Syracuse football has third-worst odds to win ACC under new schedule

Odds-makers don’t think that Syracuse football has much of a shot to capture the league trophy.

Syracuse football is near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference as it pertains to new odds for league teams to capture a conference championship.

Per an article from 247Sports senior writer Brad Crawford that cites the latest odds from William Hill Casino for each ACC squad to come out on top in the league, well, the Orange isn’t faring so hot.

In fact, based on its brutal 2020 schedule that conference leaders unveiled on Wednesday, Syracuse football is tied for third with the worst odds among the ACC’s 15 members, including Notre Dame, to amount to the last crew standing after the league’s championship game in December.

Clemson, unsurprisingly, is the favorite to emerge victorious in the ACC, followed by Notre Dame at No. 2, Miami at No. 3, North Carolina at No. 4, Florida State and Virginia Tech tied at No. 5, Louisville at No. 7, Virginia, Pittsburgh and N.C. State tied at No. 8, Wake Forest at No. 11, Duke and the ‘Cuse tied at No. 12, Boston College at No. 14, and Georgia Tech at No. 15.

"Here’s what the 247Sports piece had to say about Syracuse football. “The 2019 season was clearly a setback year for the Orange after the loss of Eric Dungey at quarterback. Coach Dino Babers brought preseason top-25 projections in some areas but an early blowout loss against Maryland saw that change. Syracuse struggled overall but found some late momentum with late-season wins over Duke and Wake Forest to build upon.”"

Syracuse football hovers toward the end of the line as far as odds to claim the ACC title.

In 2020, assuming a fall stanza is played amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the ‘Cuse and the rest of the ACC groups will suit up for 11 encounters within one division, including one non-conference clash for each of them that has yet to get determined.

Under the league’s proposed scheduling model, Syracuse football will host Boston College, Duke, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. The Orange will then travel to Clemson, Notre Dame, Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.

As you can see, many of the teams deemed, at least on paper, as the “better” squads heading into the 2020 term are ones that the ‘Cuse will play on the road, whereas crews labeled as weaker in the conference the Orange will get on the Hill.

What does that mean? Well, with a “favorable” docket at home, Syracuse football will have to clean up in Central New York to have a realistic chance at a bowl berth, because the Orange is not going to win much, if at all, on the road.

Then again, because it’s extremely possible that college football contests this fall won’t include any in-person attendance, does that really give teams competing on their own turf much of a home-field advantage? That, obviously, remains unclear for now.