Aloha folks! Hawaii fan here. To clarify matters, there are actually two Hawaii-related scheduling exemptions.
One is the 13th-game exemption. It allows Hawaii and any school that plays a game at Hawaii at any time during the season to schedule a 13th game.
There’s also the Week Zero exemption, which allows Week Zero games to be played by Hawaii, and by any school that plays a game at Hawaii at any time during the season, and by their Week Zero opponents.
So if Hawaii is in fact replacing Army on Syracuse’s 2024 schedule, the applicability of the exemptions depends on where the game is played.
If Syracuse plays at Hawaii, Syracuse will be allowed to both schedule a 13th game and to play during Week Zero. The game at Hawaii could be Syracuse’s Week Zero game, or Syracuse could play its Week Zero game at home against a different opponent and play at Hawaii later in the season.
If Hawaii plays at Syracuse, the game can be played during Week Zero, but Syracuse won’t be allowed to schedule a 13th game. That’s because Syracuse would qualify for the Week Zero exemption as Hawaii’s Week Zero opponent, but not for the 13th game exemption because it wouldn’t be playing a game at Hawaii.
My understanding is that if the game happens, it will be during Week Zero at Syracuse. This will fulfill Hawaii’s objective of replacing its previously scheduled Week Zero home game against Oregon with a Week Zero road money game against a P4 opponent. Oregon wants out of playing Hawaii to clear room on its schedule for a game with Oregon State, and Hawaii is looking to net a bigger Week Zero payout than it could earn by playing at home in its temporary 15K-seat stadium. (The full-sized replacement for Aloha Stadium, which will seat 25K to 35K depending on the final design, is currently on track to open in the summer of 2028.) And of course Syracuse will benefit by backfilling for the lost road game at Army with a Week Zero home game that should enjoy good media coverage and earn substantial incremental ticket revenue.
Hopefully all that makes sense.