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2017 Syracuse

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dino Babers.

Schedule and results

Syracuse in 2017, game by game: won vs. Central Connecticut 50–7; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 23–30; won vs. Central Michigan 41–17; lost at No. 25 LSU 26–35; lost at NC State 25–33; won vs. Pittsburgh 27–24; won vs. No. 2 Clemson 27–24; lost at No. 8 Miami 19–27; lost at Florida State 24–27; lost vs. Wake Forest 43–64; lost at Louisville 10–56; lost vs. Boston College 14–42+43−46Won 50–7 vs. Central Connecticut+43Central Connect…Lost 23–30 vs. Middle Tennessee-7Middle TennesseeWon 41–17 vs. Central Michigan+24Central MichiganLost 26–35 at No. 25 LSU-9No. 25 LSULost 25–33 at NC State-8NC StateWon 27–24 vs. Pittsburgh+3PittsburghWon 27–24 vs. No. 2 Clemson+3No. 2 ClemsonLost 19–27 at No. 8 Miami-8No. 8 MiamiLost 24–27 at Florida State-3Florida StateLost 43–64 vs. Wake Forest-21Wake ForestLost 10–56 at Louisville-46LouisvilleLost 14–42 vs. Boston College-28Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsCentral ConnecticutW 50–⁠786%
Sep 9vsMiddle TennesseeL 23–⁠3059%
Sep 16vsCentral MichiganW 41–⁠1749%
Sep 23at25LSUL 26–⁠3519%
Sep 30atNC StateL 25–⁠3325%
Oct 7vsPittsburghW 27–⁠2447%
Oct 13vs2ClemsonW 27–⁠2414%
Oct 21at8MiamiL 19–⁠2717%
Nov 4atFlorida StateL 24–⁠2729%
Nov 11vsWake ForestL 43–⁠6448%
Nov 18atLouisvilleL 10–⁠5624%
Nov 25vsBoston CollegeL 14–⁠4239%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Boston College 42–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 114th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 13th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
329–⁠386
Coach
Dino Babers
Elo
1394 −43 this season
SP+ rating
4.0 No. 56 of 128; offense No. 56, defense No. 66, special teams No. 5
SRS
2.5 No. 57 of 130 in FBS
Returning
60% of last season’s EPA, No. 71 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 54 roster talent No. 63 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Sean Lewis and Mike Lynch
Defensive coordinator
Brian Ward
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense98th of 130
  • Defense104th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted72nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted93rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0241%1.2198th of 130
Defense0.1945%1.30104th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.14 def		43% off
43% def		—72nd off
93rd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 3217% allowed
Defense3.4own 3015% caused

CORE rating -2.5, 77th of 130 (offense 2.2, defense 4.7).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsEric Dungey QB2,495 yds
Passing touchdownsEric Dungey QB14 TD
Rushing yardsEric Dungey QB595 yds
Rushing touchdownsEric Dungey QB9 TD
Receiving yardsSteve Ishmael WR1,347 yds
Receiving touchdownsSteve Ishmael WR7 TD
TacklesParris Bennett LB115 tkl
SacksAlton Robinson DL5 sacks
InterceptionsChristopher Fredrick DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Tommy DeVito PRO★★★★No. 341
Kingsley Jonathan WDE★★★No. 596
Nadarius Fagan OLB★★★No. 645
Zach Morton WDE★★★No. 721
Allen Stritzinger S★★★No. 851

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.891
Running backs13.00.819
Receivers53.00.832
Offensive line23.00.825
Defensive line53.00.840
Linebackers23.00.838
Defensive backs43.00.841
Whole class203.00.838

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 7Zaire Franklin ILBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 95

The 2017 roster

95 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠112–⁠24
Miami7–⁠110–⁠313
NC State6–⁠29–⁠423
Virginia Tech5–⁠39–⁠424
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠56–⁠7
Pittsburgh3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.