Syracuse Football: Athlon Sports corrects egregious SU ranking error

Athlon Sports finally corrected their egregious error involving the Syracuse football squad. Here’s more on that mistake and how they made it all better.

Better late than never I suppose. For those who missed it back in January, Athlon Sports released their “way-too-early” preseason college football rankings and mysteriously the Syracuse football squad was MIA.

Syracuse, of course, finished the season ranked in the top-15 in the country after their best season since 2001 (10-3). While they’ve lost key talent on the offensive line, quarterback, wide receiver, and their entire linebacking corps, there is still a ton returning.

Fortunately, Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan) learned the error of their ways and put Syracuse where they belong: in the top-25 in the country heading into 2019:

"21. Syracuse“After back-to-back 4-8 seasons to begin his tenure at Syracuse, coach Dino Babers delivered a breakout year in 2018. The Orange finished 10-3 – the program’s first double-digit win total since 2001 – and capped the year with a 34-18 victory over West Virginia in the Camping World Bowl. A favorable schedule puts another 10-win season within reach, and there’s an intriguing (and critical to the ACC Atlantic title picture) Sept. 14 home game against Clemson.Eric Dungey will be missed under center, but the offense seems to be in good hands with sophomore Tommy DeVito. The New Jersey native ranked as a four-star prospect out of high school and saw playing time in eight games last fall. Easing DeVito’s transition into the starting lineup is a loaded group of skill players. Moe Neal (869 yards) is joined by Oklahoma transfer Abdul Adams at running back, with Sean Riley, Nykeim Johnson and Trishton Jackson forming one of the ACC’s top receiving corps. The offensive line returns two starters and adds South Alabama transfer Ryan Alexander but is the biggest question mark going into the fall.Syracuse’s defense showed marked improvement in 2018. After giving up 32.2 points a game and 6.4 yards a play in 2017, the Orange cut those totals to 27 points a contest and 5.83 a play in ’18. A strong defensive line leads the way for coordinator Brian Ward in 2019, as ends Alton Robinson and Kendall Coleman are back after combining for 20 sacks last fall. The linebacker unit must be rebuilt, but the secondary returns four starters – including All-America candidate Andre Cisco at safety – is among the best in the ACC. Kicker Andre Szmyt connected on 30 of 34 field goals last fall and won the Lou Groza Award in his first year on campus.”"

Several highlights from this Athlon Sports piece:

• Finally, SU is garnering some love for their receiving corps heading into 2019. Despite losing an NFL talent in Jamal Custis, Lassan says SU possesses “one of the top receiving corps in the ACC.”
  • Sean Riley, Nykeim Johnson, and Trishton Jackson are specifically mentioned but it goes even deeper than that. Taj Harris is another guy who could really explode on the scene in 2019.
• Syracuse returns their entire starting secondary which should bring a HUGE sense of stability to the backend of the defense. With the majority of their very deep defensive line intact, they should be able to mask the deficiencies at the linebacker position. A lot of unproven commodities at LB, they’ll have to prove themselves in 2019.
• The guy who continues to fall under the radar was one of the secret sauces for the Orange in 2018: Andre Szmyt. Not only was he the best placekicker in the country (Lou Groza award winner), but was as reliable as any kicker in college football.

More love continues to pour in for the Orange: In the latest PFF preseason poll release, SU witnessed its’ highest ranking yet by any of the major services (16th overall in the country). Now SU’s job is to fulfill those words by delivering on the football field in 2019.