Syracuse University has agreed to play three home games against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and USC Trojans over the next seven years in the new stadium at the Meadowlands.

Although an official announcement has not been made, unnamed sources have said the Orange will face USC in 2012 and Notre Dame in 2014 and 2016 at the new privately owned $1.6 billion stadium that is being built by the New York Giants and the New York Jets of the NFL. It is scheduled to open next season.

The new stadium will seat about 80,000 fans. That is about 30,000 more than the capacity at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse's home field.

Syracuse, once one of the powers of college football, will be looking to get some national exposure out of these games. The Orange have not played in a bowl game since 2004 and finished last in the Big East Conference last season.

In Notre Dame and USC, the Orange will get two of the nation's most recognised programs to play against in a setting that will surely warrant television coverage in most major markets.

Pete Carroll's Trojans have been one of the best programs in the country this decade, with a run of seven straight Pac-10 titles, BCS bowl games and 11-win seasons.

The Irish have played Syracuse six times, most recently an embarrassing 24-23 loss last season when the Irish gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns to an Orange squad that had scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns all season and finished with nine losses.

The series is tied 3-3.