While Syracuse may not have played football this week, the Orange continued to move up in the polls ahead of a pivotal Thursday night clash with #19 Pitt.
With two ranked wins already and now a road, rivalry test against a Top 20 Pitt team, it’s pretty safe to say a win would give SU its first Top 25 ranking of the year.
But here’s where things stand before that matchup:
Syracuse jumped six spots in the received votes section, going from 33rd to 27th, despite only two more votes than last time (15 vs. 13).
27th is tied for the highest the Orange have been this season, equal to their week four mark after starting the year 2-0. Of this week’s votes for Syracuse, three were three for #23, one for #24 and four for #25.
The rest of the rankings looked pretty similar for SU opponents. Miami, who comes to the dome in late November, still sits at #6. Pitt, who also had a bye this week, jumped up one spot to #19.
In the received votes section, UNLV jumped all the way up from 39th to 28th, one spot behind SU. The 6-1 record for the Rebels is huge for the Orange’s resume.
At this point in the season, all the polls start looking very similar. And that held especially true this week. Syracuse also sits #27 in the Coaches Poll with 27 votes, jumping four spots from last week.
Where things get confusing is the spot above the Orange. UNLV sits at #26 with one more vote, despite losing head-to-head to Syracuse and having no ranked wins to its name. Both teams have huge tests this week (UNLV hosts Heisman favorite Ashton Jeanty and #17 Boise State), so any debate should be settled.
Pitt stayed at #20, while Miami took a one-spot leap into the #5 spot.
