No one saw the Steve Angeli story ending this way. The former Notre Dame quarterback was beloved in South Bend for his loyalty and upbeat attitude, even after spending two years getting passed over for Transfer Portal additions. Unfortunately, when he went looking for a team where he could finally start, he was taken in by a head coach who looks unlikely to finish 2026 employed.
Angeli saw what Kyle McCord did for Syracuse in 2024 and decided he, too, had a chance to put up 4,779 yards, 34 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. Last year, Angeli was off to a good start. Even with a season-opening loss, he tallied 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns, and just 2 interceptions. He engineered a 3-1 start to Fran Brown’s third season with Syracuse, but in a 34-21 victory over Clemson, Angeli suffered a torn Achilles tendon and was done for the year.
This spring, the talk was that Angeli made a miraculous recovery. His triumphant return to Syracuse made it look like a reunion game at the end of the year against Notre Dame was back on the table after missing out in 2025. Now, whether the quarterback isn’t fully healed from his injury despite claims to the contrary, or a head coach who is way, way over his head leading a program in a Power 4 conference, Angeli’s fairy tale has taken a hell of a turn.
In the Orange’s season opener, Angeli looked all the way back. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns. Of course, against New Hampshire, a Syracuse quarterback is supposed to put up numbers like that. The last two weeks have been much worse.
Steve Angeli WOOF pic.twitter.com/gWYAm9dMcw
— T.J. Randall (@TJ_Randall12) September 18, 2026
Former Notre Dame football QB Steve Angeli faces uncertain Syracuse future after benching
Against California and Pitt, Angeli completed just 50% of his passes, threw 1 touchdown pass, and threw 5 interceptions. On Thursday night, he was benched in a 27-13 loss to Pitt. His replacement, Amari Odom, went 7-for-7 for 44 yards. While Brown hasn’t said it out loud, it feels like Angeli may be headed to a backup role for at least the next game.
After spending two years as the chief backup at Notre Dame, some analysts already believe he was overrated when he arrived at Syracuse. However, it can’t help that his head coach appears to be ill-suited for the job. His “pump fake” in the face of an official last night, which drew one of the 10 penalties called on the Orange, is just one piece of evidence.
Syracuse had 10 penalties tonight, including one on head coach Fran Brown for pump-faking at the ref.
— Grant Reacts (@GrantReacts1) September 18, 2026
The ref didn't flinch though. Lol. pic.twitter.com/SXuWCePQob
That Syracuse hasn’t beaten an FBS team since that Clemson victory last year is another.
Whether Angeli isn’t a starting quarterback or he had the unfortunate luck of believing Fran Brown was a good coach, it’s clear his career isn’t going the way Notre Dame football fans who rooted for him in South Bend were hoping. That’s a real bummer for a dude Irish supporters would make good somewhere else while celebrating the accomplishments of CJ Carr.
Add us as a preferred source on Google