Fran Brown let his frustration spill over Thursday night, and Syracuse paid for it in more ways than one.
During the Orange’s 27-13 loss to Pittsburgh, the Syracuse head coach drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after what looked like a feint toward an official on the sideline. The referee didn’t react, but the flag still came out, adding another painful moment to a night already full of them for Syracuse.
Brown didn’t hide from it afterward. He said the blowup came after a string of calls he believed had gone against his team.
“I spoke out of tone,” Brown said after the loss. “I just stated that, ‘I feel like you’re effing cheating us.’”
He didn’t try to defend the language or the moment.
“I shouldn’t have said that. I should be able to hold my composure being the face of our football program. Can’t say words like that to a referee.”
The penalty on Brown came in a game where Syracuse was flagged 10 times, and several of those calls proved costly. The Orange entered Thursday as the most penalized team in college football, and the lack of discipline showed again.
Brown’s irritation had been building well before his own sideline outburst. Early in the game, Syracuse cornerback Demetres Samuel Jr. came up with what looked like a third-and-10 stop that would have forced Pittsburgh to punt.
Instead, an official on the near sideline called Samuel for pass interference. Brown questioned why that official made the ruling when the back judge was closer to the middle of the field.
That call moved Pitt to the Syracuse 34-yard line, and two plays later Damon Ferguson Jr. broke tackles from Samuel and Nathan Nyandoro on his way to a 32-yard touchdown run. The score pushed Pittsburgh ahead 14-0.
Syracuse also hurt itself with a series of other flags. Tight end David Clement was called for facemask on the opening drive, wiping out a 17-yard catch by Noah Meyers and knocking the Orange out of scoring position.
Linebacker Antoine Deslauriers later drew an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty, and Pittsburgh turned that possession into its first touchdown. Syracuse also took a holding penalty on a kickoff return, and Brown pointed to a holding call on guard Byron Washington along with a false start by tackle Trevion Mack on the next drive.
“There was a holding on kickoff return where the guy ran my guy over and he fell down,” Brown said.
Brown said the frustration wasn’t just about Thursday. He said it had been piling up over several games, and he also noted that the ACC told him two penalties from Syracuse’s loss to California last week were incorrect.
Still, he put the blame on himself for the sideline incident.
“But that was very immature of me to tell the ref that he was effing cheating,” Brown said.
He finished by making it clear that Syracuse has to clean things up fast.
“It has to be better,” Brown said. “Whether it’s in play, whether it isn’t. Flags can’t happen.”
The Orange now sit at 1-2, and the penalties remain a problem they can’t keep surviving.
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