School is out, and the Class of 2024 has graduated. Yes, lacrosse is ongoing in the NCAA Tournament, but aside from that, most eyes are shifting towards the upcoming Syracuse football season.
With significant turnover mixed with a lot of hype, this season could be one of the most exciting or disappointing depending on how the dominoes fall.
SU’s schedule is extremely favorable:
- Saturday, August 31 – vs. Ohio
- Saturday, September 7 – vs. Georgia Tech
- Friday, September 20 – vs. Stanford
- Saturday, September 28 – vs. Holy Cross
- Saturday, October 5 – @ UNLV
- Saturday, October 12 – @ NC State
- Thursday, October 24 – @ Pitt
- Saturday, November 2 – vs. Virginia Tech
- Saturday, November 9 – @ Boston College
- Saturday, November 16 – @ Cal
- Saturday, November 23 – vs. UConn
- Saturday, November 30 – vs. Miami
The fascinating part of the schedule is how the non-conference slates are mixed in with conference games throughout the season. For example, Syracuse gets tested in Week 2 against Georgia Tech but doesn’t play UConn until the second-to-last game of the year.
SU doesn’t face the brutal opponents Florida State, Notre Dame, and Clemson this season, which is why this could be the year that Syracuse could find itself towards the top of the ACC if they can win the games they should win.
Another riveting factor is the two trips out west for SU. The Orange travel to Las Vegas to face UNLV and then venture back out a few weeks later to play in Northern California against Cal.
The ACC signed up for this, so it should be enthralling to see how the travel plays out with the new additions to the conference.
First-year head coach Fran Brown and Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord have to take advantage of a weaker schedule. If there’s a year for SU to make some noise, it’s 2024.
