On Monday, ESPN.com released its ACC power rankings heading into week one, and the Syracuse Orange ranked 12th out of the conference’s 14 teams. David Hale had this to say about SU:
“Like with Wake Forest, the Orange may be trending in the right direction, but the results in the win-loss column may not show up in a loaded Atlantic Division this season. If quarterback Eric Dungey can stay healthy and the young defense takes a big step forward both up front and in the secondary, a bowl game is possible -- and an upset similar to their win over Virginia Tech last year could be in the cards against one of the Atlantic’s elite. But putting together a real run is probably another year or two away.”
In large part, that’s been the takeaway from most prognosticators — this site included. The defense has question marks, but the schedule’s a bear and that might hold them back from greater things. Dungey is the key to them overcoming those factors, though he’s just one part of the larger puzzle.
The only two teams to end up below Syracuse on the list were Boston College and Virginia. But Duke, Wake Forest and North Carolina sit right above. SU could potentially overtake Duke and Wake this season, though UNC might be a bigger stretch due to the talent gap between the two programs.
The Orange are also the only team to face all of the top five on this list: Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Louisville and NC State. Four of those games are on the road. You understand where the dread comes from, clearly.
ESPN also created an All-ACC team, which featured zero Orange players. Like the ACC media in Charlotte, they snubbed Sterling Hofrichter at punter. Everything else is to be expected, however.