Syracuse football needs nine regular-season wins in 2025 to be in the conversation for an at-large bid to the 12-team College Football playoff, according to expert Kelley Ford of KFord Ratings.
In a post and graphic on X, Ford discusses how many regular-season victories FBS teams should need to be in the discussion for an at-large invite to the CFP at the end of the upcoming term. This is based on squads' schedule difficulty.
Related to the Orange, Ford writes: "The dotted divides each threshold. In the 9-win threshold, Texas A&M-Syracuse are closer to 8 than 10 while Northwestern-Tennessee are closer to 10 than 8."
Interestingly enough, the 'Cuse and the Volunteers will go toe to toe to commence the 2025 stanza in late August in Atlanta.
What do you all think, Syracuse football fans? Will eight or nine regular-season triumphs get our beloved Orange into the convo for a CFP at-large bid (assuming the 'Cuse doesn't win the outright Atlantic Coast Conference title)?
Some national pundits don't expect Syracuse football to win a lot of games in 2025.
On paper, many observers have noted that the Orange has one of the most difficult 2025 schedules around the country. Outside of the loaded Southeastern Conference, and perhaps the Big Ten Conference, whose members Ohio State and Michigan have captured the past two CFP national championships, one could reasonably say that the 'Cuse has the most daunting docket out there.
To that end, ESPN's preseason Football Power Index ("FPI") for 2025 has Syracuse football at No. 17 regarding its strength of schedule. Every group ahead of the Orange hails from the SEC, along with one Big Ten team, Wisconsin.
Candidly, I'd love to see the 'Cuse go 7-5 in the 2025 regular season, although head coach Fran Brown wouldn't be pleased, I can say with full confidence. Now, the Orange's 2025 slate features the Vols at a neutral site and a second non-conference tilt, on the road, against last season's national runner-up, Notre Dame.
Then, Syracuse football also hits the road versus Clemson, SMU, Georgia Tech and Miami. Yikes. Clemson and SMU made the CFP a term ago. Georgia Tech is deemed one of the better ACC teams heading into the 2025 season, according to conference observers. And Miami is likely a top-three ACC squad in 2025, along with Clemson and SMU.
So yeah, if the Orange goes 9-3 or even 8-4, I could see the 'Cuse being a potential contender for the 12-team CFP. Of course, that depends on which teams Syracuse football beats (and loses to), and also what its 2025 foes do throughout the upcoming campaign.
The Orange went 10-3 in 2024, and that includes a bowl-game success. If Syracuse football replicates that in 2025, based on that brutal calendar, 'Cuse fans will want SU Athletics to immediately put a statue of Fran Brown on the Hill.