Syracuse Football: ESPN's preseason power index ratings are unflattering toward 'Cuse

ESPN recently published its preseason Football Power Index ("FPI") ratings ahead of the upcoming 2024 campaign, and these projections aren't super high on Syracuse football.

Naturally, head coach Fran Brown, his top-flight staff, and their intriguing 2024 roster will have every opportunity to prove the doubters and naysayers wrong later this year when the next term commences.

Still, I did find it somewhat surprising where the FPI has the Orange, particularly within the Atlantic Coast Conference's preseason pecking order.

Of course, the FPI will ebb and flow throughout the course of the 2024 season, so I wouldn't get too hung up on where the 'Cuse resides at present.

Here is where Syracuse football stands in ESPN's preseason Football Power Index ratings.

For a bit of context, per the ESPN Web site, the FPI "is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is."

Nationally speaking, the Orange checks in via the FPI at No. 70 overall. Per the FPI, the team's projected regular-season win-loss total sits at 5.8-6.2. I'm an acknowledged homer, but given the 'Cuse roster and its relatively manageable schedule, I'm pretty confident that the Orange will secure at least six, and perhaps a minimum of seven, wins in 2024.

The FPI gives Syracuse football a 56.1 percent chance to attain at least a half-dozen victories in the upcoming season and reach bowl eligibility for the third campaign in a row. Per the FPI, the 'Cuse has a 0.6 percent chance to win the ACC championship and a 1.0 percent chance to make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

The FPI currently places Syracuse football at No. 15 among the ACC's 17 members in 2024. The league has added, starting with this season, California, Stanford and SMU. Here's the full ACC order, according to the FPI:
Florida State
Clemson
Louisville
Miami
SMU
N.C. State
North Carolina
California
Virginia Tech
Duke
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech
Boston College
Stanford
Syracuse
Wake Forest
Virginia

There's no surprise, from my perspective, about the Seminoles and the Tigers at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Candidly, I'm a least a little surprised that the Orange is near the basement.

I get that the 'Cuse is a combined 13-13 over the past two seasons, it has a significantly overhauled roster, and it has a first-year (and a first-time) head coach in Brown.

And, undeniably, these preseason prognostications are fun to debate but don't mean a whole lot otherwise. The Orange can show what it's got on the field beginning at the end of August when Syracuse football will host Ohio in the 2024 season opener.

Even though I often have Orange-colored glasses on as a proud SU alum, I'd be shocked - I repeat, shocked - if the 'Cuse finished at No. 15 in the final ACC standings for the 2024 campaign.