Next year’s slate isn’t all sunshine and rainbows (part-one)
Before Fran Brown even took the field as the 31st head football coach of the Syracuse Orange, there were high expectations. Against a mediocre football schedule —on paper— many Orange fans said Brown ‘should’ win at least eight games, some said nine or 10, and on several occasions, I even heard ‘college football playoff’ in the same sentence as Syracuse football. And, after Brown’s first season as head football coach, it’s not an understatement to say he more than delivered in year one — 10 wins, a top-four finish in the ACC, and a bowl game victory for the first time since 2018.
But what lies ahead in 2025 won’t be as friendly, especially without quarterback Kyle McCord and other key contributors. SU’s schedule next season, right now, includes four 2024 College Football Playoff teams in Notre Dame, Tennessee, SMU, and Clemson, plus Miami (FL), Georgia Tech, Boston College, Duke, North Carolina (with Bill Belichick as head coach), Pitt, UConn, and Colgate.
And, of the 12 teams on SU’s schedule next year, 11 were bowl-eligible last season, and the lone school that failed to reach six wins was FCS rival Colgate. And, if that’s not an indication of the work Fran Brown has cut out for him in year two, I’m not sure what is.
To break this up, I’ve split the season preview into two parts. First, I’ll look at the non-conference slate, and then in a second writeup, I’ve gone more in-depth on SU’s conference schedule:
Non-Conference games-
Week 1 – Aug. 30 vs. Tennessee Volunteers (Atlanta, GA)
Record in ‘24: 10-3 (6-2 in SEC)
Notable departures: RB Dylan Sampson (NFL draft), WR Bru McCoy (graduation), WR Dont’e Thornton Jr. (graduation), C Cooper Mays (graduation), RG Javontez Spraggins (graduation), DE James Pearce Jr., (NFL draft), DT Omarr Norman-Lott (graduation), FS Will Brooks (graduation), WR Squirrel White (transferred to Florida State)
Notable returning players (projected): QB Nico Iamaleava, WR Mike Matthews, LB Arion Carter, DE Joshua Josephs, CB Boo Carter, CB Jermod McCoy, SS Andre Turrentine
Key transfers in: IOL Wendell Moe (transferred from Arizona), WR Amari Jefferson (transferred from Alabama), RB Star Thomas (transferred from Duke)
2025 high school recruiting class ranking (On3 Rankings): 10th nationally, 7th in SEC
The Orange open the 2025 regular season against the Tennessee Volunteers in Atlanta, GA, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Aug. 30. Last season, Tennessee, under head coach Josh Heupel, finished third in the SEC behind Georgia before losing to Ohio State 42-17 in Columbus in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Tennessee will definitely take a step back from where it was last season, considering its long list of notable departures, including three All-SEC First Teamers (RB Dylan Sampson, C Cooper Mays, and DE James Pearce Jr.), coming in at No. 19 in ESPN’s way-too-early college football Top 25 rankings. And, despite some rumors, star QB Nico Iamaleava will return for a second season for the Vols. This undoubtedly will be a difficult matchup for the Orange in week one.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Week 2 – Sept. 6 vs. UConn Huskies
Record in ‘24: 9-4 (Independent)
Notable departures: QB Joe Fagnano (graduation), WR TJ Sheffield (graduation), RB Durell Robinson (transferred to Auburn), OL Chase Lundt (graduation), DE Langston Hardy (transferred to Wake Forest), DL Dal’Mont Gourdine (graduation), LB Jayden McDonald (graduation), LB Tui Faumuina-Brown (graduation), DL Pryce Yates (transferred to North Carolina), CB Malik Dixon-Williams (graduation), CB Rante Jones (graduation), CB Jordan Wright (graduation)
Notable returning players (projected): QB Nick Evers, RB Cam Edwards, RB Mel Brown, WR Skyler Bell, WR Jasaiah Gathings, TE Louis Hansen, DB D’mon Brinson, DB Cam Chadwick
Key transfers in: LB Tyquan King (transferred from Temple)
2025 high school recruiting class ranking (On3 Rankings): 116th nationally, 2nd among independents
UConn had one of its most successful seasons in program history this past year under head coach Jim Mora. The Huskies won nine games for just the third time as an FBS team, including a 27-14 dominant win over North Carolina in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. The Huskies were forced to go to fifth-year backup QB Joe Fagnano for much of the year after Nick Evers’ (Wisconsin transfer) first season in Storrs was derailed by injuries — UConn was without Evers when it visited Syracuse in late November. Despite this being a very winnable game at home, I wouldn’t underestimate UConn so early in the regular season. The Huskies return most, if not all, of their leading contributors on offense but will have a complete reload on defense — losing their top three defensive linemen and three leading tacklers on the team. SU has won its last five matchups with UConn going back to 2012.
Week 3 – Sept. 13 vs. Colgate Raiders
Record in ‘24: 2-10 (1-5 in Patriot League)
Notable departures: LB Christian Sweeney (graduation), LB Brody Hock (graduation), DB Asauni Allen (graduation), DL Andrew Taddeo (graduation)
Notable returning players (projected): QB Jake Stearney, RB Chris Gee, RB Marco Maldonado, WR Treyvhon Saunders, WR Brady Hutchinson, LB Cole Kozlowski, DL Dane Picariello, DB Tymir Wynn, DB Josh Stinespring
Key transfers in: N/A
2025 high school recruiting class ranking (247Sports): 172nd nationally
Colgate parted ways with head coach Stan Dakosty at the end of the year and not long after announced the hiring of Curt Fitzpatrick — who most recently led Division III Cortland to a 45-5 record over four seasons. The 2023 Division III National Coach of the Year guided Cortland to a national championship in 2023 and four consecutive Empire 8 titles. That said, though, a new regime in Hamilton shouldn’t be enough to affect the outcome of this game, considering Syracuse hasn’t lost to Colgate since 1950.
Date TBA at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Record in ‘24: 14-2
Notable departures: QB Riley Leonard (graduation), TE Mitchell Evans (graduation), DT Rylie Mills (graduation), S Xavier Watts (graduation), CB Benjamin Morrison (graduation), LB Jack Kiser (graduation), DT Howard Cross III (graduation), OL Sam Pendleton (transfer portal)not
Notable returning players (projected): RB Jeremiyah Love, RB Jadarian Price, WR Jordan Faison, WR Jaden Greathouse, LB Drayk Bowen, S Adon Shuler
Key transfers in: CB Devonta Smith (transferred from Alabama), WR Malachi Fields (transferred from Virginia), DL Jared Dawson (transferred from Louisville), WR Will Pauling (transferred from Wisconsin)
2025 high school recruiting class ranking (On3 Rankings): 12th nationally, 1st among independents
Notre Dame WILL be SU’s most difficult opponent next year, no question. The Fighting Irish are already projected to be the 4th best team in college football next year, according to ESPN. Despite falling just short to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship, ND had one of its best seasons in program history — 14 wins, three of those wins coming in the postseason against No. 10 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia (without QB Carson Beck, but whatever), and No. 6 Penn State. Notre Dame will have to replace Riley Leonard at QB next year and will lean on either Junior backup QB Steve Angeli or Freshman CJ Carr, who was rated the No. 2 pocket passer in the 2024 recruiting class. The combination of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price will continue to be a force for opponents to deal with in the backfield behind a, once again, strong offensive line.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Stick around for SU’s conference schedule breakdown coming to our site on Friday.