Syracuse heads to Raleigh on Saturday with the same simple math hanging over its season: win two of the last three, and bowl eligibility is back on the table. The Orange, sitting at 4-5, face North Carolina State at noon ET after last week’s 18-13 loss to Clemson.
The quarterback situation is settled for now. Steve Angeli will start again for Syracuse, and he is not listed on this week’s injury report.
The Orange will, however, be without running back Shavane Anderson Jr., who has slipped down the depth chart but still flashed earlier this season. Anderson was the ACC Freshman of the Week in Week 1.
NC State enters the game with plenty of its own questions, and a major headline off the field. On Thursday, the Wolfpack announced that former quarterback Phillip Rivers will become the program’s next head coach.
Rivers, who starred at NC State before moving on to a long NFL career with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, has been coaching high school football in Alabama. He also previously interviewed with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching job before the 2026 season.
He will not coach on Saturday, but the announcement adds another layer to a team already trying to sort out what the rest of the season looks like.
The Wolfpack’s injury list is a big one, with 20 players included on Wednesday. That kind of attrition could matter against a Syracuse team trying to take advantage of whatever openings are there.
This matchup also comes with recent history that has favored the Orange. Syracuse has won the last two meetings, beating NC State 24-17 in 2024 and 24-9 in 2022.
Both wins helped set up bowl trips for Syracuse, with the 2024 victory leading to a Holiday Bowl berth and the 2022 result helping the Orange finish 7-5 before a Pinstripe Bowl loss to Minnesota. Even so, NC State still leads the all-time series 13-4, with the rivalry dating back to 1972.
The Wolfpack’s season has not matched preseason expectations. NC State was viewed as a possible ACC contender before the year, but it has stumbled to a 4-5 record and a 1-4 mark in conference play.
Last time out, Duke hammered the Wolfpack 41-3. Like Syracuse, NC State is also trying to win two of its final three games to become bowl eligible.
After Saturday’s trip to NC State, Syracuse will return to action the following Saturday at noon against Boston College. The Orange finish the regular season at home against Notre Dame on Nov. 28, though that game does not yet have a start time.
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The bigger issue for Syracuse is the math attached to the final stretch. Both teams still need wins down the stretch to stay on track for a postseason bowl, and the Orange are already dealing with several players listed out before they even get to Raleigh. In a game like this, the margin for error is thin, and Syracuse has to find a way to handle a changing opponent while protecting its own depth. [Read more 🡒]
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For Syracuse, the opportunity is bigger than just another conference game on the schedule. If the Orange handle the moment and play to the level those picks suggest, it would give this meeting a cleaner, more favorable edge than the kind of grind that has often defined games like this one. The spread conversation already tilts that way, but the real test is whether Syracuse can make the afternoon look as straightforward as the outside projections think it should be. [Read more 🡒]