Syracuse football faces a daunting schedule in 2025

Make no mistake about it. Syracuse faces one of the most challenging schedules in college football this season.

Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown answers questions from the media during ACC Media days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Syracuse's season will begin in two days with a Saturday matchup against Tennessee. It is one of six games away from the JMA Wireless Dome with the other six to be played in its friendly confines.

Aside from Tennessee, the six games at unfriendly locations are against two non-conference opponents who are ranked in the preseason polls (Tennessee, Notre Dame) and the ACC teams predicted to finish in the top four slots in the conference standings at ACC Media Day (Clemson, Miami, SMU, Georgia Tech).

Full schedule analysis

Even the six home contests do not offer much respite.  The Athletic had Syracuse ranked #53 in the nation prior to the start of the season.  Of the other five FBS opponents on the slate, only UConn and Boston College (#56) were listed behind the Orange and the Eagles were also behind the Orange in ACC Media Day voting.  North Carolina was slightly ahead of SU at #50, but both Pitt and Duke were in the top 40.

If that is not enough for you, Phil Steele ranks the Syracuse schedule as the fifth-hardest in the nation with only Wisconsin and three SEC teams in front of them.  Just as a comparison, Steele had last year’s Orange sked ranked 60th in the country.  Bill Connelly of ESPN thinks the schedule is a little easier, ranking it #14 overall.

Having bye weeks after their sixth and tenth games is not great because it leaves the Orange playing the first six weeks of the season.  The positive spin is that the first break comes after traveling to two ranked conference opponents in a three-week span and the second bye gives the team an extra week to recover from playing Miami before going back on the road to face Notre Dame.

There is no way to polish this schedule.  It is very difficult and will make its presence known in the negative way in SU’s record.

Syracuse's full season schedule (home games in CAPS)

• Sat, Aug 30 – vs Tennessee (in Atlanta GA)

• Sat, Sep 6 – CONNECTICUT

• Fri, Sep 12 – COLGATE

• Sat, Sep 20 – at Clemson

• Sat, Sep 27 – DUKE

• Sat, Oct 4 – at SMU

• Sat, Oct 18 – PITTSBURGH

• Sat, Oct 25 – at Georgia Tech

• Fri, Oct 31 – NORTH CAROLINA

• Sat, Nov 8 – at Miami

• Sat, Nov 22 – at Notre Dame

• Sat, Nov 29 – BOSTON COLLEGE

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