National writer Chip Patterson of CBS Sports has given his best-case and worst-case scenarios for Syracuse football and its Atlantic Coast Conference peers in the upcoming 2025 season, which is inching closer.
Respectfully, Patterson's best-case scenario for the Orange is not something with which I agree. At all. He thinks that the best-case scenario for Syracuse football is 7-5. What?
Yes, the 'Cuse, on paper, has a brutal 2025 docket. Two of its non-conference games are against Tennessee in Atlanta to kick things off and at Notre Dame. The Volunteers, in 2024, made the 12-team College Football Playoff, while the Fighting Irish reached the CFP national title game.
To make matters worse, the Orange has road dates with ACC heavyweights Clemson, SMU and Miami, and the first two of those league members made last season's CFP, while the Hurricanes were in contention for a bid as well, until a late slide.
Syracuse football will play its 2025 season opener in late August versus another Orange-clad school.
So couple that schedule with the fact that the 'Cuse has a lot of weapons on offense and defense to replace, including its starting quarterback, running back, some wide receivers, linebackers and defensive backs.
Even still, with all of that as context, the best-case scenario for Syracuse football shouldn't be 7-5. I'm not going to go as far as saying the team's best-case scenario is 12-0, but maybe nine or 10 wins.
Here me out for a second. I could see the Orange beating the Vols and going 3-1 in the non-conference (with victories over Tennessee, UConn and Colgate). In ACC play, Syracuse football will host Duke, Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Boston College.
I'm not saying that the 'Cuse will sweep all those games at the JMA Wireless Dome, but it could. Let's say the Orange does, making it 7-1. Then Syracuse football will travel to Clemson, SMU, Georgia Tech and Miami.
If the Orange splits those four road battles - and that's a big "if" - then the 'Cuse could end up at 9-3 overall. To reiterate, I'm not saying that will happen. But it could.
Just remember. In his first season at the helm of the program, head coach Fran Brown guided Syracuse football to a 10-3 record. The Orange finished the 2024 regular season in a tie for fourth place in the ACC standings, even though the league's preseason media poll forecast the 'Cuse to finish in the No. 12 spot.
By the way, in the CBS Sports article, the worst-case scenario for Syracuse football is listed as 4-8. I'd go with 5-7 or 6-6, but 4-8 is okay, too.