Syracuse’s October surge has been built on a little bit of everything: quarterback chaos, timely throws, late-game nerve and a defense that has quietly started to stiffen up. The Orange are suddenly rolling for the first time since September 2025, and after knocking off a ranked opponent for the first time since November 2024, they’ve given themselves a real shot at bowl eligibility with four games left.
At 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the ACC, Syracuse needs two more wins to get there. The path is there, too, with NC State and Boston College still on the schedule and both sitting below .500 in conference play. But the biggest reason the Orange are even in this position is that the middle of the season finally started to come together.
The quarterback situation looked settled, then unraveled, then settled again.
Four games into 2026, Amari Odom seemed to have grabbed the job for good after throwing six touchdowns against UConn on Oct. 3 in his first start. Then the next two weeks turned into a mess. Odom was unexpectedly listed as a game-time decision for the Oct. 10 matchup with Virginia, and it later came out that he had a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery.
Malachi Nelson stepped in and put up more than 500 passing yards and three touchdowns across the Virginia and Louisville games on Oct. 17. But he also got banged up in both outings and eventually had right ankle surgery that will sideline him for several weeks.
That sent Syracuse back to Steve Angeli, and the move has steadied the offense. Angeli has started the last two wins, over North Carolina and SMU, and while he hasn’t been flashy, he has given the Orange something they badly needed: stability.
Over those two starts, he has thrown for 456 yards, accounted for four touchdowns and hasn’t thrown an interception. That’s a sharp contrast to his five interceptions in his previous two ACC starts against Cal and Pitt.
The biggest shift, though, has shown up when the game is on the line.
Syracuse came up short late against Virginia and Louisville, letting second-half leads slip away in losses by three and eight points. Against UNC and SMU, the Orange flipped that script. They found answers in the final minutes and executed the drives that decided both games.
Against the Tar Heels, Syracuse went 75 yards in 11 plays with seven minutes left to tie it at 23. The extra point missed left, but the Orange still finished the job in overtime. Angeli hit Calvin Russell III for a four-yard touchdown on fourth down, then connected with him again on the two-point conversion that won the game.
The SMU game followed a different path, but ended the same way. Syracuse built a 20-point first-half lead, then watched it shrink after managing only 27 total yards in the third quarter.
Even so, the offense recovered. The Orange moved 67 yards in 10 plays for a Tripp Woody field goal, then came right back with a 68-yard, 11-play drive that ended with Noah Meyers catching the game-winning two-yard touchdown from Angeli.
Russell has been a big part of that turnaround.
With Umari Hatcher already established as one of the nation’s top targets, Syracuse needed another receiver to step forward. Russell has done exactly that.
He made his college debut against UConn and had just two catches. He was held without a catch against Virginia.
Since then, he’s become much more than a complementary piece.
He posted 53 receiving yards and a touchdown against Louisville, then delivered his best game yet against North Carolina with career highs of eight catches and 86 yards. He also hauled in the game-winning touchdown and the two-point conversion.
Against SMU, he finished with three catches for 41 yards, but there was more there than the stat line showed. A 62-yard reception was wiped out by a questionable holding call in the third quarter, and he also came up just short of a touchdown when he narrowly stepped out of bounds in the second quarter.
Asked what Russell brings to the offense Saturday, Angeli kept it simple: “Absolute cinema.”
The defense has had its own uneven stretch, but there are signs of real progress. The scoreboard hasn’t always reflected it, yet Syracuse has improved over the last three weeks, according to Pro Football Focus. Over the past four games, the Orange have allowed 29.75 points per game, but they’ve also produced 12 sacks and forced four turnovers.
Their best defensive grades since the opener against New Hampshire came in the SMU and UNC games, with marks of 74.5 and 72.1, respectively.
The run defense has been the clearest bright spot. Syracuse held North Carolina to 101 rushing yards and limited then-No.
19 SMU to 69, which was SMU’s second-lowest total of the season. That’s a notable jump from the UConn and Virginia games, when the Orange gave up 181 and 169 rushing yards.
The pass defense still has work to do. SMU threw for a season-high 352 yards against Syracuse, and the Orange’s 58.9 coverage grade against Louisville was their worst showing since Week 2 against Cal.
After the SMU game, Brown was the first to say his defensive backs haven’t met his standard. Still, he pointed out that they made plays when they needed to. And that’s been the theme of Syracuse’s October run: not perfect, not pretty every week, but good enough in the moments that mattered.
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Clemsons Injury Trouble Could Change Everything For Syracuse Saturday
Syracuses matchup with Clemson took on a different look after Dabo Swinney said several Tigers starters were injured in the loss to Florida State and are expected to miss Saturdays game in the Dome. Among the players sidelined are running back Gideon Davidson, left guard Elyjah Thurmon, center Harris Sewell and linebacker Kobe McCloud, a cluster of absences that hits both the offensive line and the defensive front of one of the ACCs most physical teams.
For Syracuse, the timing matters. Clemson is already turning to backup players to fill those spots, and the Orange now get a chance to test a reshuffled opponent in a game that could carry real weight in the conference race. The injuries do not guarantee anything, but they do change the margin for error and add another layer of intrigue to a matchup that had already been important. [Read more 🡒]
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Weaver also spent time with Syracuse coaches, talking through his own high school season and the style of play he brings to the position. He had plenty to notice from Steve Angelis performance as well, and the visit appears to have given Syracuse an early foothold with a quarterback fans will want to keep an eye on as his recruitment develops. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Bowl Hopes Are Back With One Big December Question
Syracuse has put itself back in the bowl conversation, but the margin for error is still thin. With four games left, the Orange need two more wins to reach bowl eligibility, and that has kept the seasons late stretch meaningful even as different outlets have started mapping out possible December destinations.
The projections have been all over the place, with some sending Syracuse to the San Juan Bowl against Marshall or Georgia Southern, others linking the Orange to the Gasparilla Bowl against Minnesota or the Birmingham Bowl against Auburn. Still, there is no consensus, and some analysts are not projecting a bowl trip at all, which leaves the final month with plenty riding on how Syracuse closes. [Read more 🡒]