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Syracuse is once again unranked. The Orange fell out of the AP Top 25 Poll on Sunday after losing their third straight game, a 19-9 slog at Pittsburgh. After first getting ranked No. 22 in the poll following its 22-20 win over Virginia, Syracuse climbed as high as No. 14 with two more wins over Wagner and NC State.
But the loss to Clemson dropped SU out of the top 15, and an ensuing loss to then-unranked Notre Dame placed them at No. 20 heading into its matchup with unranked Pittsburgh. A final loss, brought on by an unimpressive offensive performance led by backup Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and a rush defense that let up 161 rushing yards to the Panthers, would remove Syracuse from the rankings.
Prior to the game, head coach Dino Babers reiterated an optimistic reality of Syracuse’s season: the Orange were 3-1 in nonconference play and 3-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They sat second in the Atlantic division and could have kept the pressure for a championship bid on Clemson had they won against Pitt.
Now, they sit on the outside looking in for the first time in a month and a half. Jumping the Orange and into the polls were No. 25 Florida State after a blowout win over Miami, along with No. 20 Notre Dame who upset then-No. 4 Clemson in South Bend after beating the Orange.
Wake Forest, who originally stood as likely Syracuse’s final ranked opponent, fell out of the top 25 after a 30-21 loss to No. 17 NC State.
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