Syracuse football's ACC opener is Saturday against California. How to watch and latest odds.

Syracuse football's 2026 season opener wasn't competitive, as the Orange destroyed FCS foe New Hampshire last Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome. Now the competition intensifies, as the 'Cuse will welcome California to Central New York this weekend in the first Atlantic Coast Conference contest for SU.

While Syracuse (1-0 overall) looked impressive in a 66-3 thrashing of the Wildcats, the Golden Bears (0-1 overall) were lethargic last Saturday in a 45-24 setback at home to in-state rival UCLA. Cal allowed a ridiculous 277 rushing yards to the visiting Bruins, and if the Golden Bears don't clean that up, they could be in for a long afternoon this Saturday on the Hill.

That's because in its dispatching of the Wildcats this past weekend, the Orange tallied 238 yards on the ground, led by freshman Shavane Anderson Jr. and sophomore Tylik Hill. Head coach Fran Brown, earlier this week at his media availability, said that he expected transfer running backs Ju’Juan Johnson, a junior from LSU, and Ahmad Miller, a senior from Jackson State, to both play against Cal after missing the 2026 season opener.

How to watch Syracuse football hosting California this Saturday.

The Orange will face the Golden Bears beginning at 3:30 pm EST on Saturday, Sept. 12. The ACC Network will televise this conference encounter. The broadcast team will feature play-by-play announcer Jorge Sedano, analyst Rodney McLeod and sideline reporter Kendra Douglas.

At the time of this writing, FanDuel had Syracuse football as a 3.5-point betting favorite versus California, with the over/under set at 56.5 points. In their short all-time series together, the Orange is 2-1 against the Golden Bears, and that includes a 33-25 road triumph in November 2024, the first season for SU under head coach Fran Brown.

Last year, the 'Cuse began 3-1 before starting quarterback Steve Angeli went down, and the Orange proceeded to lose its final eight games to finish at 3-9 overall. Cal, meanwhile, went 7-6 overall and earned an invite to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, where the Golden Bears fell to Hawaii, 35-31.

In the ACC's preseason media poll, Syracuse football was projected to finish at No. 14 in the 17-member league for football, while California was forecast at No. 12.

Saturday's affair will pit two excellent signal callers in the ACC against one another. Angeli, a fifth-year player, completed 20-of-29 passes for 263 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the triumph over New Hampshire. Cal sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, in the loss to UCLA, went 24-of-41 in his attempts for 271 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

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