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Syracuse football is forecasted to finish last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division this season, according to a preseason media poll. The Orange also received the fewest votes of the conference’s 14 teams (202).

Clemson was the overwhelming favorite to win the conference with 125 of 147 votes for overall champion. It’s the fourth consecutive season that the Tigers are favored in the preseason poll and the seventh time in the last nine years.

In the Atlantic Division, NC State and Boston College were projected to finish second and third, respectively.

The last time Syracuse was projected to finish in last place was 2018 when the Orange finished 10-3 — second place, behind Clemson — and went on to win the Camping World Bowl.

Syracuse went 1-10 during the 2020 season, the program’s worst record since 2005. It marked head coach Dino Babers’ fourth losing season in his five years at the helm.

The Orange open their 2021 season with nonconference games at Ohio and at home against Rutgers, Albany and Liberty. They’ll play their ACC opener at Florida State on Oct. 2.

Here’s the full list of the preseason media poll:

Atlantic Division
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
Clemson — 1,028 (146)
NC State — 804 (1)
Boston College — 638
Florida State — 510
Wake Forest — 472
Louisville — 462
Syracuse — 202

Coastal Division
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
North Carolina — 979 (109)
Miami — 881 (28)
Virginia Tech — 582 (3)
Pittsburgh — 576 (1)
Virginia — 540 (2)
Georgia Tech — 340 (4)
Duke — 218

Published on July 26, 2021 at 10:07 am

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16