Syracuse Football: ‘Cuse continues downward slide in CBS Sports ratings
By Neil Adler
Syracuse football fell a bit further down the national pecking order when CBS Sports this week published its latest rankings of all 133 FBS teams.
Prior to its Atlantic Coast Conference contest at top-five Florida State, CBS Sports had the Orange at No. 42 overall.
This past weekend, Syracuse football got walloped by the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Fla., and that led CBS Sports to drop the ‘Cuse (4-3, 0-3 in the ACC) five spots to No. 47 around the country. The Orange is dealing with a three-game losing streak following that setback to FSU.
Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports, in his own recent ranking of all 133 FBS teams, had Syracuse football even lower than CBS sports, as he put the Orange at No. 61 nationwide.
Syracuse football is in the midst of a much-needed bye week to rest and regroup.
The ‘Cuse has five ACC affairs left in its 2023 regular season, and the team has to win at least two of those encounters to qualify for a post-season bowl for the second year in a row. Next up for Syracuse football is another road game, at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Oct. 26, in Blacksburg, Va.
While ESPN’s football power index (“FPI”) still gives the Orange an overwhelming chance to reach a minimum of six victories in the current term, the ‘Cuse has to shore up its offense if it expects to secure multiple triumphs over its five remaining regular-season games, even with the competition becoming a bit less intense.
At present, within the Atlantic Coast Conference, CBS Sports places Syracuse football at No. 7 in the league. In order, the Orange trails No. 5 Florida State, No. 10 North Carolina, No. 14 Duke, No. 22 Louisville, No. 27 Clemson and No. 33 Miami.
Here is the rest of the ‘Cuse 2023 regular-season docket, and where these foes presently reside in the CBS Sports national rankings of all 133 FBS teams.
Thursday, Oct. 26
at Virginia Tech (No. 64, per CBS Sports)
Friday, Nov. 3
vs. Boston College (No. 82, per CBS Sports)
Saturday, Nov. 11
vs. Pittsburgh in New York City (No. 78, per CBS Sports)
Saturday, Nov. 18
at Georgia Tech (No. 53, per CBS Sports)
Saturday, Nov. 25
vs. Wake Forest (No. 73, per CBS Sports)
As you’ll notice, at this juncture, Syracuse football is rated higher than all of these upcoming opponents, according to CBS Sports. Of course, once the players hit the field, we can throw these sorts of rankings out of the window.
The bottom line is that the Orange roster has to play better, or it will likely struggle throughout the rest of the present stanza.