The Syracuse Orange football team pulled off an upset win at home on Halloween afternoon over the SMU Mustangs, 30-27.

Our own Brady Farkas offered his takeaways from the victory as Syracuse pushes its record to 4-4 on the season. Despite entering the game as a double-digit underdog, according to multiple sportsbooks and facing a nationally ranked Mustangs team, the Orange were able to rally late and secure the victory.

The win is not just an important one for the current state of Syracuse football, it's the most important win for Fran Brown in his three years as head coach.

In his first season as the head coach of the Orange, Brown was able to lead Syracuse to double-digits victories and a Holiday Bowl win over Washington State. The double-digit win season was just the program's second since 2002.

In year two, the program could not mirror the same success. Syracuse started at 3-1 but then dropped eight straight games to finish 3-9.

This year three has offered several obstacles for Brown and his team to overcome, as Syracuse has dealt with multiple injuries at the quarterback position, special teams issues, and at times, being the most penalized team in the entire country.

Both fans and media members have questioned the future of Brown as the head coach after a photo caught him and athletic director Bryan Blair speaking after a recent loss to Louisville.

Blair discussed his relationship with Brown earlier this week.

This win not only hushes some of the criticism recently faced by Brown but also sets the program's future in a positive direction. Players like Calvin Russell III and Demetres Samuel are just some of the many freshman and sophomore standouts who are building a positive impact for this program.

The Orange have four more games left on the regular season schedule. A win in two of the last four remaining games would give Syracuse six wins and give them the record needed to qualify for a bowl game invitation.

If Brown is able to lead Syracuse to a bowl game, he would become the first head football coach to lead the Orange to two bowl games in his first three seasons since Paul Pasqualoni in the early 1990s.

Syracuse will play the second leg of back-to-back home games next Saturday, as the Orange will host the Clemson Tigers. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET inside the JMA Wireless Dome. The Tigers are in action against the Florida State Seminoles this week.

The remaining three games include matchups against North Carolina State, Boston College and Notre Dame.