As Syracuse football travels to No. 19 Pittsburgh, latest bowl projections for 'Cuse
By Neil Adler
Syracuse football needs just one more win in the 2024 season to qualify for a post-season bowl game for the third year in a row.
The Orange (5-1, 2-1 in the ACC) can reach that half-dozen triumphs on Thursday night, as the 'Cuse will travel to long-time rival and No. 19 Pittsburgh (6-0, 2-0 in the ACC) in an enticing Atlantic Coast Conference showdown.
Now, for first-year head coach Fran Brown, his top-flight staff and their roster, making a bowl game at the conclusion of the current campaign would prove a solid accomplishment, but the program has its sights set on even bigger things - like competing for a conference crown and a possible berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
But first things first. Syracuse football will battle a high-quality foe in the Panthers on Thursday evening, as the Orange seeks to notch its third success over a ranked team (the others being then-No. 23 Georgia Tech and then-No. 25 UNLV).
For what it's worth, when I wrote this column on Wednesday, ESPN's Football Power Index ("FPI") gave the 'Cuse a 92.7 percent chance to attain six wins, and the FPI is forecasting the Orange at 7.1 victories and 4.9 losses in the 2024 regular season.
The latest bowl projections for Syracuse football ahead of week nine.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has the Orange facing Big 12 Conference member Arizona (3-4 overall) at the Sun Bowl on December 31 in El Paso, Texas.
Erick Smith of USA Today forecasts Syracuse football to go toe to toe with Big Ten Conference squad Nebraska (5-2 overall) at the Pinstripe Bowl on December 28 in the Bronx, N.Y. In late December of 2022, the 'Cuse suited up in the Pinstripe Bowl, where the team fell to another Big Ten group, Minnesota, by a final count of 28-20.
Brad Crawford, an analyst with 247Sports, also has the Orange headed to the Sun Bowl on December 31 in El Paso, Texas. Crawford, however, predicts that Syracuse football will square off against new Big Ten school Southern California (3-4 overall), which has struggled in recent weeks.
Brett McMurphy of the Action Network echoes Crawford's forecast, pitting the 'Cuse versus USC at the Sun Bowl on December 31 in El Paso, Texas.
My hope is that Syracuse football will upset Pitt on Thursday, move into the major top-25 polls after week nine, and get projected early next week to compete in even bigger bowl games.