Orange fans can start planning their weekends around SU football after some early season start times were announced on Wednesday.
The Syracuse football schedule has been known for months, but fans got more details on Wednesday, as four games now have officially locked in kickoff times.
After going 3-9 a season ago, Syracuse will open up the new campaign against the New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday, Sept. 5 at the JMA Wireless Dome. The official kickoff for that opener is set for noon E.T.
The Orange will follow up their opener with a second straight home game on Sept. 12. Syracuse hosts ACC foe California in the conference opener. Kickoff between the Orange and Golden Bears is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
SU gets a quick turnaround against another conference foe as the Orange then get a Thursday night matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers on the road. Kickoff on Sept. 17 is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Following the Pitt game, Syracuse will have a 15-day layoff until their next matchup. Syracuse heads to Storrs, Conn. to take on the UConn Huskies. Kickoff has now been confirmed for Oct. 3 at noon ET.
These game times, so far, are advantageous to fans for a variety of reasons. The noon games are easier to go to for families, while the Thursday primetime game should draw solid television ratings.
Complete schedule
The complete schedule with added times now looks like this:
September 5 vs. New Hampshire noon ET
September 12 vs. California 3:30 p.m. ET
September 17 @ Pittsburgh 7:30 p.m. ET
October 3 @ UConn noon ET
October 10 @ Virginia, TBD
October. 17 vs. Louisville, TBD
October 24 @ North Carolina , TBD
October 31 @ SMU , TBD
November 7 vs. Clemson , TBD
November 14 @ N.C. State, to be TBD
November 21 @ Boston College, TBD
November 28 vs. Notre Dame, TBD
When will the other game times be decided?
The October and November kickoff times will be determined during the regular season. If Syracuse is performing well, the Orange's remaining games will likely be moved into nationally televised slots, which lean towards the 3:30 p.m or 7:30 p.m. If the Orange struggle, Syracuse's games will likely be placed earlier in the afternoon. Those kickoff times are also determined by the success of the future scheduled opponents as well.
Three of the first four games of the season will air on ESPN channels. The two home games will air on the ACC Network while the Pittsburgh road game will air on ESPN. The October matchup against UConn will air on CBS Sports Network.
Home crowd size most likely determined by kickoff time decisions
The most interesting kickoff time yet to be announced that will likely influence the crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome is Oct. 31 against SMU. An early Saturday home game could still draw families and young fans to the game to support the Orange, but because it's Halloween, a later game could spell attendance issues.
Last season, the Orange played on Halloween night, but it was a Friday. Syracuse drew 37,184 fans in a 27-10 loss to North Carolina.
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