ESPN predicts the winner of Clemson football vs. Syracuse

The Clemson Tigers are coming off arguably their best performance of the 2026 college football season in a 36-24 win over Florida State. Can the offense build on it when Dabo Swinney's team visits the Syracuse Orange in Week 10? Clemson (5-3, 4-2 ACC) put up 351 yards of total offense in the win at

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What is the story about?

The Clemson Tigers are coming off arguably their best performance of the 2026 college football season in a 36-24 win over Florida State. Can the offense build on it when Dabo Swinney's team visits the Syracuse Orange in Week 10?

Clemson (5-3, 4-2 ACC) put up 351 yards of total offense in the win at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. While it was hardly a perfect performance, the Tigers executed in the red zone twice with Tait Reynolds throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to Christian Bentancur and a 4-yard pass to Olsen Patt-Henry for another score.

Nolan Hauser went 5-for-5 on field goal tries as his successful junior season continued, and Reynolds put the game out of reach with a 79-yard touchdown run on third-and-long from the Tigers' 21-yard

line with 3:17 to play. Tyler Brown had five catches for 74 yards to lead the Tigers' receiver corps.

Tom Allen's defense forced four takeaways courtesy of two Elliot Washington II interceptions, including one on the Seminoles' last drive, and another from Jerome Carter III.

Syracuse (4-4, 2-4) pulled off a 30-27 upset of the SMU Mustangs in Week 9 at JMA Wireless Dome. Steve Angeli threw a game-winning 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Noah Meyers with 17 seconds left to send coach Fran Brown's Orange to their biggest win since a stunning 34-21 beatdown of Clemson a year ago at Memorial Stadium.

Will the Tigers stay hot when they visit Syracuse?

Will Clemson football beat Florida State? ESPN's prediction

Oddsmakers have Clemson as a 2.5-point favorite over Syracuse, but as always, ESPN Analytics has its own odds for Saturday's game.

ESPN's matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college football power index and other variables, gives Clemsib a 56.7% chance to win. Syracuse has a 43.3% chance.

The Tigers are 45th nationally in ESPN's FPI, up six spots from last week, and are ninth among ACC teams. Clemson has a 7.1 overall FPI rating (up from 5.8). Syracuse has a 2.4 FPI rating that is 59th nationally in ESPN's metrics. The Tigers are one spot ahead of New Mexico (6.2) in the FPI and one spot below Washington (7.2).

Clemson football odds of reaching bowl game skyrocket after win at FSU

In ESPN's FPI entering Week 10, Clemson's chances of reaching six wins to qualify for a bowl game stand at 96.5%, up from 78.1% prior to its win over Florida State.

Clemson's chances of winning its final four games are just 6.5% (up from 2.1%), according to ESPN's FPI.

Clemson defensive lineman announces retirement from football

📸 Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network , USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/KiIk5FT1AU pic.twitter.com/b0KphfbTZg
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) November 3, 2026

ACC football teams ranked by ESPN FPI entering loaded Week 10 schedule

Here is where Clemson and all 17 conference teams rank in ESPN's FPI:

17. Stanford Cardinal (-10.0 FPI)
16. California Golden Bears (-6.9 FPI)
15. Boston College Eagles (-4.0 FPI)
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-3.8 FPI)
14. NC State Wolfpack (1.1 FPI)
12. Syracuse Orange (2.4 FPI)
11. Virginia Cavaliers (3.7 FPI)
10. Virginia Tech Hokies (6.1 FPI)
9. Clemson Tigers (7.1 FPI)
8. Florida State Seminoles (8.0 FPI)
7. Pitt Panthers (8.4 FPI)
6. North Carolina Tar Heels (8.6 FPI)
5. Duke Blue Devils (10.3 FPI)
4. SMU Mustangs (10.5 FPI)
3. Louisville Cardinals (14.2 FPI)
2. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17.4 FPI)
1. Miami Hurricanes (26.1 FPI)

What are ESPN FPI ratings?

ESPN explains:

"The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete."

Clemson football vs. Syracuse start time, TV channel information

ESPN reveals TV announcers for Clemson football vs. Syracuse

📸 Melina Myers, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/Ij7SE32cSD pic.twitter.com/rifR7spBDw
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) November 3, 2026

Kickoff for Clemson-Syracuse in Week 10 of the 2026 college football season is noon ET Saturday at JMA Wireless Dome in New York. The game can be seen on ESPN2. Lowell Galindo and Kirk Morrison will have the call of the game. Dawn Davenport will report from the sidelines.