Syracuse’s slide in the ACC power rankings is hard to miss after a Week 2 loss to California.
The Orange land at No. 15 this week, tumbling nine spots after blowing a home lead to the Golden Bears. California, which was No. 14 a week ago, now sits just ahead of Syracuse in the pecking order.
The drop reflects a rough outing for the Orange, who had three interceptions on offense and piled up double-digit penalties. If Syracuse wants to get past Pitt, those issues have to get cleaned up fast.
At the top, Miami keeps the No. 1 spot after looking every bit the conference’s most dangerous team through two weeks. The Hurricanes opened with a 45-6 rout of Stanford, then followed it with a 77-7 demolition of Florida A&M. Malachi Toney’s early-season surge is strong enough to put him in the conversation as an early Heisman Trophy favorite.
SMU and Louisville hold down Nos. 2 and 3, and both enter the week with national rankings attached. Preseason expectations had those two as the likeliest challengers to Miami in the ACC title picture, and SMU’s recent run backs that up - the Mustangs reached the 2024 championship game before falling to Clemson on a game-winning field goal. SMU is also listed as a 2.5-point favorite at most sportsbooks.
Virginia stays put at No. 4 after a 59-3 win over Norfolk State. The Cavaliers now turn to a Saturday matchup with West Virginia from the Big XII.
Behind them, Virginia Tech checks in at No. 5, followed by NC State, Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Duke, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech. Stanford and Boston College round out the bottom of the list at Nos. 16 and 17.
This week’s ACC slate gets going with Syracuse and Pittsburgh on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Miami hosts 2-0 Wake Forest on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET, North Carolina visits Clemson at noon ET, and SMU’s trip to Louisville could help decide who gets one step closer to the ACC title game.
In Other News...
Syracuse Suddenly Has A Quarterback Problem It Can't Ignore
Syracuses loss to Pittsburgh was more than just a second straight defeat. It exposed a quarterback situation that has become too shaky to brush aside, with Steve Angeli turning the ball over multiple times before being benched in the fourth quarter for Amari Odom. The offense never found much rhythm, and the Orange spent too much of the afternoon chasing the game after Pittsburgh began controlling the line of scrimmage.
The problems did not stop on offense. Syracuse also had trouble slowing Pittsburghs rushing attack and piled up 10 penalties, two issues that only made the quarterback miscues harder to overcome. With the losses mounting and the offense looking unsettled, the Orange now face a stretch where the answer at quarterback has to become clearer quickly, because this is no longer just a bad day. [Read more 🡒]
Fran Brown Added To Syracuses Frustrating Discipline Problem At Pitt
Syracuses trip to Pittsburgh was already shaping up as a night of self-inflicted issues, and the penalty sheet only added to the frustration. The Orange spent much of the game fighting flags, with special teams drawing particular scrutiny, and the mistakes undercut the kind of steady performance Fran Brown has been trying to build. Even so, there were a few offensive signs worth noting, including a more productive run game from Ahmad Miller and a late push in the passing game that featured JuJuan Johnson and Darius Johnson in the fourth quarter.
Browns own unsportsmanlike conduct penalty fit the tone of a game in which Syracuse never quite settled in. The bye week now gives the staff a chance to clean up the discipline problems that have lingered, especially on special teams, while preserving the pieces that did work a little better at Pitt. If the Orange are going to turn that stretch into something more useful, they will have to pair the improved offensive balance with a much quieter afternoon in the penalty column. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Already Has An ACC Problem Fans Wont Ignore
Pittsburghs 27-13 win over Syracuse did more than hand the Orange a conference loss. It also underlined how quickly an early-season ACC game can tilt into an uphill climb, especially when a team is fighting through penalties and quarterback changes at the same time. The Panthers kept their foot on the gas, got rushing scores from Damon Ferguson Jr., LaVell Wright and Mason Heintschel, and walked out with a clean start in league play.
For Syracuse, the concern is less about one bad afternoon and more about what it suggested about the margin for error in the ACC. Games like this tend to expose whether a team can stay organized when things get messy, and the Orange never really found that rhythm. Pitts win also gave Pat Narduzzi his school-record 144th victory, but the bigger takeaway for Syracuse fans is simpler: this is the kind of result that can linger if the issues behind it dont get fixed quickly. [Read more 🡒]