Best Syracuse Teams of the last 20 Years

[TheCusian]

This is kind of a sad exercise (we'd all want to be better) but it does put this year into context that helps with how awful this year ended. This is all the Syracuse teams from the past 20 years that finished better than average.

Order from Best to Worst (SRS)

HC / Year	SRS (Simple Rating System, 0 is average)	SoS (Schedule strength, 0 is average)	W-L
Babers, 2018	12.14 (19th)	1.30 (57th)	10-3
Marrone, 2012	6.27 (40th)	0.81 (55th)	8-5
Pasqualoni, 2003	4.11 (46th)	0.95 (57th)	6-6
Shafer, 2013	2.81 (60th)	2.88 (41st)	7-6
Babers, 2017	1.96 (60th)	5.80 (19th)	4-8
Marrone, 2010	1.30 (62nd)	-2.16 (85th)	8-5
Babers, 2021	0.66 (71st)	2.58 (38th)	5-7

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Results should matter. 2010 had a cake OOC schedule but they were still the better team than the 3 ahead of them.

Just looking at those 6 (I'm not going to check all 20 years) they ranked in the Sagarin:

2018 28th
2012 38th
2010 48th
2003 61st
2013 62nd
2017 72nd

I think those rankings jive with how most fans would rank the 6 teams as well.

 

[dollarbill44]

Your list sucks. Sharpen your pencil and get back to us with better numbers, please.

 

[TheCusian]

Results should matter. 2010 had a cake OOC schedule but they were still the better team than the 3 ahead of them.

Just looking at those 6 (I'm not going to check all 20 years) they ranked in the Sagarin:

2018 28th
2012 38th
2010 48th
2003 61st
2013 62nd
2017 72nd

I think those rankings jive with how most fans would rank the 6 teams as well.

How can you tell how good they were with that schedule?

If results matter like you state we should be allowing the MAC champ into CFB playoffs. But that’s not how this sport works - 130 teams means a vast difference between the elite and crappy teams. CFB teams outside of the very top suffer from a pretty great variance year to year.

We pay too much attention to the win column and not enough to how good the teams you played were.

The shorthand of understanding the sport at a glance through winning % and bowl appearances should be moth balled.

(Ask yourself this - does Marrone’s 2010 team get to a bowl if you traded a bunch of bad BE teams with 2021 ranked Wake, NC State and PITT and instead of the extra FCS team you added 2021 Liberty?)

 

[TheCusian]

Your list sucks. Sharpen your pencil and get back to us with better numbers, please.

Ain’t my numbers.

 

[qdawgg]

Why? Never mind, I know why this post was made.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

How can you tell how good they were with that schedule?

If results matter like you state we should be allowing the MAC champ into CFB playoffs. But that’s not how this sport works - 130 teams means a vast difference between the elite and crappy teams. CFB teams outside of the very top suffer from a pretty great variance year to year.

We pay too much attention to the win column and not enough to how good the teams you played were.

The shorthand of understanding the sport at a glance through winning % and bowl appearances should be moth balled.

(Ask yourself this - does Marrone’s 2010 team get to a bowl if you traded a bunch of bad BE teams with 2021 ranked Wake, NC State and PITT and instead of the extra FCS team you added 2021 Liberty?)

Sagarin is a computer ranking. Compared to other teams that year 2010 was better.

 

[BrooklynCuse]

Half of Marrone’s teams are on your list and half of Dino’s. Does that mean someone is going to hire Dino away from us this year?

 

[TheCusian]

Sagarin is a computer ranking. Compared to other teams that year 2010 was better.

Yeah, I’m aware. SRS is too.

 

[TheCusian]

Half of Marrone’s teams are on your list and half of Dino’s. Does that mean someone is going to hire Dino away from us this year?

I lifted the list from college football reference. It’s a pretty standard way of figuring who was good and who they played. Advanced stuff can be had - but SRS tracks pretty closely.

Point is - you could have a better team and play a tougher schedule and end up with less wins.

 

[TheCusian]

Why? Never mind, I know why this post was made.

Yeah, why is that?

Maybe you have me on ignore too? Then you missed where I thought Dino should be gone this year - but could see the logic in either direction?

Or something else?

 

[qdawgg]

Yeah, why is that?

Maybe you have me on ignore too? Then you missed where I thought Dino should be gone this year - but could see the logic in either direction?

Or something else?

I don’t have you on ignore. Not my style. Just seemed like a weird time to start this thread since you’ve mentioned his 1 winning season and Clemson/VT win a few times in the last two days. I believe. No biggie.

 

[djorange1989]

Our 6th best team of the last 20 years went 4-8. That about sums things up for this program

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Yeah, I’m aware. SRS is too.

Be honest does the 2009 team go better worse or the same against the 2017 schedule? IMO they do better than 4-8 with multiple blowouts. They don't come close to beating Clemson, but there are 11 other games.

Conversely does the 2017 go better worse or the same against the 2009 schedule? Assuming Dungey misses the last 3 games they do worse IMO. The 2009 team ended up 83rd in the Sagarin which is pretty close to the 72nd ranked 2017 team. But you want to argue that 2017 was better than 2010?

The 2017 team on paper was good. The problem is Dino was HC and we went 4-8 and lost to Middle Tennessee, @ a bad FSU, by 21 to a mediocre Wake, by 46 @ an ok Louisville, and by 28 to a mediocre BC. Results matter also means how close your games were and who you lost to.

 

[TheCusian]

Be honest does the 2009 team go better worse or the same against the 2017 schedule? IMO they do better than 4-8 with multiple blowouts. They don't come close to beating Clemson, but there are 11 other games.

Conversely does the 2017 go better worse or the same against the 2009 schedule? Assuming Dungey misses the last 3 games they do worse IMO. The 2009 team ended up 83rd in the Sagarin which is pretty close to the 72nd ranked 2017 team. But you want to argue that 2017 was better than 2010?

The 2017 team on paper was good. The problem is Dino was HC and we went 4-8 and lost to Middle Tennessee, @ a bad FSU, by 21 to a mediocre Wake, by 46 @ an ok Louisville, and by 28 to a mediocre BC. Results matter also means how close your games were and who you lost to.

I’m not arguing that they were better - if you’d asked me prior I would have thought the 2010 team was the third or fourth best in the last 20 years because they won 7 and went to a bowl.

The numbers say that those other teams are either better (SRS) or close (Sagrin). That’s why “who you played and how you played against them” is a better gauge than “did you win”… and that’s interesting.

Half the board thinks we played an easy OOC and a down ACC in 2021. That’s not the whole story. We stink the last three games - but my eyes and the numbers say this team did some things right. 7th best team in 20 years is the proper context - for both where we’ve been as a program and for seeing it as a slight improvement.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

I’m not arguing that they were better - if you’d asked me prior I would have thought the 2010 team was the third or fourth best in the last 20 years because they won 7 and went to a bowl.

The numbers say that those other teams are either better (SRS) or close (Sagrin). That’s why “who you played and how you played against them” is a better gauge than “did you win”… and that’s interesting.

Half the board thinks we played an easy OOC and a down ACC in 2021. That’s not the whole story. We stink the last three games - but my eyes and the numbers say this team did some things right. 7th best team in 20 years is the proper context - for both where we’ve been as a program and for seeing it as a slight improvement.

I think there are similarities with this season and 2011. Both had a bunch of close games and ended poorly. Both also had young Ds. In 2012 we had a new O and it was a work in progress the 1st half of the season before finally clicking the last 6 games. We also faced a very difficult schedule. I think next season will be similar.