For some, it’s just another game in the JMA Wireless Dome. But for the seniors, like Justin Barron, Marlowe Wax and Kyle McCord, Saturday's game against Miami will be the last time they'll ever take the field in the Dome in a Syracuse jersey.

“It's going to be a little surreal moment," Barron said. "But, you know, the game's a game and that's the priority and that's what we've got to focus on. And, you know, that's kind of the reasoning behind why we're pushing so hard. That's a lot of our last times playing in there.”

A year ago around this time, Barron was one of many stuck with a tough decision after Syracuse fired Dino Babers — transfer out of the program or put their faith in Fran Brown.

Barron decided to stay at Syracuse and is now reaping the rewards of that choice.

“For me, it's just the most amount of wins we've had here since I've been here for five years," Barron said. "So it feels good that being in that senior class, we've been able to do that and come back and really get that for us. But there is an opportunity to get even more. It's the right decision for us and you can see it paying off and we continue to push. You know, I do hope it pays off more.”

The success on the field is what fans will remember the most at the end of the day. But for the players, it was getting what they consider a lifelong coach in Brown.

“None of my players will ever graduate and then in August not have a job or be on a team," Brown said. "If they do, then I'm not a real coach, you know? I didn't finish my job to make sure that they were successful because I've been there and my wife's been there with me.

"It's tough when it's taken away. So I think that if we can compensate that with your degree, a job, a meaningful job that you went to school for, and you can make real money. You don't have to go back home. You feel like, 'OK, I'm ready for the world because of the work we do, we're going to dominate when it's time to get in the world.' It's just about the mindset.”

“What he's done in year one is just kind of shown the world showing the country who he is," McCord said of Brown. "And I think that people see that in our play. Like even when we're down the second half or not out of it, we still fight. And, you know, some of those games came back and won it. So I think, you know, that just kind of exemplifies who he is as a person and a coach.”

There is still work to do for Brown as he builds the Orange program, but there is now a standard the seniors say they are proud to have helped set.

“We're the first class that really is with him and we set the standard for what the program has to be," Barron said. "And you know what the bare minimum is, I guess you could say, right? So it's exciting that we've been able to do that and set the bar high and we hope it continues to raise and year in, year out.”