Syracuse Football: After a long home stand, the Orange will travel a ton this month

Syracuse football will rack up its frequent-flier miles in October.

The Orange (3-1) heads to Las Vegas for a non-conference showdown with No. 25 UNLV (4-0) this Friday night. But that's only the start of a month where the 'Cuse will not suit up on the Hill in any games.

What's more, in the team's eight remaining regular-season contests during the 2024 campaign, Syracuse football will compete in five road affairs, with just three encounters at the JMA Wireless Dome.

That's a somewhat daunting task for first-year head coach Fran Brown and his program. Winning on the road, especially in Atlantic Coast Conference play, is never easy.

At the same time, these games away from Central New York will present opportunities for the Orange to notch victories in hostile environments, something that is always important when it comes to the squad's potential post-season resume.

Syracuse football will be well-traveled in the coming weeks.

For context, the 'Cuse did commence its 2024 season with four consecutive home games, culminating with a win last Saturday afternoon against Holy Cross.

While the Orange did fall in heart-breaking fashion to new ACC school Stanford last month at the Dome, Syracuse football residing at 3-1 so far this term is solid, and that docket includes a win over a Georgia Tech group that was ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press top-25 poll when the 'Cuse knocked off the Yellow Jackets.

Per a recent cuse.com press release, in October, Syracuse football will travel more than 3,000 miles. SU Athletics also notes that this is the second-straight campaign that the Orange will not have a home game in October.

That got me thinking: is it better, worse or neutral to start off a season with so many home games, but then have to travel more frequently later on? Over the past two terms, under former head coach Dino Babers, Syracuse football got off to great beginnings, only to fade down the stretch.

That, however, was not necessarily due to the Orange's games later on in those terms being on the road versus at home. The 'Cuse saw its competition intensify, and the Syracuse football roster also had to contend with some unfortunate injuries.

It remains to be seen what will transpire for the Orange over the next eight regular-season meetings. As my fellow fans like to say, "one game at a time." And that starts this Friday evening in the Sin City, when the 'Cuse will face an explosive UNLV offense.

In the cuse.com statement, Brown said of hitting the road and playing on Friday, instead of the usual Saturday, "Everything moves a day forward. We get to travel. We get the opportunity to go on the road, you know, we played at home for four weeks straight. Most people don't have the chance to do that. And now we get to go on the road. We get to go represent Syracuse, and on a Friday night and Las Vegas. So, it's pretty cool to be able to go there. We're excited. It's the same thing, everything just moves up a day forward, but we're excited. We're ready to go compete, you know it's gonna be a good matchup. They've got a real good football team."

Personally, if I had my druthers, I'd prefer to see the Orange's schedule have more balance between home and road affairs. Then again, the 'Cuse does have seven games at the Dome in 2024, as compared to five away from the Hill.

Once Syracuse football is done in Las Vegas, hopefully grabbing a win, the Orange this month will head to N.C. State on Saturday, Oct. 12, then have its second bye week, before going to Pittsburgh on Thursday, Oct. 24.

The remaining 2024 slate for Syracuse football includes home dates with Virginia Tech, UConn and Miami, along with road encounters at Boston College and California in back-to-back weekends.

So the 'Cuse will head out west twice this season. Playing a good Boston College crew and then Cal, both on the road in consecutive Saturday games, is no easy task. Neither is that October calendar.

Then again, to reiterate, Syracuse football had four CNY meetings to kick off 2024. What's more, the Orange's final two regular-season games, against UConn and Miami, are both at home on consecutive Saturdays.

More balance between contests at the Dome and on the road would be ideal in my book. It is what it is, though. Syracuse football is 3-1, with some big games coming up on its opponents' turf.

Winning on the road is tough. In the coming weeks, we'll know even better just how good this Orange team truly is.