There’s a new feeling around Syracuse football entering the 2024 campaign. A new coach and a strong incoming class of transfers and freshman have both experts and fans at high expectations.
But that doesn’t change the recent struggles for the Orange. SU hasn’t won a bowl since a Camping World Bowl victory in 2018. That same season was one of only two in the 21st century that Syracuse has finished the season ranked in the Top 25. To get back to prominence, Syracuse needs to start winning games with a lot of eyes watching.
As all Orange fans know, Syracuse is far from being the consistently good team it once was. But now is as good a time as ever to start changing that.
Earlier this week, Fox Sports 1 picked up Syracuse’s matchup with UNLV and slated it for a Friday night kickoff on Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.. This is now SU’s third weeknight primetime matchup for the 2024 season, along with a Friday night home contest against Stanford on Sept. 20 and a Thursday road matchup at Pitt on Oct. 24. Both of those matchups will be on ESPN.
With half of the 2024 schedule released, those three games stand as the only ones that will not be exclusive to ACC Network or ACCN+. And while those platforms will get plenty of Syracuse and East Coast viewers, the chance for SU to really get its name out there is by winning nationally broadcasted games.
Of the three opponents, UNLV is the lone one to have made it to a bowl last year. Syracuse has a good chance to compete and get wins.
To perform well on these big stages gives recruits something to look forward to, and also gives fans more to be excited about.
While a late-night win over UNLV or Stanford isn’t the one thing that is going to prove that Syracuse is “back”, it’s a small step in the right direction as Fran Brown tries to change the mojo around this Syracuse team.
