Syracuse dropped its 2022 slate last night and it’s very intriguing. The Orange open up against an ACC foe in the Loud House as Louisville comes to town. A couple weeks later, SU battles with an improving Purdue squad under Head Coach Jeff Brohm. The non-conference contest against the Boilermakers sets off a string of four consecutive homes games and five of six including a bye week.
‘Cuse proceeds to get back into the swing of conference play with clashes against Virginia which features a revenge aspect for SU’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Robert Anae and Jason Beck. Then there’s Wagner (sick dude) followed by the bye.
The first half or so of the agenda is very favorable. There’s a world in which the Orange could find themselves at 5-0. Is that likely, no probably not but all five of those teams are beatable. Now we encourage you to move your eyes to the bottom of the handy-dandy graphic we have above. Buckle up and set down your coffee cups if you’re holding one.
NC State, @ Clemson, vs Notre Dame, @ Pittsburgh. That’s an absolutely brutal stretch for Syracuse. Yes, the Wolfpack come to the 315 after an SU bye week but that’s a team that was borderline tier 1 in the ACC last year. After that, a Clemson team that is hungry to reset itself following what most consider a down year. Plus the game is down in Death Valley which makes it even more difficult.
Seven days later, Notre Dame makes the trip east. The Fighting Irish could pounce on a limping Orange team after back-to-back physical battles. The stretch ends with a road trip to Heinz Field and a date with the reigning ACC champs in Pittsburgh. Smart money says that SU goes 1-3 in that four game string, maybe even smarter money says 0-4. This doesn’t even include tough games after this stretch like Florida State and away tests versus Wake Forest and Boston College to close the season.
Much like last year, Syracuse must stack the wins early on in the year because once the calendar turns to mid-October, things are going to get spooky on the Hill. As of right now this looks like a slate in which SU weaves in and out of with a 5-7 record and that might even be pushing it. Well good luck to Dino Babers, it’s unfortunate that in a season where he needs to show some serious growth he’ll be taking AP History level exams each week with his squad.
Keep it locked here for continued Syracuse Football offseason coverage. Stay tuned for further analysis on the SU team and this schedule. Shoot me an email (johneads11@gmail.com) with your thoughts.
