Orange No. 19 in First College Football Playoff Rankings
10/30/2018 8:29:00 PM | Football
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – After returning to the national polls for the first time in 17 years over the weekend, Syracuse made history Tuesday night, appearing in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings for the first time since they debuted in 2014.
The Orange came in at No. 19 and were the second-highest ranked team from the Atlantic Coast Conference behind No. 2 Clemson when the CFP committee unveiled its initial 2018 rankings on ESPN.
Syracuse is 6-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play under third-year head coach Dino Babers. In addition to their No. 19 CFP ranking, the Orange are No. 22 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 and 24th in the Amway Coaches Poll. The poll appearances are Syracuse's first since the team was ranked No. 14 at the close of the 2001 season.
Overall, five ACC teams, including four from the Atlantic Division, were ranked in the season's first CFP poll. In addition to the Orange and Tigers, NC State (No. 21), Boston College (No. 22) and Coastal Division leader Virginia (No. 25) were included in this week's rankings. Syracuse defeated NC State 51-41 at the Carrier Dome last Saturday and will play Boston College to close out the regular season on Nov. 24.
Alabama (No. 1), Clemson, LSU (No. 3) and Notre Dame (No. 4), who the Orange play on Nov. 17 in Yankee Stadium, made up the top four. At the end of the season, the four highest-ranked teams advance to the College Football Playoff, which begins on Dec. 29.
The College Football Playoff rankings are determined by a committee of 13 individuals with experience as coaches, student-athletes, college administrators and journalists, along with sitting athletics directors. The rankings are announced each Tuesday from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27, with the final rankings released on Sunday, Dec. 2.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 seed vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. This season's Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, Dec. 29 at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Capital One Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, Jan. 7, 2019 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
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