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The "toughest schedule in SPORT" thing is always a bit of a silly stat since it's usually based on how teams performed in the previous season and therefore not accurate. That said, it doesn't make me feel any better to see the Syracuse Orange football team in 8th on this list of toughest 2014 football schedules according to the NCAA’s strength of schedule method.
The NCAA method is the aforementioned system based only on winning percentage of a team’s opponents from the previous year, in this case 2013.
Syracuse's 2014 opponents went 96-57 last season. That includes the Florida St. Seminoles (14-0), Louisville Cardinals (12-1), Clemson Tigers (11-2), Duke Blue Devils (10-4) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-4).
Here's how the ACC schools measure out:
2. Virginia – 102-54, 65.38%
8. Syracuse – 96-57, 62.75%
T9. Wake Forest – 97-58, 62.58%
14. Miami, FL – 96-60, 61.54%
15. Boston College – 95-61, 60.90%
20. North Carolina – 92-62, 59.74%
23. NC State – 89-61, 59.33%
28. Clemson – 89-65, 57.79%
43. Georgia Tech – 84-67, 55.63%
47. Florida State – 83-68, 54.97%
55. Virginia Tech – 83-71, 53.90%
74. Pittsburgh – 78-75, 50.98%
80. Louisville – 75-76, 49.67%
101. Duke – 69-82, 45.70%
Must be nice, Duke. Must be nice.
