Aug 205 min read

Predicting the Outcomes of Syracuse Games in 2024

Syracuse Orange — © Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse has entered the Fran Brown era in upstate New York. The former assistant coach at Georgia and Rutgers is lauded as a recruiter and was hoping to inject the Orangemen with a dose of excitement and talent.

The Orangemen program grew stale under Dino Babers, who was fired late in the 2023 season. Syracuse still managed to reach a bowl game, before finishing 6-7.

Brown did what every other college football coach does these days: reach into the Transfer Portal and grabbed arguably one of the biggest portal prizes in former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord. All McCord did was win 11 games for the Buckeyes last year, but a few bad reads in a loss to Michigan, and that was it for him in Buckeye Land.

The ACC is bigger now, and just one division for football in 2024. Syracuse got a break in the scheduling, not having to play either Clemson or Florida State.

Let’s break down the 'Cuse schedule and see if the Orangemen will be in the black in 2024.

Week 1: Ohio Bobcats

The Bobcats and Orangemen last played in 2021. Syracuse is 3-0 all-time against legendary football writer Peter King’s alma mater.

Brown could have picked an easier cupcake to start his Syracuse career against. Ohio went 10-3 last year and won their bowl game. Parker Navarro is slated to be the Bobcats starter, but they lost a lot to the Portal.

This is Brown’s shot at a good first impression. Syracuse won’t let him down. They will win it.

Record: 1-0

Week 2: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Babers was fired after a disappointing 31-22 loss to the Yellow Jackets in 2023. If there’s one person who maybe single-handily ended the Babers era, it was Georgia Tech QB Haynes King. He had more than 200 yards of total offense against Syracuse and accounted for 3 TDs. Can Syracuse stop him this year? The answer is probably not, so then it becomes, can they outscore him? Also probably not.

Record: 1-1

Week 3: Stanford Cardinal

These two campuses are separated by a mere 2,827 miles. That’s about as far as you can possibly get. But hey—conference realignment is good for everyone.

The Cardinal haven’t been good in years. They were 3-9 last year for coach Troy Taylor. Ashton Daniels is the quarterback with the most experience, but freshman Elijah Brown is a five-star phenom. Syracuse is better than Stanford.

Record: 2-1

Week 4: Holy Cross Crusaders

Holy Cross is used to messing up ACC teams. They had Boston College on the ropes last year before losing late. New coach Dan Curran comes in after 11 years at Merrimack.

This is no ordinary cupcake. Holy Cross has won at least a share of the Patriot League for the last five years. Syracuse should win, but this has Trap Game written all over it.

Record: 3-1

Week 5: at UNLV Rebels

Expect a big group of Syracuse fans to make this trip to Las Vegas. UNLV lost in the Mountain West Conference championship game last year, QB Jayden Maiava went to USC, so Rebels coach Barry Odom (yes, the former Wisconsin coach) brought in grad transfer Matt Sluka from Holy Cross. Didn’t Syracuse just play Holy Cross? Sluka had 91 touchdowns with Holy Cross.

This is the first meeting between Syracuse and UNLV.

Record: 4-1

Week 6: at North Carolina State Wolfpack

The Wolfpack are ranked No. 24 in the preseason Associated Press (AP) poll. They brought in Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall as a grad transfer. McCall threw for 10,005 yards with the Chanticleers and was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2022. This might be the toughest game on the Syracuse schedule on the road.

Record: 4-2

Week 8: at Pitt Panthers

These mid-season Thursday night games are always unpredictable. If Pitt is still in contention, it might be a big crowd supporting the Panthers. If they’re 2-6, the place could be empty.

Syracuse beat Pitt last year at Yankee Stadium. It was Baber’s last win. Pitt is counting on Nate Yarnell as starting quarterback, but Alabama back-up QB Eli Holstein is waiting in the wings.

It’s bad when they’re already saying your coach is on the hot seat, like Pat Narduzzi is. Pitt is the pits right now.

Record: 5-2

Week 9: Virginia Tech Hokies

The Hokies just received 77 votes in the preseason AP poll, so just on the outside looking in. They finished 7-6 last year, and are looking for Kyron Drones to take over at QB. Surprise, surprise, he’s a transfer. He played at Baylor last year. The defense is anchored by Sam Brumfield, a transfer linebacker from Middle Tennessee State.

Record: 5-3

Week 10: at Boston College Eagles

Babers was fired after the loss to Georgia Tech, but the Boston College game was probably the final straw. Syracuse had a bad, boring offense and threw a late interception at the end to lose to a team it had every chance to beat. Boston College went on to go 7-6 and win the Fenway Bowl over SMU.

Eagles quarterback Thomas Castellanos started in 12 games. He was the first player in program history to throw more than 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.

Record: 5-4

Week 11: at Cal Golden Bears

No worries, Cal to Syracuse is only 2,673 miles away. These two schools have played twice in history, the last time in 1968. Cal went 6-7 last year and lost to Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl.

The Bears have one of the best returning running backs in the country in Jadyn Ott. He ran for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns. Bears QB Fernando Mendoza was third string last year, but then became the starter. The Bears also brought in transfer Chandler Rogers from North Texas to fight for the job. He threw 29 TDs last year.

Record: 6-4

Week 12: UConn Huskies

UConn had one of the worst losses of the 2023 season, blowing a 17-point lead to Utah State (not a powerhouse). Then the Huskies came back to score with 40 seconds left to tie it, and then Utah State blocked the game-tying PAT.

The Huskies offense ranked 121st in the nation last year, scoring just 19 points a game. New QB Nick Evers comes from Oklahoma and then Wisconsin.

Record: 7-4

Week 13: Miami Hurricanes

It’s the last game of the regular season for Syracuse. The Orangemen haven’t beaten Miami since 1998. Hardcore 'Cuse fans remember that one. It was 66-13 Syracuse. Quarterback Donovan McNabb had 5 touchdowns. Miami is No. 19 in the preseason AP Poll and went 7-6 last year. They did have that horrible loss last year against Georgia Tech when all they needed to do was take a knee. "The U" brought in Cam Ward to play quarterback. He had 48 touchdowns his last two years at Washington State.

Record: 7-5

Syracuse Overview

A bowl game and a winning record would be a good start for Brown at Syracuse. Expect them to get off to a good start, but struggle against some of the better teams in the new ACC. The bulk of the ACC teams figure to swing around 7-5 and 5-7. Syracuse is in that same boat. It’s up to Brown to continue to lure talent to Syracuse.