SMU steamrolled Syracuse 31-18 the last time these two met, and the rematch on Friday, October 30 finds one program building toward a conference title and the other still digging out of a season that fell apart in a hurry.
Bush’s Picks
SMUSYR
SMUSYR
OverUnder
Best BetSMU
SMU enters as the clearly superior program right now — a 9-4 season, a bowl win, and a preseason No. 2 ACC ranking against a Syracuse team picked 15th. Jennings and a deep skill group give the Mustangs a real edge at both lines of scrimmage, and Syracuse is still an unknown quantity with Angeli working back from a serious injury. Back SMU here; the gap in roster quality is significant.
SMU
+9-4 in 2025, Holiday Bowl win over Arizona
+Preseason No. 2 in ACC, Jennings returning at QB
+Beat Syracuse 31-18 in only prior meeting
−Blew ACC title shot with late loss to Cal
−First true road trip of a long, expectation-heavy season
Syracuse
+Angeli was completing 63% of throws, 10 TDs before injury
+Fran Brown added portal QB depth (Odom) after 2025 collapse
−Finished 3-9, lost 8 straight after Angeli's injury
−Picked 15th in ACC preseason poll, lost prior meeting by 13
Kevin Jennings is back under center for SMU after leading the Mustangs to a 9-4 season, a 6-2 mark in the ACC, and a Holiday Bowl win over Arizona. USA Today's preseason ACC poll has SMU slotted 2nd behind Miami, and Jennings is the reason why. Syracuse's answer is Steve Angeli, who was completing 63% of his passes with 10 touchdowns before an Achilles tear ended his 2025 season 4 games in. His return is the whole ballgame for the Orange this year.
Syracuse's collapse last season wasn't subtle — a 3-1 start turned into an 8-game losing streak the moment Angeli went down, and the offense never found an answer at quarterback the rest of the way. Fran Brown enters year 3 needing to prove that was an injury problem and not a program problem, and he added portal arm Amari Odom this offseason specifically so Syracuse never gets caught that thin again.
Show fees
11:00 PM CT
Spread
ML
Total
SMU SMU
SYR Syracuse
SMU, meanwhile, is building out one of the deeper skill groups in the league. Yamir Knight is penciled in for a monster year in the slot, and the running back room got an upgrade with Cal transfer Kendrick Raphael pairing with redshirt freshman Dramekco Green. It's the kind of depth that let Lashlee's team hang 31 points on Syracuse a year ago without much resistance.
SMU Mustangs
Oct 16?vs Virginia—
Oct 2?vs Boston College—
Sep 25?vs Missouri State—
Sep 19?@ Louisville—
Sep 12?vs UC Davis—
Sep 7?@ Florida State—
Syracuse Orange
Oct 16?vs Louisville—
Oct 9?@ Virginia—
Oct 3?@ UConn—
Sep 17?@ Pittsburgh—
Sep 12?vs California—
Sep 5?vs New Hampshire—
Recent form.
The bigger story for SMU is what didn't happen last season — a 38-35 upset loss to Cal in the final week knocked the Mustangs out of the ACC title game and handed the trophy to Duke instead. That near-miss, plus a signature overtime win over No. 10 Miami, is why Lashlee is getting Coach of the Year buzz and why this Syracuse trip reads like a get-right game on paper rather than a real threat to the season.
SMU Mustangs
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Syracuse Orange
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Syracuse was picked 15th in the ACC preseason poll, about as low as it gets, and that's before accounting for the fact that Angeli's health is still the biggest swing factor on the roster. If he looks like the guy who lit up the stat sheet in 2025 before the injury, the Orange are at least competitive. If not, this could look a lot like last year's 31-18 final.
