Looking at future college football schedules is always fun. While most games are pre-determined by the ACC, Syracuse has freedom to schedule pretty much whoever it wants to in the other four weeks of the season.
Earlier this week, Syracuse football announced its home-and-home series with Ohio University, starting with a 2021 matchup in Athens.
FUTURE SCHEDULE ALERT üö®
Our home-and-home series with @OhioFootball is now official. The 2021 game will be the first time in 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ years that we'll play the Bobcats!
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— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) February 4, 2019
The teams will then follow up with a showdown in the Carrier Dome in 2024. Even though it’s been 100 years, the Orange have historically dominated the Bobcats. In fact, Syracuse has outscored Ohio 111-0 all time.
OU plays in the Mid-American conference, the same league that Dino Babers coached in with Bowling Green before accepting the Syracuse job in 2016.
Scheduling non-conference games can be tough. The goal is to win the games, but the goal is to also get ready for conference play. Here’s what the Orange have lined up in the early months of the next few season.
2020 Opponents
@ Rutgers
Vs. Liberty
2021 Opponents
@ Ohio
Vs. Rutgers
Vs. Liberty
Vs. Albany
2022 Opponents
Vs. Purdue
Vs. Notre Dame
Those are some pretty good looking non-conference slates. There aren’t many flashy opponents, but there are some teams that could be competitive in the next year or so. Syracuse will be seeing a lot of Liberty football, which should be a good thing from a winning perspective.
When does the program take the next step and schedule marquee matchups in the first few weeks of the season? We’ll probably have to wait until they prove they can win consistently and are here to stay.
