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Syracuse has earned a spot in the final regular-season College Football Playoff Selection Committee rankings, slotting in at No. 22. It’s the first time the Orange are in the CFP rankings since 2018 when they finished 9-3 in the regular season. This year, SU matched that win total in a historic first campaign under head coach Fran Brown.

This past Saturday saw the Orange take down Miami 42-38 in the JMA Wireless Dome, prompting a field storm postgame from the SU faithful. The Hurricanes had been ranked No. 6 by the CFP and No. 8 in the AP Top-25 Poll, as the Orange secured their first top-10 victory in seven years. Syracuse entered the AP Poll at No. 23 as a result, which was its first time ranked in the poll since 2022.

Not only did SU thrust its own national positioning, it ended Miami’s national-title and Atlantic Coast Conference Championship dreams. The Hurricanes were eliminated from ACC title game contention with their second conference loss of the year, putting Clemson against SMU. They also came in at No. 12 in the CFP rankings, just outside of the coveted top-12 spots.

The 2024 season has been a year of firsts for Syracuse. Quarterback Kyle McCord became SU’s first-ever 4,000-yard passer in a campaign where he set the program’s single-season passing yard and touchdown records. Brown became the winningest first-year head coach in Syracuse history. And, arguably the most important first, it was the first time the Orange had won four or more games in the month of November since 1997.