The 2026 Syracuse Orange football season is now just days away, and the anticipation is nearly over.
Syracuse is entering year three under head coach Fran Brown, looking for a bounce-back campaign after going 3-9 in 2025. With the Orange heading into their season opener against New Hampshire on Saturday, how does the college football universe feel about the program going into Week 1?
Here is a final roundup of the preseason rankings before ‘Cuse gets its 2026 season underway.
Syracuse enters 2026 ranked No. 76 overall on ESPN’s SP+ Rankings. That includes being No. 90 on offense and No. 65 on defense. The rankings also project the Orange to have a top-50 strength of schedule (No. 47), with an average win total of 4.3 on the season. New Hampshire is 199th
After Week 0, ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Orange at No. 70 overall and 14th among all ACC teams. Syracuse’s projected win total ranges from 4.9 to 7.1, with around a 36% chance at reaching a minimum of six wins.
CBS Sports also has the Orange at No. 70 overall heading into the season, ranked between Iowa State and San Diego St.
Chris Vannini of The Athletic had ‘Cuse slightly lower in his rankings, putting the Orange at No. 78 in the FBS before Week 0. That’s between Colorado and Rutgers.
Here was Vannini’s brief outlook on the Orange:
“A healthy Steve Angeli should help, but new running backs and receivers and a rebuilt offense make for a lot of non-QB questions,” Vannini wrote.
Among Vannini’s list, Syracuse only ranked ahead of Stanford and Boston College among ACC programs.
Syracuse opened the year at No. 67 and dropped three spots after Week 0, according to the rankings from College Football News.
Of note, two future Syracuse opponents saw significant movement after the first Saturday of college football. NC State dropped 10 spots (to No. 54) after a double-digit road loss to Virginia, while North Carolina rose from No. 66 to No. 43 after pulling out a close win over TCU in Dublin.
