Nussbaum: Just 3 weeks in, Syracuse’s bowl game chances look slim to none
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
PITTSBURGH — When I made my season prediction for Syracuse football’s 2026 campaign, I budgeted five wins.
In my mind, those five came from matchups with New Hampshire, Cal, UConn, North Carolina and Boston College, with a few other games categorized as “toss-ups” that SU could potentially win. Of course, that prediction depended on many variables. Would the Orange have a reliable pass rush unlike last year? Would anyone become a viable No. 1 option in a nearly completely new wide receiver room? And most importantly, how would Steve Angeli play coming off his season-ending Achilles injury?
Those questions and others would determine which version of SU appeared in 2026 — closer to the 10-win 2024 version or the three-win squad of 2025.
I leaned toward the lower side but believed Syracuse possessed the talent to reach the six-win threshold needed to make a bowl game or even seven via another upset.
But three games into this season, the Orange’s bowl chances appear dead in the water. SU (1-2, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) predictably demolished New Hampshire but lost winnable games to the Golden Bears last weekend and Panthers Thursday. Yes, it’s still early, but Syracuse has shown little signs from its first two ACC games that it can beat many of the teams remaining on its schedule.
The Orange still have time to turn their season around — Fran Brown acknowledged that as he talked postgame Thursday. He still believes in this team, but that belief needs to translate into real change on the field quickly if SU wants to extend its season into December.
“There’s some things that I got to do in practice to be able to set up. Let’s get that done,” Brown said. “But I believe in our players. I think that they’ll make those plays that ought to be made.”
Those plays haven’t been made across the last two weeks. There’s a laundry list of items that didn’t seem to improve from Saturday to Thursday. For one, the penalties. The Orange had 14 versus Cal and 10 against Pitt. Brown said some were judgment calls, but anything pre-snap he chalked up as unacceptable. Tripp Woody also missed his third field goal in two games as SU’s special teams woes persist.
And, of course, there’s the topic of Angeli. He’s now thrown five interceptions across the last two games — three more than he had in last year’s short stint. Sometimes, you can credit those to tipped balls or bad routes, but it’s hard to say that for many of Angeli’s picks.
Pitt’s Raion Strader intercepts Steve Angeli. Angeli tossed two interceptions in Syracuse’s 27-13 loss to the Panthers Thursday. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
Angeli stood at the podium Thursday night. His answers were short, and he only spoke for three minutes, but he was honest. There’s not just one thing he needs to improve; he said he must fine-tune everything.
To Brown’s credit, he hasn’t stood on his heels through the struggles. He swapped Woody for freshman Shay Barker following Woody’s second-quarter miss Thursday. Barker promptly made two field goals. Brown also benched Angeli for Amari Odom after two straight fourth-quarter picks, and he went 7-for-7 in the one drive he led.
“You just gotta find different things,” Brown said. “When your number’s called, step up. Shay got an opportunity, and he stepped up, and he was able to go make the kick. Amari went in and he did a good job of being able to drive us downfield to go get some points.”
Brown’s doing everything he can to keep this team alive. But there’s only so much he can do when his players are consistently outmatched and just may not have the talent to stack up against their opponents.
“I can’t really blame him. He’s only a coach,” SU corner Demetres Samuel Jr. said of Brown postgame. “He can’t go out there and make the plays. We just got to execute and do a better job for him.”
It doesn’t help that the matchups will only get tougher. That — on top of the persistent struggles — is exactly what worries me about SU’s bowl chances.
Let’s assess the Orange’s remaining schedule. I still think they can beat UConn, UNC and BC, though those aren’t even givens now. From there, it gets dicey. Four of the other six games — of which Syracuse would likely need to win at least two to qualify for bowl contention — are against ranked opponents.
It faces No. 25 Virginia and No. 23 Louisville in back-to-back weeks in mid-October before ending the month against No. 16 SMU. The Orange also finish their season at home versus No. 3 Notre Dame, which beat them 70-7 last year — a score that gives little optimism for the rematch. Their other two unranked games come against NC State and Clemson in November, which aren’t pushovers either.
Steve Angeli takes a snap in Syracuse’s loss to Pitt Thursday. Angeli has thrown five interceptions over his last two games. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
Brown said before the season that SU’s opponents don’t matter to him. The way Syracuse prepares looks similar with obvious tweaks and film sessions tailored to each game.
“I don’t really look at the opponent. I just look at what we have to do at practice today,” Brown said. “This is the day that we get promised today, so we’re going to do everything we can to practice to become a better football team.”
It’s a good mindset to have, but it hasn’t resulted in wins thus far. Simply put, how is Syracuse meant to beat many of its remaining opponents if it can’t beat Cal or Pitt, supposedly two of its easier matchups?
The most realistic path to a bowl berth runs through NC State and Clemson, unless SU miraculously picks up a ranked victory. But even that’s tough. It forces the Orange to go 5-0 in their remaining unranked matchups, beating Clemson and NC State, two programs that have seen consistent success under their current head coaches, Dabo Swinney and Dave Doeren.
SU did upset Clemson last year with Angeli, and the Tigers haven’t looked right since 2024. But that’s not something this team looks capable of repeating at its current state.
Realistically, Syracuse should be shooting for much more than the six wins required to make a bowl game. It should be striving to regain the momentum it bottled after Brown’s 10-win debut and contending for an ACC title.
Instead, the Orange have put themselves into this reality with their 1-2 start — one where even the bare minimum success looks far-fetched.
