Syracuse Football: ESPN Football Power Index bleak on ranking, win total

Syracuse football can get to .500 in the 2020 campaign with a victory versus Duke, but an ESPN measure isn’t rosy on the Orange outlook for the season.

ESPN has released its latest Football Power Index (“FPI”) for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and despite beating Georgia Tech in its last game, Syracuse football isn’t faring well in this measure.

Within the 15-team Atlantic Coast Conference, which includes Notre Dame during the fall football term, the Orange presently is placed at No. 15 in the FPI, which according to ESPN’s Web site “is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season.”

Clemson, the No. 1 squad in the Associated Press and Coaches top-25 polls, is unsurprisingly also in the top spot of the FPI for the ACC. The Tigers are followed, in order, by Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Boston College, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Duke and Syracuse football.

Now, should the ‘Cuse conquer the Blue Devils this coming Saturday afternoon inside the Carrier Dome, one would logically assume that the Orange would at least move ahead of No. 14 Duke in the FPI ratings.

The ESPN formula is also currently projecting that Syracuse football will register a total of 3.7 successes and 7.3 setbacks during its 11-game docket for the 2020 stanza.

We should note here that FPI’s forecast is “based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.”

The ‘Cuse FPI ranking sits at No. 81 nationally, and Syracuse football has a 6.0 percent chance at getting to a half-dozen wins on the year.

Normally, six victories would almost guarantee a post-season bowl berth for the Orange, however, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, NCAA officials are discussing the possibility of waiving the usual requirements for bowl eligibility.

Thus, even if Syracuse football only manages four or five achievements in 2020, it could hear its name called for a bowl game. Still, ‘Cuse players, coaches and fans would certainly like the team to amass a better than .500 mark when all is said and done.