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The Syracuse Orange football program is desperate for a win inside the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), but it's going to be hard to get one under these circumstances.

Syracuse (2-4) is traveling to North Carolina (4-2) on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET) and they'll have to play this game without quarterbacks Amari Odom and Malachi Nelson. Steve Angeli, who began the season as the starter, is listed as questionable. 

Therefore, it's possible that fourth-stringer Danny Lauter earns the start in primetime.

Let's revisit how we got here.

Angeli 

Angeli, a transfer from Notre Dame, joined the Orange program in 2025. He had Syracuse out to a 3-1 record, but he tore his Achilles at the end of that fourth game. He missed the remaining eight and Syracuse lost them all to finish 3-9.

He returned as the starter at the outset of 2026 and helped SU to a 66-3 throttling of New Hampshire in the opener, but then Syracuse lost its next two games to Cal (21-18) and Pittsburgh (27-13).

Angeli struggled in those losses, throwing five interceptions between them, and he apparently had some physical discomfort in them.

He had a PRP injection for his Achilles and hasn't played since. He might have been benched for performance reasons anyways, but the injection officially took him off the field.

Odom

After last season's quarterback debacle, head coach Fran Brown sought to create more depth at the QB position, which was a smart move.

He brought in Amari Odom, a transfer from Kennesaw State, who provides a little more dual-threat ability than Angeli.

He earned the start in a Week 5 win against the UConn Huskies, accounting for six total touchdowns and the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime. But, he injured his shoulder and hasn't played since. Brown indicated something might be torn.

Nelson

Another attempt to add depth from the transfer portal, Nelson came in after a year at UTEP. The former No. 1 recruit in the nation, Nelson had also played at USC and Boise State. After Odom was injured, he's started the last two games, close losses against Virginia and Louisville.

Nelson has helped engineer excellent first halves and has staked Syracuse to nice leads, but the offense has stagnated in the second half.

He appeared to injure his leg at the end of the loss to Louisville on Saturday night.

Syracuse has lost 11 consecutive ACC games dating back to last season.

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