Phil Steele has Syracuse football far down in ACC, but SU could 'easily' make a bowl

Phil Steele, one of the top experts out there in college football, isn't super high on Syracuse football, but that stems from the Orange having to replace a lot of production from a year ago, and the 'Cuse having a rough 2025 schedule.

I noted in another recent column how Steele believes that the 'Cuse 2025 docket is the toughest in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and in the top five around the country.

Steele also has come out with his preseason ACC rankings ahead of the 2025 term, and he places the Orange at No. 15 in the 17-member conference for football, per this story from On3. Steele, by the way, also has the 'Cuse at No. 69 overall.

While I'd have the Orange higher, and I'm an acknowledged homer when it pertains to my alma mater, I get Steele's ratings. In 2025, Syracuse football won't have record-setting quarterback Kyle McCord, and the team also lost numerous other key players on offense and defense from a stanza ago.

Syracuse football faces a tall task in 2025.

In the upcoming campaign, the Orange will travel to heavyweights such as Clemson, SMU and Miami, along with a good Georgia Tech squad. Two of Syracuse football's non-conference foes are against Tennessee in Atlanta to open the season, and at Notre Dame, the national runner-up in 2024.

Yikes. So I understand why Steele doesn't forecast the 'Cuse to reside in the ACC's upper tier this coming season. At the same time, he said via Cuse Sports Talk in an interview this week that Syracuse football could "easily" get to six wins in 2025 and make a bowl game for a fourth straight term and the second stanza in a row under head coach Fran Brown.

That brings up an interesting point that I've been pondering. The Orange went 10-3 last year. Let's say the 'Cuse goes 7-5 in the 2025 regular season, then triumphs in its bowl game. Syracuse football would be two games "worse" in 2025 than the year prior, but is that truly a step back given this upcoming season's schedule?

I'd say not. I'd also say that we'll have to see which quality teams the Orange beats in 2025, and if the 'Cuse has any bad losses. For example, in 2024, Syracuse football knocked off three top-25 teams, but the Orange also got blown out at Pittsburgh and fell at home to lowly Stanford.

In 2025, the 'Cuse has six home games, five on the road and one at a neutral site. I don't envision Syracuse football going undefeated at the JMA Wireless Dome, so even if it is 5-1 on the Hill, it will have to capture a road win or beat Tennessee in Atlanta to get to at least a half-dozen conquests.

I'll never count out Brown and his top-flight staff. Brown won't be happy with seven or eight wins in 2025, but I'll tell ya, I'd be impressed with a 7-5 or an 8-4 regular season, followed by a bowl success.