What Fran Brown said ahead of Syracuse's Friday matchup against North Carolina

There might be a TRICK play to be found at some point Friday night in the Dome as the desperate Orange (3-5, 1-4) and Tar Heels (2-5,0-3) square off (7:30 p.m. ET / ESPN), but all Brown is looking forward to as his TREAT on Halloween evening is not his favorite candy, but rather ending a losing streak that is gnawing at him.

To get a return of the blissful feeling that comes with winning, and was last witnessed at Clemson on September 20, Brown will hope there is continued improvement by his players thrust into roles they may not have anticipated at the start of the season.

While at the same time, UNC is playing better football in Belichick's all-over-the-place first season running a college program, a team now hungry for its first ACC win after falling a point short against (now) 15th ranked Virginia last week.

Brown and Belichick meet for the first time as opposing head coaches

Brown customarily relays the standard "looking forward to going up against Coach ____" each week to open his remarks to the media, customizing the surname with the opponent his Orange are facing in the game.

He did so Monday afternoon with "Coach Belichick", and while the two coaches do know each other now that they've taken part in ACC head coaches meetings together, they had rarely crossed paths in the past.

"I'm thankful that I got a chance to know Coach Belichick, who (he is), get to know him," Brown said while emphasizing the honor to coach at SU against many great opposing ACC/P4 head coaches.

"I'm happy I get a chance to compete against him, right, it's a football game," Brown added. "It's a blessing I get to do this, so I am very thankful for the opportunity to compete this week and help our football team compete to get a win."

A bonding meeting with the team's underclassman set expectations for the final four regular season games

Brown on Monday divulged some of the inner workings of his coaching up his youthful squad amidst a losing streak, and virtually zero margin of error to stay in the hunt for bowl eligibility. He wants to play his talented inexperienced players now, so they're not first-timers to live action in 2026.

"We're excited about what we're going to build," Brown said. "We had a big meeting about that yesterday, with myself and just the freshmen and some of the sophomores and different guys."

"We want to finish this (season) the right way for the seniors. It's important that the seniors go out being a class that truly helped push the culture over the top, show us how to face adversity and move (forward) so that we have a chance (in time) to go win a national championship."

Brown to Angeli: "You messed my season up!" (Only kidding.)

In the five weeks plus since starting QB Angeli went down with a season-ending torn Achilles injury against Clemson, he had surgery and started the months-long recovery process. Angeli remains actively involved with his teammates, and handling academics and other program-related responsibilities.

While it is far too early to know where Angeli will be recovery-wise come spring practice, Brown knows that presently his starter is tuned into the daily, in-season process as much as can be expected.

"I talk to him everyday," began Brown's sarcastic and funny update. "I'll call him, and once in a while I'll cuss him out. I'll (say) 'You messed my season up'. I'll mess with him, nah, I tell him just keep pushing, keep talking to the guys. Steve's a good kid, he's still a leader of our football team, and it helps a lot."

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