Syracuse Football: Dino Babers takes a tumble in ranking of ACC coaches

Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers checks in at No. 10 in CBS Sports’ ratings of Atlantic Coast Conference head coaches.

CBS Sports has released its power rankings of Atlantic Coast Conference head coaches for 2020, and Syracuse football boss Dino Babers made the biggest move of any coach – and that jump, unfortunately, was down.

Last year, CBS Sports slotted Babers at No. 4 in the ACC following a 2018 campaign in which the Orange achieved a 10-3 mark and ended up at No. 15 in the major polls. But that successful season eroded in 2019, as the ‘Cuse went a disappointing 5-7.

There are some encouraging signs as Syracuse heads into its 2020 term, yet CBS Sports has placed Babers at No. 10 among the conference’s 14 head coaches as players at the ‘Cuse and other ACC programs return to their respective campuses for voluntary work-outs.

Check out what CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson, who authored these 2020 ACC coaches’ ratings, had to say about Babers. “Our voters gave Babers a ton of credit for the 10-win season in 2018, but his shot up the rankings was matched by a drop after the Orange went 5-7 last season. For a coach that has a sub-.500 record at his current post, there is still some confidence in his status, but a bounce back would greatly change his stance among his peers in the ACC.”

Patterson’s arrangement of Babers at No. 10 is totally fair, given his performance in Central New York a stanza ago, and factoring in Babers’ overall record with the Orange.

Dabo Swinney, who has led Clemson to multiple national titles in recent campaigns, is No. 1, followed by the head coaches at North Carolina, Virginia, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Boston College.

Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers is No. 10 in the ACC and No. 48 nationally among his peers, per CBS Sports.

In mid-May, CBS Sports published its 2020 rankings of the 65 head coaches in the Power Five conferences plus Notre Dame, and Babers fell from No. 27 in 2019 to No. 48 on this year’s list. Again, no surprise here, and Babers’ rating among all Power Five bosses is reasonable.

If Babers puts forth a mediocre 2020, then it wouldn’t come as a shocker if he finds himself on the hot seat. That being said, the ‘Cuse has a handful of things for which to feel optimistic.

The Orange owns a relatively easy ACC schedule, it could go bowling according to some projections, starting quarterback Tommy DeVito certainly has potential, safety Andre Cisco is getting All-American love, and there is excitement brewing over new defensive coordinator Tony White’s 3-3-5 system.