SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — With a 10-3 finish and the strong-armed, steadying veteran presence of Kyle McCord at quarterback, first-time head coach Fran Brown spent last season restoring pride in a Syracuse program struggling to find its footing more than a decade since joining the ACC.

Now comes the hard part.

For an encore, Brown hopes to build on the foundation with a drastically changed roster and the Orange running a gantlet of a schedule. Syracuse opens against No. 24 Tennessee at Atlanta on Aug. 30, and faces four more currently ranked opponents, plus three teams also receiving votes over its 12-game slate.

“I mean, they’re the experts, right?” Brown said, when reminded of the Orange being picked to finish 12th in the ACC preseason poll. “That’s where they picked us. Just going to w

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