File this under: things you did not expect to read in late February.
According to a predictive model run by Pro Football & Sports Network (PFSN), Syracuse has the third-best odds to win the ACC next season.
Yes. Third.
PFSN — which has more than 60,000 followers on X and another 7,000+ for its college channel — ran 10,000 simulations using its College Football Playoff Predictor. The results:
🔮 Miami Hurricanes football — 34.1%
🔮 Virginia Cavaliers football — 20.7%
🔮 Syracuse Orange football — 11.5%
🔮 Louisville Cardinals football — 9.6%
🔮 North Carolina Tar Heels football — 7.5%
🔮 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football — 6.5%
Clemson? Florida State? Duke? Virginia Tech? Not in the top six.
Shocking? Absolutely.
But here’s why it’s not completely insane.
Predictive models don’t care about helmet brands. They care about inputs: returning production, efficiency metrics, projected quarterback play, schedule rotation and roster upgrades. If Syracuse is landing at 11.5% across 10,000 simulations, that’s not random noise. That’s structural optimism.
And there are real-world reasons for it.
Let’s start with the schedule. Here’s the ACC Teams Syracuse Will Miss:
Duke (conf. champ in ’25), Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami (ACC’s best team in ’25), Stanford, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.
SU also was a 10-win program in ’24, so Fran Brown still has credibility in building a winner. Spring practice starts next month, and there’s optimism in the building. Syracuse just brought in its best high school recruiting class of the modern recruiting rankings era — a foundational talent injection that raises the overall roster ceiling.
More importantly, the quarterback situation simply cannot be as disastrous as it was last season. Injuries wrecked continuity and forced instability at the most important position on the field. Models tend to assume regression toward health and baseline competency. Even average quarterback play would represent a significant upgrade.
Add in a conference that feels more volatile than dominant, and suddenly 11.5% doesn’t feel laughable — it feels opportunistic.
No one is engraving Syracuse’s name on the ACC trophy. But this is the kind of data point that shifts perception. While basketball wrestles with uncertainty, football might quietly be assembling a credible case for relevance.
Ten thousand simulations say Syracuse isn’t an afterthought next season.
And if spring practice confirms that the roster momentum is real, that 11.5% might not look so surprising after all.
