You could make a strong case that over-scheduling has been the biggest reason Syracuse Orange football hasn't been able to dig itself out of the hole Paul Pasqualoni started and Greg Robinson dynamited to the Earth's core. At the very least, Syracuse's insistence on scheduling the likes of USC, Penn State and Notre Dame has made it much harder for the team to move up the wins ladder.
I've made it pretty clear how I feel, that soft scheduling is the easiest path to consistency. And while the Orange still have a behemoth on the docket this season, they're moving in the right direction. Last year, the NCAA Method said Syracuse took the eighth-harded schedule in the nation into 2014. In 2015, they'll take the 68th-harded schedule into the season, at least on paper.
Of course, this is all based on last season's results (a.k.a. The NCAA Method), which is a flawed way to go about it, to say the least. Syracuse's 2015 opponents went 81-72 last year and seven of them had winning records. Eight opponents were bowl-eligible in 2014 and four were nationally-ranked.
It's actually impressive Syracuse ranks so low considering it has the Florida State Seminoles, LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers on the docket. Of course, they're counterbalanced by the Rhode Island Rams, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, South Florida Bulls and Virginia Cavaliers.
Regardless of rankings, Syracuse will have it's opportunities in 2015. It's all about taking advantage of them.