Syracuse Orange Football: What Could 2023 ACC 3-5-5 Schedule Options Look Like?

We’re back with more talk about the Syracuse Orange schedule. Now that the NCAA has paved the way for conferences to change how championship game contestants are determined, all indications are that the ACC will eliminate divisions and move to a 3-5-5 schedule model — possibly as early as 2023 .

So we came up with our guesses as to what a 3-5-5 model for the Orange might look like. It will be interesting to see what the final model looks like, but more interesting might be the process of revising the permanent rivals and the rotating groups.

Kevin:

Three constant rivals: Boston College, Pitt, Florida State

Group A: Clemson, NC State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest

Group B: Miami, UNC, Virginia Tech, Duke, Louisville

Rationale: Syracuse, BC, and Pitt appeared to be affiliated, and since the AD told FSU he wanted BC or Syracuse, I think he’ll get his wish. It appears BC and Miami will be pushing to be paired for the Orange to get the Seminoles playing. As for the groups, I would suspect that the pressure will be to find a balance between competition and travel, so I tried to create teams using this method. You’d hope Syracuse would push that Clemson and Miami, in contrast, plan to come into the Dome years from now when the Orange travel to FSU… but we’ll see how it plays out.

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Mike:

Three constant rivals: Boston College, Pitt, Wake Forest

Group A: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia

Group B: Louisville, Miami, State NC, UNC, Virginia Tech

Rationale: BC and Pitt are the two options that make the most sense, both geographically and historically. Wake Forest might seem like an odd choice over the Florida and Louisville schools, but here’s my reasoning. Since Wake Forest is by far the smallest in terms of seating capacity, they can face another team with a smaller stadium in this match, and SU fans still get a trip to North Carolina, but in a more intimate setting. After last year’s OT game, there is some actuality bias with a chance to start a new competitive rivalry. (At least we know who’s going to win the mascot fight there.) As Kevin said, the groups of 5 and 5 should be formed to spread the travel and level of competition as evenly as possible.

Steve:

Three constant rivals: Boston College, Pitt, Virginia Tech

Group A: Clemson, Miami, NC, Duke, Virginia

Group B: Florida State, Louisville, UNC, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech

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What do you think the end result of the 3-5-5 will be for Syracuse? Let us know in the comments.