As our own Brady Farkas shared earlier this week, the Syracuse football team will kickoff its 2027 regular season in Toronto against fellow Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member Wake Forest. It's not clear if Syracuse actually had a true say in this decision, but regardless, this is the right move for head coach Fran Brown and his program.

According to a statement released by Syracuse with regards to the contest:

"The contest will serve as one of Wake Forest's home conference games and will count as a conference matchup between the two teams." 

Orange season ticket holders will not lose a home game for 2027. In the past, Syracuse has lost home games because of neutral site games (more on that later). Now, local Syracuse fans will likely get the same amount of times to see the Orange in the JMA Wireless Dome as fans of other power conference schools.

The JMA Wireless Dome is less than four hours away from BMO Field. For comparison, the travel distance for fans to this game is shorter than any other away game the Orange played in 2025. 

In the late 1990's the Orange found success in neutral site games. The Orange defeated the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers 34-0 at Giants Stadium (now known as Metlife Stadium). Other neutral site games have featured appearances at MetLife Stadium against Penn State, and Yankee Stadium against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The hope is that playing well in front of a different market could attract recruits from that area to sign in the future with Syracuse. 

The 2026 roster features five players who did spend time in Canada before joining the Orange: Nissi Ogbebor, Nathan Nyandaro, Isaiah Hastings, Vito Shevchenko and Antoine Deslauriers. Deslauriers found the most success of the five Canadian players last season. The 6'1 linebacker was named a Freshman All-American by national media outlets, becoming the first Orange freshman in program history to lead the team in tackles. Brown will hope other Canadian prospects will follow Deslauriers lead and sign with Syracuse. 

Also in the  statement released by Syracuse University, the 2027 Week 0 game will be taking place in conjunction with an already established Canadian event. 

Per Cuse.com

"The game will also coincide with the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), Canada's largest annual community event and a premier end-of-summer fair. The CNE welcomes over 1.5 million visitors annually, creating a unique platform to introduce college football to a broad international audience. 

This game will also be broadcast nationally. The channel (ABC or ESPN), official date and kickoff time are still to be determined.

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