Syracuse selected 12th in ACC Preseason Media Poll

The Orange received 1381 points to rank 12th in a 17 team league.

Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown answers questions from the media during ACC Media days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Syracuse was selected 12th in the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference football preseason media poll, the conference announced on Wednesday.

The poll was released after more than 180 media members credentialed for last week’s ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte submitted ballots, including The Juice Online's Brad Bierman.

The 2025 ACC Football Championship Game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. It will be aired at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

The ACC as a combined conference will play 26 games against Power 4 schools this fall, which is the most of the major conferences.

A look back at the 2024 season

Syracuse was one of four ACC schools ranked in the final College Football Playoff poll for the 2024-25 season, finishing at No. 20.

The Orange finished 10-3 under first year head coach Fran Brown, but lost several key members of that team, including quarterback Kyle McCord, running back Lequint Allen, defensive lineman Fadil Diggs and tight end Oronde Gadsden II.

They face a challenging schedule in the 2025 season, highlighted by a neutral site opener in Atlanta against No. 9 Tennesse and a late season non-conference matchup against Notre Dame.

Other difficult matchups include games against Clemson, SMU and Miami, which comprised the top schools in the ACC in 2024.

Clemson takes the top spot in the poll

Defending ACC Champion Clemson is the preseason No. 1, appearing as the top school in 167 ballots. The Tigers are coming off a 10-4 season where they appeared in the COllege Football Playoffs and finished No. 14 in the AP Poll.

They were also the ACC postseason champion, finishing with a record of 7-1 in conference regular season play.

The Tigers were followed by Miami, SMU, Georgia Tech and Louisville, which rounds out the top 5.

Full preseason list (first place votes in parenthesis)

1. Clemson (167) - 3083
2. Miami (7) - 2679
3. SMU (2) - 2612
4. Georgia Tech (2) - 2397
5. Louisville - 2370
6. Duke - 1973
7. Florida State (4) - 1920
8. North Carolina - 1611
9. Pitt - 1571
10. NC State - 1505
11. Virginia Tech (1) - 1412
12. Syracuse - 1381
13. Boston College - 953
14. Virginia - 871
15. California - 659
16. Wake Forest - 576
17. Stanford - 426

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