Syracuse football 2024 docket 2nd easiest among power 4 teams. Let’s run the table.

Earlier this month, College Football News ranked the 2024 schedules of the 134 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision (“FBS”), including Syracuse football.

Here, the Orange’s 2024 docket checks in at No. 67 overall. College Football News says that the team’s easiest game is at home versus Holy Cross on September 28, while the hardest encounter for Syracuse football is at NC State on October 12.

More recently, a few days ago, our friends at the X account No Destination put out an interesting social media post that caught my eye. In addition to noting that the Orange is No. 67 overall as it pertains to its 2024 slate, No Destination pointed out that this ranking for the ‘Cuse is the “2nd easiest schedule among Power 4 teams.”

It’s the power four these days, friends, as the Pac-12 Conference is no more, leaving the “major” conferences as the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference.

Interestingly enough, the only power-four team behind Syracuse football, according to College Football News, is the Wolfpack, which arrived at No. 68. The ACC member with the hardest 2024 schedule is Georgia Tech, at No. 9 around the country.

Now, a couple of points here as context. First and foremost, these sorts of schedule ratings are subjective in nature. The Orange’s slate for the upcoming campaign, on paper, looks quite manageable, but we’ll have to see how everything plays out on the field in a few months.

Number two, let’s not forget that the ‘Cuse hasn’t been a good football team in recent years. Yes, it has made two bowl games in a row, going a combined 13-13 in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but prior to that, the Orange put forth a bunch of sub-par terms.

What’s more, Syracuse football has a new head coach in former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown, an ace recruiter who undeniably has injected a buzz and excitement into the program. He and his top-notch staff are recruiting at a historic level on the Hill, but Brown is also a first-year, and a first-time, head coach.

Much like its peers around the country, the Orange has seen significant changes to its roster this offseason. The ‘Cuse has witnessed 2023 players depart via the portal or professional aspirations. SU does have numerous key players returning, and the Orange’s 2024 class of high school seniors and college transfers is strong.

But with a new head coach, a lot of new assistants, and an overhauled roster, even with a relatively favorable schedule, is expecting Syracuse football to win nine, 10, 11 or 12 games in the 2024 regular room a stretch? Is it unrealistic? Is it an unfair expectation?

I’ll say this. Brown is an ultra-confident guy. He expects the best out of his players, both on the field and in the classroom. He’s supremely competitive, and that’s a good thing.

In late January, I projected that Syracuse football would amass a 9-3 overall mark in the 2024 regular season. This offseason, a wide range of national and ACC pundits has weighed in on the Orange program under Brown.

Numerous experts have praised the team’s 2024 recruiting efforts. Some observers have said that they feel the ‘Cuse can prove a legit ACC title contender this coming term.

But still, others have opined that even with the palpable buzz in the air on the Hill, Syracuse football is a somewhat unproven commodity, and also somewhat of a mystery heading into the 2024 campaign.

Last week, Chip Patterson of CBS Sports published his post-spring power rankings for the ACC. He’s got the Orange at No. 10 out of 17 league members.

Patterson acknowledged that Brown and his staff have done a solid job with their portal recruiting, and the ‘Cuse has a lot of promising pieces on both offense and defense, in my humble opinion. At the same time, Patterson wrote in part of Syracuse football, “it’s very much a Year 1 roster that can flash promise but may lack the consistency needed to compete with the top teams in the league.”

I ultimately think that the Orange will be better than the No. 10 team in the ACC. I’m excited for 2024. I believe Syracuse football can win a lot of games, given its schedule. In fact, the ‘Cuse should just go ahead and run the table.