they’ve put in with the coaches they have on that side of the ball, Fran Brown included, and specifically with the leadership they have, I think that you can expect to see a defense that does have holes in it, particularly their running game, but they communicate well, and they work together at this point in the season.

JW: So last one for you. I know that you’ve talked to me previously about sorta our side of things here and what we’ve seen out of WSU and and with all the transfers and with Coach Dickert leaving and and the sort of the the madness that’s gone on in Pullman. But, have you gotten any kind of reaction from Syracuse from this about talking to them about, like, what do you see out of Washington State losing these guys and how you face it? And what what is the reaction from the team or Coach Brown been about facing a WSU team that looks very different than what they would’ve looked like two or three weeks ago?

SC: Yeah. I mean, certainly, the fans, because as as you know, as a former grad, the fan base is very invested in this game. They have seen all of the changes that have been made.

I know the players know about it, and I know Coach Fran does too. But to be completely honest with you, I think back to a game like UNLV where they were supposed to be facing a great quarterback in Matthew Sluka. And at the time that Syracuse is going to play against them, he wasn’t around and he wasn’t available. He was entering the transfer portal because he wasn’t happy with his NIL situation. Even then, Coach Brown wasn’t the kind of person who diminished an opponent or took an opponent lightly just because a few things had changed up.

I think for him, if you asked him, and I don’t wanna speak for him, but he’d tell you that the mission remains the same. He’s a pretty intense guy. I think even the fans over on your end probably see that by now. So he’s the sort of person who, despite the fact that, yes, some of the coaching staff has left, some of the big time names from this team aren’t there anymore, I don’t think that’s something they discussed. I really don’t.

I think he’s the kind of person who thinks less about the opponent and more about his own team.