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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/usffan on 2025-07-04 14:40:49+00:00.
The cumulative link to the preseason rankings can be found here.
Syracuse (high = 43, low = 62) is #50 in our countdown, the 7th ACC team to be listed (and first since the new ACC/FSU/Clemson settlement was released, dropping those Super League breadcrumbs). Fran Brown’s first season as head coach couldn’t have gone much better for the Orange, finishing with just their third 10 win season since 1992 and equaling the high water mark from the Dino Babers era. In fact, they were only 10 points from their first ever 12 win season, so expectations are sky high heading into this year.
Roster outlook
Brown rebuilt Babers depleted roster last season by accumulating a top 25 portal class in 2024. That was of course highlighted by former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord, but he’s now the property of the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, the Orange rank 90th in the country in terms of returning production, and in the bottom 20 on offense. 1,000 yard rusher LeQuint Allen, Jr. (Jaguars) and 1,000 yard receiver Jackson Meeks (Lions) are also gone to the NFL. Fortunately, 6 of the Orange’s 2025 starters are from that 2024 portal class, because Brown didn’t exactly set the world on fire with recruiting or the portal this year, both ranking 10th in the ACC and none in the top 40 in the country. The biggest pickup is former Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli, and really how many teams can say they have a quarterback whose played in the CFP?
Schedule and outlook
Unlike last year’s pillowy soft OOC schedule, the Orange open in Atlanta against THE orange Tennessee Volunteers before drawing UConn and Colgate at home. But the ACC didn’t do Syracuse any favors with road trips to Clemson, Miami, SMU and Georgia Tech plus a game at Notre Dame. The Orange will be underdogs in each of those (plus in Atlanta), so they don’t have much wiggle room if they want to go back to a bowl this year.