Syracuse isn’t done yet.
After falling behind 28-13 in the second half at NC State, the Orange clawed all the way back and left Raleigh with a 34-31 win Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 53,948 at Carter Finley Stadium. The victory keeps Syracuse’s 2026 bowl hopes alive with two games left, and the path is simple: win one of the final two against BC or Notre Dame to get to the six victories needed for bowl eligibility.
The day started cleanly enough for Syracuse. The Orange took the opening kickoff and marched down the field behind Steve Angeli, who went 7-for-7 on the opening drive. That possession ended with Trip Woody drilling a 31-yard field goal, giving Syracuse its first lead of the game.
Then NC State took over for a stretch that looked like it might bury the Orange. The Wolfpack scored three touchdowns in the third quarter and pushed the margin to 28-13.
A big chunk of that damage came through explosive plays, including a 69-yard pass from CJ Bailey to Chance Robinson that helped set up the Pack’s third touchdown. NC State finished with 413 yards of total offense, with 275 of those coming in the second half.
But Syracuse kept hanging around, and Angeli kept feeding Calvin Russell III. The connection became the engine of the comeback as Russell kept finding space and piling up catches all over the field. He finished with 17 receptions, one shy of the school record, and Angeli finished 24-for-42 for 272 yards and two touchdowns.
The Orange also got a huge defensive spark from Tunmise Adeleye, whose 18-yard interception return for a score late in the game helped keep Syracuse within striking distance. From there, the defense tightened enough in the fourth quarter to help finish off the rally.
NC State entered the game with the same record as Syracuse, and both teams were coming off conference losses. The Wolfpack looked like the more urgent team for much of the second half, especially with the way they attacked Syracuse’s secondary. The Orange were also hurt by seven penalties, which repeatedly disrupted the flow of the game.
Still, none of that mattered once Syracuse made its final push. The comeback gave the Orange their fifth victory, and now they head into their final road game of the regular season with a chance to do something they have not done in the first two seasons under Fran Brown: beat Boston College.
Syracuse and BC meet next Saturday, November 21 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Eagles were 4-5, 2-4 and played at Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
In Other News...
Syracuse Just Locked In New York Talent With One Big Piece Unsettled
Syracuse added another in-state name to its basketball pipeline this week, officially bringing in point guard Josephine Pinnock for the womens program and three-star wing Jack Donohue for the mens side. Pinnock arrives as one of the top senior prospects in New York, while Donohue gives the Orange another Albany-area prospect to develop on the wing.
Moussa Kamissoko is the bigger headline still hanging over the class. The five-star wing from the Bronx has already verbally committed to Syracuse, giving the mens program a major local recruiting win, but he has not yet officially signed. For a team trying to keep elite New York talent home, that makes the final paperwork worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Kept Its Bowl Hopes Alive Despite A Brutal Mess Against NC State
Syracuse found a way to keep its season moving in the right direction, rallying past North Carolina State 34-31 in a game that had plenty of chaos before the Orange finally steadied themselves. Wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons came up with critical catches late, Calvin Russell tied a school record with 17 receptions, and defensive end Tunmise Adeleye delivered a defensive score with an interception return for a touchdown.
The comeback leaves Syracuse with bowl eligibility still within reach, and the math is simple from here: one more win in the final two games gets the Orange to the postseason. After the way this one unfolded, it was the kind of victory that can matter as much for belief as it does for the standings, especially for a team trying to turn a messy afternoon into momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Faces A Travel Worry With One Weekend Trip Still In Focus
Fridays nationwide flight grounding created a messy travel day across college sports, and Syracuse had at least one team already through the worst of it. The Orange football team made it to Raleigh for its game against North Carolina State, avoiding the kind of last-minute scramble that hit several other programs around the country, from Baylor to Kansas State to Oregon State.
The bigger question for Syracuse now sits with basketball, which still has a weekend trip to New York on the calendar and no confirmed travel plan yet. With flights disrupted across the sport and game times shifting elsewhere, the Orange are left waiting for clarity on whether their own trip will go as scheduled or become the next domino to fall. [Read more 🡒]