How overlooked is Syracuse entering 2026?
A major sportsbook offers College Football Playoff futures on 81 different teams.
And Syracuse isn’t one of them.
Not listed.
Not even given a longshot number.
That would be understandable if Syracuse were stuck in a decade of misery and picked to be one of the worst teams in the nation.
But that’s not the reality.
This is a program which hit 10 wins in ’24, and had last season completely derailed by injury at quarterback. SU would have had another winning season and decent bowl destination if Steve Angeli stayed healthy.
And a program that multiple projections believe has legitimate ACC title aspirations.
Because while sportsbooks are willing to give playoff odds to dozens of teams with virtually no realistic path to the field, Syracuse can’t even get listed.
Yet some preseason projections have the Orange among the ACC’s top contenders.
Earlier this offseason, simulation models placed Syracuse among the conference leaders in championship odds.
While we saw what happened last year to the ACC’s champion, if Syracuse wins the league there’s a decent chance it lands in the College Football Playoff.
So how can a team with legitimate conference title aspirations not even receive playoff odds?
The answer is perception.
Despite the context, it’s crazy there’s no odds from Vegas.
Fran Brown is changing the fact this is an under the radar program.
The Orange have added talent through recruiting. They’ve upgraded the roster. They’ve built momentum.
And perhaps most importantly, they’ve changed expectations.
A few years ago, simply making a bowl game felt like success.
Now Syracuse fans are discussing ACC championship game scenarios.
The irony is that the same sportsbook offering playoff futures for 81 teams is indirectly making the strongest case for Syracuse being overlooked.
Because if you believe Syracuse has even a puncher’s chance of winning the ACC, then leaving them completely off the board makes no sense. And if Angeli stays healthy, with this year’s schedule 7 wins should be a reasonable expectation.
Maybe the market is right.
Maybe Syracuse falls short.
But if the Orange are truly one of the ACC’s better teams, they’ll spend the season proving exactly how badly they’ve been underestimated.
And judging by Fran Brown’s track record, he’ll probably enjoy that.
