SMU’s first trip to the Dome puts Syracuse one step closer to checking off the ACC’s newest arrivals, but it also shines a light on the bigger question hanging over future schedules: which major programs still need to come to central New York?
The Orange and Mustangs meet Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p,m, ET on ESPN2, a rematch after Syracuse went to Dallas last season and got beaten 31-18. With this game, Syracuse nearly finishes the home-and-home run against the ACC’s three 2024 expansion teams - Cal, SMU and Stanford - and the ‘Cuse is set to play its first football game in Palo Alto next season.
That means Syracuse will have hosted at least one game from each of the other 16 ACC football schools. The next wish list turns to non-conference showdowns, especially with the ACC’s scheduling setup requiring one of three non-league games each season to come against another Power Four opponent.
That formula already gives Syracuse some marquee dates. In 2027, SU visits Penn State, then hosts the Nittany Lions in 2028.
Then in 2029, Syracuse opens a stretch of three games against Notre Dame over eight years, with one home game and two away games running through 2037. That sequence covers the Power Four requirement in three of those seasons, and in 2030 Syracuse will play only eight ACC games because of the league’s rotating schedule.
Look deeper at college football’s all-time winningest programs, and the Dome list gets surprisingly complete. According to NCAA.com, when the CFP expansion conversation began picking up in the summer of 2025, every one of those programs except Yale had already played Syracuse at least once in the Dome era, which began in 1980.
Push that list to the top 20, while excluding Ivy League schools Harvard, Penn and Princeton along with Mt. Union and North Dakota State, and only Georgia and Southern Cal remain absent from Syracuse’s Dome ledger. USC did play “at home” against Syracuse in 2012 at the New Jersey Meadowlands.
So the ask is pretty simple. If Syracuse is going to keep building a heavyweight non-conference slate, these are the kinds of home-and-home series worth chasing:
Alabama sits at the top of that wish list. The Crimson Tide - the only college football nickname called out in the 1978 Steely Dan song “Deacon Blues” - have only met Syracuse twice, with the Orange winning 23-0 in 1923 at Archbold Stadium and Alabama taking the 1953 Orange Bowl 61-6. Boston College already lined up a home-and-home with Alabama for 2031 and 2034, and that’s enough to make anyone around Syracuse a little jealous.
Georgia is another natural fit, especially with Fran Brown and Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart connected through Brown’s coaching tree. Syracuse has only seen Georgia once, in the 1989 Peach Bowl in Atlanta, where the Orange pulled out a 19-18 win during a stretch when Georgia was in a drought and Syracuse was rolling. A return trip to Athens would give Orange fans a road game worth circling.
USC rounds out the short list, and this time the Trojans should be headed to central New York rather than North Jersey. Syracuse is 0-4 all-time against USC, with meetings at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1924 and 2013. If USC can travel to Jersey or State College for a current Big Ten game, then the Trojans can make the trip to the ‘Cuse, too.
In Other News...
Syracuse Heads Into Ranked SMU Test With Growing Injury Concern
Syracuse is heading into a tough road test against No. 19 SMU with its injury report starting to loom larger than usual. The Orange already know they will be without starting defensive back Jai Eugene Jr., a hit to a secondary that will be under pressure against a ranked opponent. Beyond that, the status of quarterback Steve Angeli and center Kahlil Stewart adds another layer of uncertainty to a game that already carries plenty of weight.
Matthew Hawn is doubtful as the backup center, which leaves Syracuse with even more to sort through up front before kickoff. SMU has its own question mark, with kicker Nick Reed listed as questionable, but the bigger concern for the Orange is how much their own availability issues could shape the way this matchup unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Angelis Return Leaves Syracuse With One Big Quarterback Question
Steve Angelis return gave Syracuse a lift at a time when the offense badly needed some stability. The quarterback had missed two weeks while dealing with retrocalcaneal bursitis near his surgically repaired Achilles tendon, a frustrating detour after he had received PRP and cortisone injections and spent time in a protective boot. When he got back on the field for Syracuses overtime win, Angeli said he felt like his old self, and Fran Brown made it clear the Orange had been leaning on him as their best option even while he was sidelined.
What lingers now is what happens next, because Angelis status had already become one of the seasons bigger storylines after an earlier benching put his role under the microscope. Brown has been outspoken about Angelis maturity and team-first approach, and the quarterbacks response since then has helped settle things in the short term. Still, Syracuse is left to sort out how much of its passing game can be built around a player who has already had to fight through both a health issue and a depth-chart test. [Read more 🡒]
Former Syracuse Transfers Are Taking Very Different Paths This Season
A year after leaving Syracuse, a handful of Orange transfers have landed in very different spots this fall, with some already carving out roles and others still waiting to make an impact. The group spans everything from players seeing the field in meaningful game action to others who are buried on depth charts, recovering from injuries or simply still awaiting their first chance with their new programs.
Ross has been one of the more visible names in the update, while Luke Carney and Derek McDonald are among the other former Orange players whose seasons have followed separate tracks since departing Central New York. For Syracuse fans, the tracker is a reminder of how much transfer movement can reshape a roster in a hurry, and how quickly the same exits can produce wildly different results depending on fit, health and opportunity. [Read more 🡒]