Syracuse is back in ACC play this weekend, but the Orange still have some climbing to do in the conference pecking order.
Coming off a 42-41 win over UConn, Syracuse heads into a road matchup at Virginia on Saturday night with a clear task in front of it: pick up its first ACC victory. Until that happens, the Orange sit near the bottom of the weekly league rankings at No. 16.
At the top, Miami continues to look like the team everyone else is chasing. The Hurricanes were tested early by Clemson before pulling away for a 41-13 win.
Clemson was within 17-6 at halftime, but Miami, led by Darian Mensah and Malachi Tone,y showed again why it’s being treated as the conference standard right now. Miami still has Duke and Pittsburgh left on the schedule, and both teams have now moved into the top five.
SMU surged into the No. 2 spot after a week that opened the door for a major reshuffle. The Mustangs had barely held onto a top-five position after a 34-24 win over Missouri State, but with Virginia, Virginia Tech and Louisville all losing, SMU moved up fast.
It followed that by beating Boston College by double digits on Saturday. The biggest remaining test for SMU comes Nov. 6 against Virginia Tech.
Duke checked in at No. 3 and remains unbeaten. The defending ACC champions are making their first appearance in the top five this season, and their path to Charlotte looks as clean as anyone’s. The Blue Devils could be 10-0 when they meet Miami in November, and even a loss might not knock them out of the championship picture depending on tie-breakers.
Pittsburgh landed at No. 4 and cracked the top five for the first time this season while also sitting in the AP Top 25. Still, the quarterback situation keeps the Panthers behind Duke in this set of rankings.
Virginia Tech rounded out the top five at No. 5, though the Hokies’ spot comes with some baggage after a controversial kick and a blown home lead on Friday night against Pittsburgh. The result may end up being costly in the race to Charlotte.
The rest of the rankings run from Florida State at No. 6, Clemson at No.
7, North Carolina State at No. 8, Wake Forest at No.
9, Virginia at No. 10, Louisville at No.
11, California at No. 12, Stanford at No.
13, North Carolina at No. 14 and Georgia Tech at No. 15 before Syracuse at No. 16 and Boston College at No. 17.
Syracuse is one of four ACC teams without a conference win, alongside Boston College, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
This weekend’s league slate starts Friday night with Louisville hosting Florida State at 7:00 p.m. ET.
On Saturday at noon ET, North Carolina visits Pittsburgh and Wake Forest goes to NC State. The 3:30 p.m.
ET window brings Georgia Tech against Duke and California against Virginia Tech. The ACC schedule wraps up with Virginia hosting Syracuse at 7:30 p.m.
ET.
In Other News...
Syracuse Heads To Virginia With More Than One Problem To Solve
Syracuse heads into its Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at Virginia still carrying the boost of a recent overtime win against UConn, but the bigger picture has not changed much for a team trying to stop a nine-game conference losing streak. The Orange have been looking for a steadier answer in league play, and this trip offers another chance to show the UConn result was more than a brief lift.
Virginia enters with its own issues after recent losses and some defensive struggles, which gives Syracuse an opening if it can handle the details that have undone it in conference play. Both sides have enough uncertainty around them to make this a revealing game, especially for an Orange team that needs more than a single win to change the tone of its season. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Defense Suddenly Has A Big Concern Before Virginia
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The Orange also had a special teams wrinkle to monitor, with kicker Tripp Woody marked doubtful and wide receiver Darien Williams ruled out. Virginia had its own injury note, with starting cornerback Omillio Agard listed as questionable, so both sides are waiting on final availability as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Must Build Around Amarri Monroe With His Status Still Unsettled
Amarri Monroes Syracuse future is on hold in the broader legal sense, but the Orange are preparing as if he is part of the rotation right now. The guard remains eligible to play because of a court injunction while he challenges the NCAAs 5-in-5 rule in a lawsuit, and Gerry McNamara has made clear the plan is to use him like any other key piece as the season unfolds.
The problem, of course, is that Monroes standing could shift again with the NCAA expected to appeal and no trial date on the calendar. That leaves Syracuse in a familiar sort of limbo, building around a player it wants on the floor while knowing his availability may still change at some point during the year. [Read more 🡒]