Five ACC teams enter the season in the top 25 of the national polls… and four of them appear on Syracuse’s schedule. Clemson starts off at #4 in the country, backed by North Carolina State (#13), Miami (#16), Pittsburgh (#17), and Wake Forest (#22). Only the Hurricanes do not face off with SU.
Fear not, though, as #5 Notre Dame highlights the non-conference slate by making a rare visit to Syracuse. The Irish make it a total of five ranked teams on the Orange schedule and, even better, all five of those opponents appear in the six-week span after the bye week.
Purdue is the second-biggest name on the schedule outside of ACC play. The Boilermakers, who are coming off a 9-4 season, received votes in the preseason polls, but did not reach the top 25. Regional rival Connecticut and FCS opponent Wagner complete the list of non-conference foes.
While crossover opponents Pitt and Virginia finished second and fourth in the Coastal Division, respectively, in the preseason ACC media poll, they did each receive votes as the ACC champion. That makes seven of the eight conference foes on the SU schedule receiving that honor with only Louisville on the outside. Once again, the Orange were voted last in the Atlantic Division, this time a distant seventh place horse.
» Recapping Syracuse’s 2021 football season
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | TV |
| Sat, Sep 3 | vs Louisville | 8:00 PM | ACCN |
| Sat, Sep 10 | @UConn | 7:00 PM | CBSSN |
| Sat, Sep 17 | vs Purdue | 12:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| Fri, Sep 23 | vs Virginia | 7:00 PM | ESPN |
| Sat, Oct 1 | vs Wagner | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 15 | vs 13 NC State | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 22 | @ 4 Clemson | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Oct 29 | vs 5 Notre Dame | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 5 | @17 Pittsburgh | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 12 | vs Florida State | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 19 | @22 Wake Forest | TBD | TBD |
| Sat, Nov 26 | @Boston College | TBD | TBD |
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