Syracuse football will have seven contests inside the Carrier Dome during its 2021 calendar, the most since 2017, although the Orange will face a challenging slate on the Hill.
Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, it’s obviously too early to tell whether fans will get to watch ‘Cuse football games in-person this coming fall, although a press release from the school’s athletics department did say, “Fans should be on the lookout for season ticket information in the coming weeks.”
After a different kind of season in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Atlantic Coast Conference said that it plans to return to two divisions, the Atlantic and the Coastal, in 2021. Syracuse football and its league peers will each suit up for eight ACC clashes and four non-conference games in the typical 12-meeting line-up.
Notre Dame, which competed as a full ACC football member a stanza ago, reverts back to its normal independent status. The Fighting Irish, a squad that played in the College Football Playoff earlier this month, is thankfully not on the Orange’s 2021 schedule.
The Syracuse football schedule for next season is no walk in the park.
The ‘Cuse will commence its 2021 campaign at Ohio, the Orange’s fourth-straight year that it begins a season on the road. The three other non-conference foes for Syracuse football – Rutgers, Albany and Liberty – are all home affairs.
The Orange also has two Friday night match-ups on its docket, against both Liberty and Clemson, with the Tigers having made the CFP earlier in January and captured the last six ACC championships.
In total, per the media statement on cuse.com, the Syracuse football home slate “features teams with a combined .620 winning percentage from a year ago.”
That’s certainly going to prove a challenge, and if fans aren’t permitted to attend, then there’s not much of a home-field advantage for the Orange in these seven battles occurring in Central New York.
Syracuse football is coming off a dismal 1-10 term in 2020, a season in which the ‘Cuse dealt with a flood of injuries as well as some player opt-outs.
The roster is seeing some shake-ups, with guys staying on an extra campaign, transferring in, entering the transfer portal to potentially depart, or declaring for the NFL Draft. The 2021 recruiting class is not spectacular, but it’s definitely solid.
In the coaching department, there’s a new wide receivers coach in Terrence Samuel, Justin Lustig has left for Vanderbilt, and offensive-line coach Mike Cavanaugh has elected to take the same position at Arizona State.
After only winning one game in 2020, there’s pretty much nowhere to go but up for the Orange. I’m hopeful for at least six victories and a bowl berth.
Here’s the full schedule, per cuse.com.
Sept. 4 – at Ohio
Sept. 11 – vs. Rutgers
Sept. 18 – vs. Albany
Sept. 24 – vs. Liberty
Oct. 2 – at Florida State
Oct. 9 – vs. Wake Forest
Oct. 15 – vs. Clemson
Oct. 23 – at Virginia Tech
Oct. 30 – vs. Boston College
Nov. 13 – at Louisville
Nov. 20 – at N.C. State
Nov. 27 – vs. Pittsburgh
So what are your thoughts, Syracuse football fans? Can the Orange grab a couple of additional conquests in 2021 and put the ugly last campaign in the rear-view mirror?