Syracuse (9-3, 6-3 ACC) rallied from a 21-0 deficit to defeat No. 6 Miami (10-2, 6-2), 42-38, in their final game of the regular season. The monumental victory was the Orange’s first win against a top-10 opponent since 2017, when they defeated Clemson.

Fran Brown was also the second Syracuse head coach, joining Paul Pasqualoni, to achieve nine wins in his first year in the modern era.

Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s win.

The Orange finished November 4-1, which was the first time SU had done so since 1991. Head coach Fran Brown addressed this program’s recent struggles in November and vowed to make them a thing of the past.

Syracuse posted three impressive victories in November: coming back from an 18-point deficit to beat Virginia Tech, traveling across the country to beat Cal, scoring 33 points against the conference’s best defense and coming from behind by 21 points to beat No. 6 Miami.

“Making sure November is a time of winning means a lot to us,” Brown said.

Fran Brown didn’t mince his words when he announced as he left the field after the game, “Syracuse is back.”

Quarterback Kyle McCord expressed similar sentiments.

“I think the win shows that Syracuse is for real,” McCord said.

Syracuse has now beaten three top-25 opponents and will finish fourth in the ACC after being picked 11th in the preseason.

In this game, Syracuse struggled with disciplined play against one of the best teams in the country.

Syracuse had fewer penalties and penalty yards, fewer incompletions and fewer punts. SU also had better third-down numbers, more first downs and more games played.

All of these metrics proved that Syracuse’s victory was not a fluke, but also that there is still more to improve on.

“I want to win a national championship,” Brown said. “I want to win a conference championship and that didn’t happen.”

Syracuse was selected by the committee at wide receiver because they have seven players with over 190 receiving yards this year. SU had four different players lead the team in receptions in a game and six different players lead the team in receiving yards.

On Saturday it was Jackson Meeks; He was targeted 13 times on the turn and finished the game with seven balls for 110 yards.

The Georgia transfer had to sit behind NFL players like Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey in Athens, which he said taught him patience. His patience is paying off at SU as Meeks now has 66 catches, five touchdowns and 801 yards.

“I think he’s probably the most competitive player that’s ever played,” McCord said. “When they went one-on-one, I wanted to make that attempt every time.”

McCord didn’t generate as much buzz or hype as Cam Ward over the course of the year, even though the two quarterbacks played in the same conference and were consistently at the top of the NCAA passing charts.

While McCord has thrown for more yards, more touchdowns with a better completion percentage and better QBR than Ward, Ward is expected to be a top NFL pick in April.

McCord also had the better day in the direct duel, throwing more yards (380 to 349) and touchdowns (3 to 2) and of course walking away with a win.

He became the first SU quarterback since Donovan McNabb to lead the Orange to a home win over Miami.

“I just want to be the guy that helped bring (Syracuse) back to what it once was,” McCord said. “Being a part of the team that turned things around and got things in the right direction, I think that will last forever.”

Syracuse’s win came a few hours after No. 2 Ohio State, McCord’s old school, lost 13-10 at home to unranked Michigan.

The Buckeyes failed to beat Michigan for the fourth straight season, and McCord’s replacement managed just 175 yards and had two interceptions.

The Buckeyes may have been missing McCord, who will finish the regular season as the NCAA champion in passing yards.

When asked if the loss at Ohio State made Saturday more satisfying, McCord simply replied, “It’s come full circle.”

Syracuse finished the game with just 99 rushing yards against Miami and ranks 127th nationally in rushing yards. But the running game showed up when it was needed.

In the second quarter, SU trailed 21-7 but relied heavily on the running game during a 16-play drive in which they ran the ball six times, including a span in which they ran it five times in a row .

In the fourth quarter, Syracuse gained 46 yards to control the clock and keep the ball out of Ward’s hands.

SU finished the game with eight straight rushes and picked up four first downs with 3:42 remaining.

While the ground attack numbers weren’t overwhelming, they came through when they were needed to help Syracuse beat Miami.

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