Syracuse’s schedule for 2025 is here, and the Orange were rewarded for one of their best seasons in recent memory with one of the hardest schedules in program history.
Head coach Fran Brown and his team will have their work cut out for them, especially after losing players like quarterback Kyle McCord and tight end Oronde Gadsen to the NFL draft. ACC TV analyst Eric Mac Lain even described Syracuse’s schedule as “the hardest schedule in the country.”
“This is loaded. This is the hardest schedule in the country. I’m not trying to give fuel to the fire. I’m not trying to give bulletin board material but if you win six games, that’s a good thing. That’s a positive. With this schedule, the brutality of it, where the games are played. It’s terrible,” Mac Lain said.
For starters, the Orange will play four teams from last year’s 12-team College Football Playoff. That includes a daunting Week 13 matchup with Notre Dame, who lost the national championship game to McCord’s former team, Ohio State. Compared to other teams, only Mississippi State will play as many teams from the CFP.
Other notable games include a Halloween matchup with North Carolina, who hired eight-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick this offseason. While last year was disappointing for the Tar Heels, rapid improvement is expected under Belichick, which means it won’t be an easy game for the Orange.
Syracuse will also play Miami in Week 12 on the road after it ruined any hopes of a CFP berth for the Hurricanes when it beat Miami in the regular season finale last year. The Hurricanes will not only be looking to protect their home turf but will want revenge with new transfer quarterback Carson Beck.
As if Syracuse’s schedule wasn’t already difficult enough, its first game is at a neutral site in Atlanta against Tenessee, one of the four CFP teams the Orange will have to play. That means Syracuse will have one less home game next year, and shortened weeks to prepare for its Friday games against UNC and Colgate. With less time between games, players also get less time to rest.
It would be silly to count out Brown’s team after everything he accomplished in his first season with the team, but the path back to this year’s success won’t be easy, and the margin for error with Syracuse’s brutal schedule is razor-thin.
