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Syracuse Orange

ACCSyracuse, NYJMA Wireless Dome

2026: 2–⁠4 (0–⁠4 ACC). Last: lost to Louisville 34–⁠26 at home. Next: at North Carolina, Saturday, Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. ET.

  1. W 66–⁠3New Hampshire
  2. L 18–⁠21California
  3. L 13–⁠27at Pittsburgh
  4. W 42–⁠41at UConn
  5. L 25–⁠28at Virginia
  6. L 26–⁠34Louisville
  7. Oct 24at North Carolina
  8. Oct 31SMU
  9. Nov 7Clemson
  10. Nov 14at NC State
  11. Nov 21at Boston College
  12. Nov 28Notre Dame
  • Outfitted by Nike

Syracuse has played football since 1889 and is 714–⁠560–⁠42 in the 1,316 games on record here, which start in 1891. Syracuse claims one national championship (1959). The Orange finished No. 1 in the final AP poll in 1959. They have won five Big East Conference titles (the last in 2012), counting shared titles. Ernie Davis won the Heisman Trophy here in 1961. Since 1936, the NFL Draft has taken 135 players from here in its first seven rounds, 20 of them in the first round. The AFL draft also took eight players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 11 players and 6 coaches from Syracuse. Ben Schwartzwalder (1949–⁠1973) won more games here than any other coach: 153. The most-played rival is Pittsburgh: 82 meetings, Pittsburgh leads 46–⁠32–⁠3 (one Syracuse win vacated). This season, under Fran Brown, they’re 2–⁠4.

JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse
JMA Wireless DomePhoto: Jimhoward03, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On this date in 1991No. 24 Syracuse beat No. 20 Pittsburgh 31–⁠27 on the road.

Résumé

All-time record
758–⁠590–⁠49 official; 714–⁠560–⁠42 on file; how we count
Postseason
17–⁠11 bowls, title games, playoff
AP No. 1 finishes
1
Weeks at No. 1
6 of 196 ranked
Elo now
1411 114th of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 84 · Composite No. 90 in FBS, Oct 17; down 3 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
1959 rated 1794
Conference titles
5 last in 2012
Bowl record
17–⁠11–⁠1 official, bowls only
Seasons
135 since 1891, 1,316 games

Identity

Fight song
Down the Field
Student section
Otto’s Army
Apparel
Nike
Band
Syracuse University Marching Band since 1901, 200 members

2026 season 2–⁠4

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsNew HampshireW 66–⁠370%
Sep 12vsCaliforniaL 18–⁠2159%
Sep 17atPittsburghL 13–⁠2723%
Oct 3atUConnW 42–⁠4129%
Oct 10atVirginiaL 25–⁠2827%
Oct 17vsLouisvilleL 26–⁠3431%
Oct 24atNorth CarolinaPreview28%
Oct 31vsSMUPreview25%
Nov 7vsClemsonPreview34%
Nov 14atNC StatePreview27%
Nov 21atBoston CollegePreview37%
Nov 28vsNotre DamePreview16%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

Syracuse’s Elo through 2026: 1425 going into the opener, 1411 after the latest game.140014251450Elo 1425 going in; beat New Hampshire 66–3Elo 1449 going in; lost to California 21–18Elo 1432 going in; lost to Pittsburgh 27–13Elo 1420 going in; beat UConn 42–41Elo 1431 going in; lost to Virginia 28–25Elo 1424 going in; lost to Louisville 34–26Now: Elo 1411 after the latest game1411
New HampshireCaliforniaPittsburghUConnVirginiaLouisvilleNow
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses.

Future schedule

2027–⁠37
20273 games: 1 home, 2 away
20283 games: 3 home
20293 games: 2 home, 1 away
20341 game: 1 away
20371 game: 1 home

Syracuse’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of January 2, 2026). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Players

The 2026 rosterRecord bookThe money

On the 2026 team

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Syracuse.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Nike · Official source
Mascot
Otto the Orange · Single source
Student section
Otto’s Army · Official source
Athletic director
Bryan Blair · Official source
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Nixon · Official source
Defensive coordinator
Vince Kehres · Official source
NIL collective
One Orange Alliance · Official source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Nike. Extended in June 2019.

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1891

Best seasons ever
Syracuse end-of-season Elo from 1891 to 2026, best in 1959 at 1794.130015001700190019001920194019601980200020201959 peak: Elo 1794
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team. Filled dots: finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Fran Brown2024–⁠202615–⁠16
Nunzio Campanile20231–⁠1
Dino Babers2016–⁠202341–⁠55
Scott Shafer2013–⁠201513–⁠23
Doug Marrone2009–⁠201225–⁠25
Greg Robinson2005–⁠200810–⁠37
Paul Pasqualoni1991–⁠2004107–⁠59–⁠1
Dick MacPherson1981–⁠199066–⁠46–⁠4
Frank Maloney1974–⁠198032–⁠46
Ben Schwartzwalder1949–⁠1973153–⁠91–⁠3
Reaves Baysinger1947–⁠19484–⁠14
Biggie Munn19464–⁠5
Ossie Solem1937–⁠194530–⁠27–⁠6
Vic Hanson1930–⁠193633–⁠21–⁠5
Lew Andreas1927–⁠192915–⁠10–⁠3
Pete Reynolds1925–⁠192615–⁠3–⁠2
Chick Meehan1920–⁠192435–⁠8–⁠4
Frank “Buck” O’Neill1906–⁠191952–⁠19–⁠6
William Hollenback19165–⁠4
C. DeForest Cummings1911–⁠19129–⁠8–⁠2
Tad Jones1909–⁠19109–⁠9–⁠2
Howard Jones19086–⁠3–⁠1
Charles Hutchins1904–⁠19059–⁠5
Ancil D. Brown & Jason B. Parrish19030–⁠3
Edwin Sweetland1900–⁠190220–⁠6–⁠2
Frank Wade1897–⁠18994–⁠7–⁠1
George O. Redington1895–⁠18960–⁠4
George H. Bond18940–⁠2
Jordan C. Wells18920–⁠1
William Galbraith18910–⁠1

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesSYR record
Pittsburgh8232–⁠46–⁠3 †
Penn State7123–⁠43–⁠5
West Virginia6134–⁠27
Colgate6132–⁠25–⁠4
Boston College5933–⁠25 †
Rutgers4429–⁠13–⁠1 †
Maryland3719–⁠16–⁠2
Temple3726–⁠10–⁠1

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: Boston College, Pittsburgh, Penn State, UConn, West Virginia, Rutgers, Buffalo.

Every opponent (155)

Every program Syracuse has played, A to Z, with Syracuse’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

5, counting shared titles
Big East Conference 5
1996 (shared), 1997, 1998, 2004 (shared), 2012 (shared)

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Independent 1889–⁠1942 and 1944–⁠1990
  2. Big East 1991–⁠2012
  3. ACC since 2013
  • 1991Joined the Big East from independence in football. Source
  • 2013Joined the ACC from the Big East, announced September 18, 2011. Source

Syracuse’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2018Andre Szmyt KGroza
1987Don McPherson QBMaxwell, Davey O’Brien, Unitas Golden Arm
1987Dick MacPherson coachEddie Robinson, Walter Camp Coach, Bear Bryant Award, Bobby Dodd Award
1961Ernie Davis RB/FB/LBHeisman
1959Ben Schwartzwalder coachEddie Robinson

Consensus All-Americans 20

2018Andre Szmyt K
2001Dwight Freeney DE
1992Chris Gedney TE
1990John Flannery C
1987Don McPherson QB
1987Ted Gregory DL
1985Tim Green DT
1967Larry Csonka FB
1961Ernie Davis RB
1960Ernie Davis RB
1959Roger Davis OG
1956Jim Brown RB
1926Vic Hanson E
1923Pete MacRae E
1919Doc Alexander OG
1918Doc Alexander OG
1918Lou Usher OT
1917Alfred Cobb OT
1915Harold White OG
1908Bill Horr OT

Led the nation 6

2024Kyle McCord passing yards (4,779 yds)
1987Don McPherson passer rating (164.3)
1987Tommy Kane receiving touchdowns (14 TD)
1965Floyd Little punt return average (23.5)
1956Jim Brown rushing touchdowns (13 TD)
1955Jim Brown kickoff return average (32.0)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

Heisman runners-up and finalists

The votes
1998Donovan McNabb QB5th
1987Don McPherson QB2nd
1967Larry Csonka FB4th
1966Floyd Little RB5th
1965Floyd Little RB5th
1956Jim Brown RB5th

Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
11
Coaches
6
2026Marvin Harrison WR/KR
2023Dwight Freeney DE
2012Art Monk WR
2009Dick MacPherson coach here, 1981–⁠1990
2008Don McPherson QB
2002Tim Green DT
1995Jim Brown RB
1989Larry Csonka FB
1983Floyd Little RB
1982Ben Schwartzwalder coach here, 1949–⁠1973
1979Ernie Davis RB/FB/LB
1973Vic Hanson E
1959Biggie Munn coach here, 1946
1958Tad Jones coach here, 1909–⁠1910
1954Doc Alexander OG
1951Frank “Buck” O’Neill coach here, 1906–⁠1919
1951Howard Jones coach here, 1908

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
135 since 1936
First-round picks
20
AFL picks
8 1961–⁠64
2013Justin Pugh OTNo. 19, New York Giants
2012Chandler Jones DENo. 21, New England Patriots
2002Dwight Freeney DENo. 11, Indianapolis Colts
2001Will Allen DBNo. 22, New York Giants
2000Keith Bulluck LBNo. 30, Tennessee Titans
1999Donovan McNabb QBNo. 2, Philadelphia Eagles
1998Tebucky Jones DBNo. 22, New England Patriots
1998Donovin Darius DBNo. 25, Jacksonville Jaguars

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

Syracuse University
Enrollment
22,589 15,957 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Syracuse, New York
Public or private
Private nonprofit; Research 1
Founded
1870
Graduates’ median earnings
$79,164 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @CuseFootballInstagram @cusefootballFacebook cusefootball
Athletics department
X @CuseInstagram @cusepicsYouTube syracuseorangeFacebook cuse

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones cuse.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.

Voices

play-by-play
  1. from 1982Sean McDonough
  2. 1999–⁠2002Dave Pasch radio
  3. 2004–⁠22Brian Higgins radio

From the announcers’ Wikipedia articles (CC BY-SA), with the years as each article gives them: those in Wikipedia’s Syracuse football announcers category, and any whose article names them the program’s play-by-play voice. Television network crews and announcers whose articles give no years are left out.

Old photographs

From the Library of Congress’s Prints & Photographs Division, with no known restrictions on publication. The records don’t give these a season; the one they date is on its season’s page.

On the newsreel

And 4 more

Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.

Films and books

On film

In books

Films: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia’s lists and categories (CC BY-SA), about the program, its seasons, games and rivalries. Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions

Shaded: national title seasons, No. 1 in the final AP poll or claimed by Syracuse (1 claimed).

SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20262–⁠40–⁠4Fran Brown1411-0.4
20253–⁠91–⁠7Fran Brown1387-13.1
202410–⁠35–⁠320Fran Brown16145.5
20236–⁠72–⁠6Dino Babers, Nunzio Campanile1428-4.4
20227–⁠64–⁠4Dino Babers14742.5
20215–⁠72–⁠6Dino Babers14270.3
20201–⁠101–⁠9Dino Babers1353-9.8
20195–⁠72–⁠622Dino Babers1524-3.0
201810–⁠36–⁠215Dino Babers16467.5
20174–⁠82–⁠6Dino Babers13944.0
20164–⁠82–⁠6Dino Babers1406-2.7
20154–⁠82–⁠6Scott Shafer1390-3.9
20143–⁠91–⁠7Scott Shafer1420-2.1
20137–⁠64–⁠4Scott Shafer15750.0
20128–⁠55–⁠2Doug Marrone15975.8
20115–⁠71–⁠6Doug Marrone1427-2.9
20108–⁠54–⁠3Doug Marrone14905.3
20094–⁠81–⁠6Doug Marrone1412-2.8
20083–⁠91–⁠6Greg Robinson1325-14.6
20072–⁠101–⁠6Greg Robinson1316-11.7
20064–⁠81–⁠6Greg Robinson1400-3.6
20051–⁠100–⁠7Greg Robinson1359-10.7
20046–⁠64–⁠2Paul Pasqualoni15284.4
20036–⁠62–⁠5Paul Pasqualoni15296.5
20024–⁠82–⁠5Paul Pasqualoni1518-3.2
Every season back to 1891 (110 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
200110–⁠36–⁠114Paul Pasqualoni170221.9
20006–⁠54–⁠3Paul Pasqualoni157013.8
19997–⁠53–⁠4Paul Pasqualoni16037.6
19988–⁠46–⁠11725Paul Pasqualoni166019.5
19979–⁠46–⁠11721Paul Pasqualoni169313.7
19969–⁠36–⁠11021Paul Pasqualoni169923.0
19959–⁠35–⁠219Paul Pasqualoni166016.8
19947–⁠44–⁠3Paul Pasqualoni15681.9
19936–⁠4–⁠13–⁠46Paul Pasqualoni15843.9
199210–⁠26–⁠1106Paul Pasqualoni172117.4
199110–⁠25–⁠02511Paul Pasqualoni171215.4
19907–⁠4–⁠2Dick MacPherson16589.8
19898–⁠413Dick MacPherson16346.1
198810–⁠213Dick MacPherson173417.1
198711–⁠0–⁠14Dick MacPherson172522.2
19865–⁠6Dick MacPherson1529-2.2
19857–⁠5Dick MacPherson15705.7
19846–⁠5Dick MacPherson155011.3
19836–⁠5Dick MacPherson15391.5
19822–⁠9Dick MacPherson1428-2.9
19814–⁠6–⁠1Dick MacPherson15228.6
19805–⁠6Frank Maloney15199.0
19797–⁠5Frank Maloney154911.0
19783–⁠8Frank Maloney1438-2.9
19776–⁠5Frank Maloney14937.1
19763–⁠8Frank Maloney1365-10.6
19756–⁠5Frank Maloney14426.6
19742–⁠9Frank Maloney1330-3.2
19732–⁠9Ben Schwartzwalder1357-12.5
19725–⁠6Ben Schwartzwalder1442-9.8
19715–⁠5–⁠113Ben Schwartzwalder15063.2
19706–⁠4Ben Schwartzwalder15390.5
19695–⁠5Ben Schwartzwalder1525
19686–⁠419Ben Schwartzwalder1600
19678–⁠2Ben Schwartzwalder1671
19668–⁠37Ben Schwartzwalder1657
19657–⁠3Ben Schwartzwalder1648
19647–⁠49Ben Schwartzwalder1650
19638–⁠2Ben Schwartzwalder1663
19625–⁠5Ben Schwartzwalder1606
19618–⁠31014Ben Schwartzwalder1697
19607–⁠2119Ben Schwartzwalder1709
195911–⁠0201Ben Schwartzwalder1794
19588–⁠29Ben Schwartzwalder1672
19575–⁠3–⁠1Ben Schwartzwalder1618
19567–⁠28Ben Schwartzwalder1687
19555–⁠3Ben Schwartzwalder1627
19544–⁠4Ben Schwartzwalder1549
19535–⁠3–⁠1Ben Schwartzwalder1616
19527–⁠314Ben Schwartzwalder1579
19515–⁠4Ben Schwartzwalder1506
19505–⁠5Ben Schwartzwalder1459
19494–⁠5Ben Schwartzwalder1386
19481–⁠8Reaves Baysinger1278
19473–⁠6Reaves Baysinger1351
19464–⁠5Biggie Munn1391
19451–⁠6Ossie Solem1352
19442–⁠4–⁠1Ossie Solem1425
19426–⁠3Ossie Solem1506
19415–⁠2–⁠1Ossie Solem1524
19403–⁠4–⁠1Ossie Solem1466
19393–⁠3–⁠2Ossie Solem1472
19385–⁠310Ossie Solem1487
19375–⁠2–⁠117Ossie Solem1450
19361–⁠7Vic Hanson1361
19356–⁠1–⁠1Vic Hanson1556
19346–⁠2Vic Hanson1557
19334–⁠4Vic Hanson1462
19324–⁠4–⁠1Vic Hanson1469
19317–⁠1–⁠1Vic Hanson1566
19305–⁠2–⁠2Vic Hanson1515
19296–⁠3Lew Andreas1499
19284–⁠4–⁠1Lew Andreas1483
19275–⁠3–⁠2Lew Andreas1536
19267–⁠2–⁠1Pete Reynolds1610
19258–⁠1–⁠1Pete Reynolds1611
19248–⁠2–⁠1Chick Meehan1601
19238–⁠1Chick Meehan1636
19226–⁠1–⁠2Chick Meehan1584
19217–⁠2Chick Meehan1597
19206–⁠2–⁠1Chick Meehan1601
19198–⁠3Frank “Buck” O’Neill1612
19185–⁠1Frank “Buck” O’Neill1638
19178–⁠1–⁠1Frank “Buck” O’Neill1623
19165–⁠4William Hollenback1528
19159–⁠1–⁠2Frank “Buck” O’Neill1633
19145–⁠3–⁠2Frank “Buck” O’Neill1495
19136–⁠4Frank “Buck” O’Neill1467
19124–⁠5C. DeForest Cummings1463
19115–⁠3–⁠2C. DeForest Cummings1456
19105–⁠4–⁠1Tad Jones1482
19094–⁠5–⁠1Tad Jones1477
19086–⁠3–⁠1Howard Jones1541
19075–⁠3–⁠1Frank “Buck” O’Neill1505
19066–⁠3Frank “Buck” O’Neill1536
19058–⁠3Charles Hutchins1497
1904few games on file1–⁠2Charles Hutchins1452
1903few games on file0–⁠3Ancil D. Brown & Jason B. Parrish1453
19026–⁠2–⁠1Edwin Sweetland1526
19017–⁠2Edwin Sweetland1540
19007–⁠2–⁠1Edwin Sweetland1488
18994–⁠4Frank Wade1389
1898few games on file0–⁠2–⁠1Frank Wade1382
1897few games on file0–⁠1Frank Wade1388
1896few games on file0–⁠2George O. Redington1353
1895few games on file0–⁠2George O. Redington1371
1894few games on file0–⁠2George H. Bond1384
1893few games on file0–⁠11440
1892few games on file0–⁠1Jordan C. Wells1454
1891few games on file0–⁠1William Galbraith1468

Officially 758–⁠590–⁠49 since 1889 (per Wikipedia, as of 9/12/26); game by game here, 714–⁠560–⁠42 (−44 wins, −30 losses, −7 ties). Our file starts in 1891; the program began in 1889. Some games are missing from our source.

No season on file for 1943: wartime seasons, when many programs didn’t play.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.