Syracuse opens season at home against FCS New Hampshire

It was a cold, windy day on August 30th, 2025. Syracuse football was gearing up to start the 2025 season against No. 24 Tennessee in Atlanta, Georgia. Hopes were high after a 10-3 record and a 20th-ranked finished the season before.

Head Coach Fran Brown’s group immediately went down by 17 points in the first quarter, capped off by a fumble recovered by the Volunteers for a seven-point score as the clock hit zero. SU went on to lose by nearly three touchdowns.

The orange fought back in the weeks that followed, with wins over UConn and Colgate before a date with Clemson in week four. A confident Syracuse team marched into Clemson's house with no all-time wins against the Tigers in Death Valley.

The ‘Cuse came out of the gates hot, with 10 straight unanswered points, and entered halftime with the same advantage. Then, disaster happened.

While scrambling to his right, quarterback Steve Angeli lost his footing and went to the turf in pain. The nation's leading passer at the time hobbled into the locker room, while the 315 held its breath.

SU held on to secure the victory, but shortly after the game it was announced that Angeli tore his achilles tendon, and would be out for nearly a year. After that, things went from bad to worse for the Orange.

Syracuse failed to win a game for the rest of the season, losing eight straight to finish 3-9, good for the worst record in the ACC. But the tone around the team was different. Due to many injuries like the one Angeli suffered, the season felt incomplete, and Fran Brown knew he had unfinished business going into next year.

“I’m very motivated. Very excited,” Brown said after a 34-12 loss to Boston College to end the season. “You have to have the other guys in the back ready and ready to play. I felt like we continued to shuffle all year long… we’ve been working on doing something opposite of that as next season comes in.”

The offseason brought many changes, one of which was former defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson leaving for Texas A&M. In his place, former Toledo DC Vince Kehres stepped in. With a recharged defense and a now-healthy quarterback, the Orange are whole once again.

The stage is set, and campus is ready for football to return to the 315. Syracuse (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) takes on New Hampshire (0-1, Coastal Athletic Association) in the 2026 season opener on Saturday at noon.

The Wildcats are coming off a 28-14 loss to UAlbany last week. NHU failed to get the rush game going, with just 62 yards. On the other side, the Great Danes steamrolled New Hampshire for 374 yards on the ground.

However, Head Coach Fran Brown knows that shutting the Wildcats down won't be that easy. “I think they'll come out as a way better football team than last week. And I thought they did some really good things,” Brown said. “I think they'll try to establish the run. They'll come out and play extremely hard. So, that first 15 minutes, you'll see a really, really good football game.”

Myles Thomason led NHU with 61 yards last week and looks to be the feature back again. The grad student is in his fifth year with the Wildcats, with a career-best 736 yards last season.

And while Brown might be precautious about New Hampshire, they are still an FCS opponent. Since 1978, SU is 22-0 against the FCS by a margin of nearly 250 points. The last time the ‘Cuse faced off against an FCS opponent was against Colgate last season. The Orange won that game by a final score of 66-24.

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And even though the Orange might be favored in this game, analysts aren't so bullish on the whole season. CBS Sports and ESPN both have Syracuse in the bottom three of the ACC. Fran Brown hears the noise, but isn't worried.

With a new DC, a healthy quarterback and the kinks of last season ironed out, Brown has a lot to be hopeful for. One thing that is still in the air is the status of fifth-year wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons. Legal decisions between various court systems and the NCAA have rendered athletes eligible and ineligible from week to week, but as of right now, Ross-Simmons is eligible.

Ross-Simmons has been practicing with the ‘Cuse for weeks, and his eligibility has been a constant source of conversation in Fran Brown’s interviews. But whatever happens, Brown is sticking with his guy no matter what.

“Whatever way it goes, I'm going to support him. I'm going to be behind him 100%.” Brown stated. “I want to see him get a degree and if he'll be able to play, then we'll push him to play. And if he can't play, then he can't play. I'm going to keep him around and make sure that he can make a difference here.”

Even with the receiver being eligible to play, he still isn't listed on the depth chart that Fran Brown released earlier this week.

In his absence, sophomore Darius Johnson steps in. The Florida native used his redshirt year with SU last season, appearing in 4 games and making 6 catches for 48 yards.

He appears to start alongside senior Cole Weaver and sixth-year Umari Hatcher, who should provide leadership and stability to the wide-receiver room. Hatcher has spent the better part of a decade with the Orange, and Weaver is coming off a career year with Miami (Ohio), leading the team with 45 catches for 642 yards.

Pair that with a healthy Steve Angeli, a rocking Dome and a revamped defense, and SU is ready to rock and roll for the 2026 season. But can they set the tone in an all-important week one game?

Find out on 88.3 FM on Saturday. Kickoff is at noon, and WAER has a special hour-long McClurg Remodeling countdown to kickoff starting at 11 a.m.