Syracuse football: what’s college football saying about the Orange heading into Week 1?

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SYRACUSE, NY – OCTOBER 31: Syracuse Orange Head Coach Fran Brown shakes hands with North Carolina Tar Heels Head Coach Bill Belichick after the College Football game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Syracuse Orange on October 31, 2025, at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 2026 Syracuse Orange football season is now just days away, and the anticipation is nearly over.

Syracuse is entering year three under head coach Fran Brown, looking for a bounce-back campaign after going 3-9 in 2025. With the Orange heading into their season opener against New Hampshire on Saturday, how does the college football universe feel about the program going into Week 1?

Here is a final roundup of the preseason rankings before ‘Cuse gets its 2026 season underway.

ESPN

Syracuse enters 2026 ranked No. 76 overall on ESPN’s SP+ Rankings. That includes being No. 90 on offense and No. 65 on defense. The rankings also project the Orange to have a top-50 strength of schedule (No. 47), with an average win total of 4.3 on the season. New Hampshire is 199th

After Week 0, ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Orange at No. 70 overall and 14th among all ACC teams. Syracuse’s projected win total ranges from 4.9 to 7.1, with around a 36% chance at reaching a minimum of six wins.

CBS Sports

CBS Sports also has the Orange at No. 70 overall heading into the season, ranked between Iowa State and San Diego St.

The Athletic

Chris Vannini of The Athletic had ‘Cuse slightly lower in his rankings, putting the Orange at No. 78 in the FBS before Week 0. That’s between Colorado and Rutgers.

Here was Vannini’s brief outlook on the Orange:

“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 Vannini’s list, Syracuse only ranked ahead of Stanford and Boston College among ACC programs.

College Football News

Syracuse opened the year at No. 67 and dropped three spots after Week 0, according to the rankings from College Football News.

Of note, two future Syracuse opponents saw significant movement after the first Saturday of college football. NC State dropped 10 spots (to No. 54) after a double-digit road loss to Virginia, while North Carolina rose from No. 66 to No. 43 after pulling out a close win over TCU in Dublin.

AP and Coaches Poll

No votes in the initial AP poll. Syracuse will play three teams ranked top-25 in the preseason: Notre Dame (No. 4), SMU (No. 19), and Louisville (No. 24). It will also get another four ACC opponents who did get some consideration from voters: California, Clemson, Pittsburgh, and Virginia.

No votes in the Coaches Poll either.

ACC Week 0 Scores

North Carolina 15 TCU 10
NC State 8 vs. Virginia 34-8
Hawaii 27 vs. Stanford 37-27
New Mexico State 17 vs. Florida State 28

ACC Week 1 Schedule

Akron vs. Wake Forest (Thursday)
Colorado vs. Georgia Tech (Thursday)
Miami (FL) vs. Stanford (Friday)
New Hampshire vs. Syracuse (Saturday)
Miami (OH) vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday)
Tulane vs. Duke (Saturday)
Boston College vs. Cincinnati (Saturday)
Clemson vs. LSU (Saturday)
VMI vs. Virginia Tech (Saturday)
UCLA vs. California (Saturday)
Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Sunday)
SMU vs. Florida State (Monday)

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