Syracuse football is not getting a lot of cheerful forecasts about its upcoming campaign from the experts at 247Sports.
A panel of more than a dozen experts at 247Sports has unveiled its Atlantic Coast Conference preview, and these folks are not real high on Syracuse football.
In the league’s Atlantic division, the Orange is projected to finish at No. 6. The entire Atlantic division, in order, is Clemson, Louisville, Florida State, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Syracuse and Boston College.
Over in the ACC’s Coastal division, it is North Carolina at No. 1, followed by Virginia Tech, Miami, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Duke and Georgia Tech.
The 247Sports panelists have Clemson defeating North Carolina in the conference’s championship clash. No surprise there, as the Tigers have dominated the ACC in recent years and are an annual NCAA title contender.
The ‘Cuse placement at second-to-last in the ACC’s Atlantic division by 247Sports mirrors what Athlon Sports recently forecast for Syracuse. Athlon Sports, too, has the Orange at No. 6 in the Atlantic, just ahead of Boston College.
Within this division, 247Sports says that “Louisville is the team to watch,” while “Syracuse could fall back down the standings under [head coach] Dino Babers.”
Part of me feels that the ‘Cuse could surprise people, in a positive manner, during the 2020 term, although at the same time it wouldn’t completely shock me if the Orange does land at No. 5 or No. 6 in the Atlantic division.
That being said, I would take a slight issue with 247Sports saying “Syracuse could fall back down the standings” in 2020, since it’s not like the Orange proved stellar a stanza ago. The ‘Cuse wrapped up 2019 at a sub-par 5-7.
As for other superlatives doled out by 247Sports in its ACC preview, Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence unsurprisingly received the most votes for the league’s Player of the Year, and the same holds true for the Tigers’ Dabo Swinney as the conference’s Coach of the Year.
The ACC’s game of the year, by the way, is Virginia Tech at North Carolina, as this battle certainly could have major implications for the league’s Coastal division race.