Examining the preseason Coaches top-25 poll: Syracuse got votes, foes highly ranked

The preseason Coaches top-25 poll is out. Here is what you need to know about Syracuse football and its 2025 opponents.
The preseason Coaches top-25 poll is out. Here is what you need to know about Syracuse football and its 2025 opponents. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

College football is almost back, and we got another reminder of that on Monday when the preseason Coaches top-25 poll ahead of the 2025 campaign was disclosed.

Syracuse football, looking to win at least 10 games for the second consecutive term in 2025, doesn't reside in the top 25, although the Orange did pick up 16 votes. Head coach Fran Brown, by the way, is a voter in this poll.

In late August, the 'Cuse will open its 2025 season against Tennessee in Atlanta. The Volunteers, a College Football Playoff participant a stanza ago, are No. 18 overall in the preseason Coaches top-25 poll.

In the 17-member Atlantic Coast Conference, three schools are ranked: Clemson, the favorite to claim the league title for the second season in a row, Miami and SMU. In 2025, Syracuse football plays those three teams each on the road.

Besides the Orange, those ACC squads receiving votes in the poll are Louisville, Georgia Tech, Duke and Florida State. The 'Cuse will battle Georgia Tech on the road and Duke at home.

Of the Orange's 12 regular-season foes in 2025, five are ranked and two are receiving votes.

Syracuse football has a brutal docket in the 2025 campaign.

On the face of it, the Coaches top-25 poll appears to have more faith in the 'Cuse than the recently released preseason ACC media poll, which slotted Syracuse football at No. 12 in the conference's pecking order.

In the Coaches poll, there are only five ACC members "ahead" of the Orange: the three ranked teams of Clemson, Miami and SMU, and two squads that are receiving more votes than Syracuse football in Louisville and Georgia Tech.

Lately, numerous pundits have opined that the Orange's 2025 schedule is the toughest in the ACC and one of the most daunting calendars around the country. Three road encounters in league play are versus ranked foes, while Georgia Tech is receiving votes.

What's more, beyond Tennessee, Syracuse football also has a trip to Notre Dame on the books during the non-conference portion of the 2025 term, and the Fighting Irish is No. 5 in the preseason Coaches top-25 poll. Yikes.

Here's a full look at the Orange's ACC schedule and then its non-conference docket, and where these opponents are in Monday's poll.

ACC Slate

Saturday, Sept. 20: at Clemson
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: No. 6 overall

Saturday, Sept. 27: versus Duke at the JMA Wireless Dome
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: 12 votes

Saturday, Oct. 4: at SMU
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: No. 16 overall

Saturday, Oct. 18: versus Pittsburgh at the JMA Wireless Dome
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: Not ranked

Saturday, Oct. 25: at Georgia Tech
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: 27 votes

Friday, Oct. 31: versus North Carolina at the JMA Wireless Dome
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: Not ranked

Saturday, Nov. 8: at Miami
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: No. 10 overall

Saturday, Nov. 29: Boston College at the JMA Wireless Dome
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: Not ranked

Non-Conference Docket

Saturday, Aug. 30: versus Tennessee in Atlanta
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: No. 18 overall

Saturday, Sept. 6: versus UConn at the JMA Wireless Dome
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: Not ranked

Friday, Sept. 12: versus Colgate at the JMA Wireless Dome
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: Not ranked

Saturday, Nov. 22: at Notre Dame
Preseason Coaches' top-25 poll: No. 5 overall