Syracuse Football: Orange 61st in ESPN FPI, Have Nation's Eighth-Toughest Schedule

Among the many advanced metrics out there for college football is ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI). It's not as good as Bill Connelly's F/+, but like all stat-based ratings, it's a reference point for your team and how it compares to others.

According to FPI, the Syracuse Orange are the 61st-best team in the country right now, and face the eighth-most difficult schedule. That 61st ranking puts them 13th out of 14 ACC teams (only above Virginia). But they're also within reasonable shouting distance of at least three conference schools. They outpace a nice handful of Power 5 schools, including all of your typical bottom-dwellers. #Progress

The ratings give them a projected W-L record of 4.1-7.9 (or 4-8), and a zero-percent chance to win the ACC. Much of that is due to another year of a tough schedule. The opponents that comprise said schedule:

Colgate Raiders: N/A

Louisville Cardinals: 12th (projected 9-3)

USF Bulls: 44th (projected 8-4)

Connecticut Huskies: 84th (projected 6-6)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 15th (projected 9-3)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 58th (projected 6-6)

Virginia Tech Hokies: 40th (projected 7-5)

Boston College Eagles: 51st (projected 6-6)

Clemson Tigers: 4th (projected 10-2)

NC State Wolfpack: 42nd (projected 6-6)

Florida State Seminoles: 2nd (projected 10-2)

Pittsburgh Panthers: 30th (projected 7-5)

... not one team has a projected losing record on this list.

Of course, that also gets built in by facing a team like Syracuse that the ratings system isn't high on. It's also based on zero games being played. So take that for what it's worth.

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Potential tough sledding, but this is also higher on Boston College, Wake Forest and NC State than anyone probably should be. We'll see once the games are played this fall.