It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means… time for the blog that gives you the internet’s most ridiculous college football preview series- it’s #FakeNunes time. Can we keep finding ways to get #jokesandgarbage into a Syracuse Orange preview? You be the judge….
Now onto this week’s opponent
Opponent: Southern Methodist University Mustangs
Location: University Park, TX
Students: 12,111 students who are still getting the hang of chanting A-C-C not A-A-C
The 2025 Fake Nunes Statistical Index (#FNSI)
We
continue to look to innovate our analytics model so we here’s what the lab cooked up for this season.
Rivalry Trophy
The FNSI staff won’t give up on their quest to bring back more tradition into today’s college game. Let’s see what they’ve got for this one
The Bacchus Belt Buckle
This is only the second time the schools play, but back in 1932 it was a touchdown from SMU halfback (and future MBB Head Coach) Whitey Bacchus who pushed the Mustangs to a 16-6 over Vic Hanson’s Orange.
Jersey Boys
Fran Brown wants to reclaim the Garden State so let’s see how the Orange stack up against each opponent.
The Orange have 17 players from Jersey on this year’s squad while SMU doesn’t seem to think New Jersey football exists.
Advantage: Syracuse
Notable Alum
Bringing back this one as we love to drop, some knowledge every now and then to help our loyal readers possibly win a trivia night. After all we are the Syracuse blog that loves you back and we take that seriously.
Nathan Bombrys vs Thomas Dundon
In honor of the start of the upcoming NHL season we’ve got Rugby Canada’s CEO against the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes. Bombrys has gone from Syracuse rugby captain to his current position while Dundon has added the Portland Trail Blazers to his portfolio. Since we’re Canada’s College Team, you know where the FNSI staff leans,
Advantage: Syracuse
Punter vs Punter
Wade McSparron is another Australian punter, but this one doesn’t have an Aussie Rules player as a Father, so he’s no match in a duel with the Coffin Corner Cowboy
Advantage: Syracuse
Orangeawatha Miron Court Special Menu Item
Thanks to Orangeawatha we now that the Miron Victory Court will have a specialty item for each opponent this year. In honor of the Texas State Fair and Syracuse’s Italian restaurants, we pick the Deep Fried Carbonara for this week’s menu.
Fran Brown Hat Tracker
We should have known we were in trouble when Fran came out in black with a platinum hat. Bad vibes even if it’s a nice looking hat.
The Official #FakeNunes Game Prediction
After last week, a road trip to face an offense averaging 43.5 points in their two home games seems like a bad recipe for a Syracuse win. Fran Brown and Jeff Nixon dig into the trickeration as Luke Carney throws a screen to Byron Washington and the Texas duo cut into SMU’s lead in the second half. It’s the bright spot in another long afternoon for the Orange run defense. Thankfully, fans are always rational when it comes to their teams and we all just enjoy a nice, relaxing bye week free from angst and drama..
Final Score: SMU 34, Syracuse 23