How Syracuse Football Fits into ACC Landscape Heading into 2026.
SyracuseThe rankings will hope to give a clearer picture as to where the top teams in the conference stack up. In December, the top two teams will compete in Charlotte, N.C., for not just the conference title, but a berth in the College Football Playoff.
So, where does Syracuse football rank on our inaugural list? After appearing in last season's national championship game, the Hurricanes are poised to be the team to beat in the conference.
They lost quarterback Carson Beck to the NFL, but they've picked up Duke transfer Darien Mensah, who should keep them very strong. The Mustangs have lost just two conference games combined the past two seasons.
SMU is projected to be favorited in all of its conference games. The Cardinals suffered multiple losses by single-digits in 2025.
KEY POINTS
- How Syracuse Football Fits into ACC Landscape Heading into 2026.
- Goz debuts his first weekly power rankings for the 2026 regular season with Week 1 on deck for Saturday.
- Each week throughout the college football regular season, Syracuse Roundtable will bring you the ACC power rankings.
- The Mustangs lost in the 2024 ACC title game and nearly advanced again in 2025, but lost at Cal in the final week of the regular season.