Syracuse is almost to kickoff, and the national view of the Orange is pretty clear: there’s curiosity, but not much preseason respect.
Fran Brown enters year three in charge with Syracuse trying to turn the page after a 3-9 finish in 2025. The opener against New Hampshire arrives Saturday, and the numbers from across college football paint a team that still has plenty to prove before anyone is ready to buy in.
ESPN’s SP+ Rankings slot Syracuse at No. 76 overall heading into 2026. The Orange come in at No. 90 on offense and No. 65 on defense, while the schedule is expected to be no joke at No. 47 nationally. ESPN’s model gives Syracuse an average win total of 4.3, and New Hampshire checks in at 199th.
After Week 0, ESPN’s Football Power Index has Syracuse at No. 70 overall and 14th among ACC teams. The projection ranges from 4.9 to 7.1 wins, with the Orange sitting at about a 36% chance to reach at least six victories.
The Athletic was not much more bullish. Chris Vannini placed Syracuse No. 78 in the FBS before Week 0, between Colorado and Rutgers.
“A healthy Steve Angeli should help, but new running backs and receivers and a rebuilt offense make for a lot of non-QB questions,” Vannini wrote.
Among ACC teams in Vannini’s rankings, Syracuse was ahead of only Stanford and Boston College.
College Football News had Syracuse opening at No. 67, then sliding three spots after Week 0. The movement around the league also mattered for the Orange’s future schedule. NC State dropped 10 spots to No. 54 after a double-digit road loss to Virginia, while North Carolina jumped from No. 66 to No. 43 after edging TCU in Dublin.
The polls didn’t offer Syracuse any help. The Orange received no votes in the initial AP poll and no votes in the Coaches Poll.
They do, however, face a slate that includes three preseason top-25 teams: Notre Dame at No. 4, SMU at No. 19 and Louisville at No.
- Syracuse also has four ACC opponents that drew at least some preseason consideration from voters in California, Clemson, Pittsburgh and Virginia.
Week 0 around the ACC delivered a few early results that will ripple into the rest of the season. North Carolina beat TCU 15-10.
Virginia rolled past NC State 34-8. Stanford fell to Hawaii 37-27.
New Mexico State topped Florida State 28-17.
Week 1 brings another full ACC lineup, with Syracuse’s season opener sitting right in the middle of it. Akron visits Wake Forest on Thursday, Colorado plays Georgia Tech on Thursday, Miami (FL) visits Stanford on Friday, and New Hampshire comes to Syracuse on Saturday.
Also on Saturday: Miami (OH) at Pittsburgh, Tulane at Duke, Boston College at Cincinnati, Clemson at LSU, VMI at Virginia Tech and UCLA at California. Louisville travels to Ole Miss on Sunday, and SMU plays Florida State on Monday.
In Other News...
Syracuse Lost A Champion Whose Legacy Reaches Far Beyond Football
Gerhard H. Schwedes, the Syracuse University football standout who helped steer the program to its only national championship, died Aug. 23 at his home in Fayetteville, New York. A 1959 captain and All-American, Schwedes was central to an undefeated Orange season that ended with a Cotton Bowl victory, a standard the program still measures itself against all these years later.
Schwedes impact went well beyond that title run. He went on to play professionally in the AFL, later served in the U.S. Army and was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, a reminder that his legacy was built on more than one celebrated fall in Orange. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuses First Depth Chart Just Raised Real Opener Questions
Syracuses first depth chart for the season opener against New Hampshire did more than map out the early pecking order. It also offered an immediate reminder that Week 1 can be as much about availability as it is about evaluation, with running back JuJuan Johnson likely to be held out even though he has been cleared to play. Ahmad Miller is expected to suit up, but the injury situation around him leaves the Orange with some uncertainty behind the line of scrimmage.
Tylik Hill or Matthew Ouetten now looks positioned to get the start at running back, while several other names, including Tyshawn Russell and Justus Ross-Simmons, were left off the chart because of injury or playing status. On the other side of the ball, Syracuse appears set to open in a 4-2-5 look with a few new starters in the mix, which makes the first game a useful early test not just of depth, but of how quickly the Orange can settle into the roles it wants before the competition gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown Hinted At Two Syracuse Questions Still Hanging Over Week 1
Fran Brown met with the media ahead of Syracuses season opener against New Hampshire and spent much of the session reinforcing the same themes that have defined his early tenure: culture, role definition and a roster that looks more settled than it did a year ago. He praised the staffs work in building the team and pointed to sophomore defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. as one of the players making real progress as camp turns into game week.
The bigger immediate questions are on the depth chart. Transfer running back JuJuan Johnson is expected to sit out the opener as a precaution, and the backup quarterback spot remains unsettled with Amari Odom and Malachi Nelson still competing for the job. Browns comments suggested the Orange are close to final answers, but not quite there yet, which leaves a few important details unresolved as Syracuse gets ready for Week 1. [Read more 🡒]