Rapid Reaction: Syracuse Football's 2024 schedule released

Following the release of the Week 1 ACC team opponents Monday, and the conference weeknight matchups on Tuesday, the ACC released the entire 2024 composite schedule for all 17 teams Wednesday afternoon.

In Fran Brown's debut season, the Orange have seven games in the refurbished Dome, and five on the road stretching coast-to-coast from Boston to the Bay Area.

It's time to "Expand the Brand" nationally in the new Coach Fran era, showcasing the football program's Northeast-based recruiting philosophy. mixed in with the Southeast, Midwest, and a little bit of everywhere else, all important to bringing talented players to central New York.

For the first time since 1915, Syracuse will play two regular season games in the Pacific Time Zone in one season. Back at the tail end of what was a 9-1-2 campaign, the Orangemen ventured by train out west first to Montana, then for December games against Oregon State, and Occidental (Calif.).

In the 2000s, Syracuse football has only played twice on the West Coast - 2010 at Washington (Seattle) and 2011 at Southern California (Los Angeles), and did go to the Salt Lake City market in 2002 to face nearby BYU.

This season the Orange will not only have a conference road game against Cal in Berkeley (November 16), great for Bay Area and beyond alumni and fans, but also play in Las Vegas, a destination from everywhere, with the non-conference game against UNLV (October 5) announced Tuesday by the school.

Throw in the other road games against Boston College (November 9) which covers the Northeast recruiting territory, at North Carolina State (October 12) the Carolinas, and at Pittsburgh (October 24) for Pa. and Ohio, and that is a great mix of geographical exposure for both scholastic players and potential transfer portal entrants.

The major element to the home schedule is the athletic department secured a coveted seven home contests with the news that the Connecticut game (November 23) is in the Dome, the prelude to the season-ending matchup with Miami (November 30). While seven home dates is a positive, for the second straight year there will be no home games in October - a 35-day gap between Dome appearances, which is a negative.

About Miami playing in the Dome: It's only after 11 seasons in the ACC that Syracuse finally gets to host its conference brethren and old school Big East friend for the first time since 2002.

Even with conference expansion the Miami situation in itself has always been frustrating for Orange Nation. The original Atlantic/Coastal division scheduling model provided one set crossover opponent, which was Pittsburgh for SU, then cross-division teams meeting only once home/away over a 12 year period. The Orange played at Miami in 2017, and this season's game with the Hurricanes comes at the conclusion of that original 12 year cycle.

The visit by Stanford (September 20) for a first-ever meeting with the 'Cuse on a Friday night, occurs on the Dome's 44th birthday from the first-ever game in 1980. The game also marks Stanford's ACC debut.

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