The Orange are 1-1 on the campaign and they'll get ready for a Thursday night showdown with Pitt.
On Wednesday, 'The Athletic' did a deep dive on college football roster building, as they attempted to figure out how much money each of the Power Four conference teams spends on their roster. This is money spent on the roster by the athletic department, not outside money that a player makes on his own.
Unsurprisingly, Ohio State and Oregon spend the most money on their rosters, just shy of $50 million, while Texas is in the $45-55 million range.
Ohio State began the year at No. 1 in the country while Oregon was No. 2. Oregon and Ohio State both lost in Week 2, but Ohio State's loss came to Texas, who was No. 4 in that matchup. The Longhorns are now No. 1.
What does the average ACC school spend?
The average ACC school spends between $21-25 million, but that's drastically pulled up by Miami, who is spending nearly $50 million per year as well. It's also pulled down by Boston College, who is spending somewhere between about $7-13 million.
How does Syracuse compare?
Well the Orange are near the bottom of the league in spending. In the 17-team league, the Orange are sitting at No. 12, ahead of only Pitt, Stanford, Wake Forest, Duke and Boston College.
The Orange are spending between about $17 and $22 million.
Syracuse Orange defensive back Demetres Samuel Jr. (1) leaps over New Hampshire Wildcats tight end Drew Danson (88) on a punt return during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Rich Barnes-Imagn ImagesIs it possible to be good while spending at this level?
Yes, but there's some levels to this.
As you can tell by the Miami, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas examples, the best teams in the country are spending quite a lot on their roster. Each of the top 10 biggest spenders are ranked right now, and all of them are in the Top 10 except Oregon (21) and Tennessee (15).
However, within the ACC, you can still be good without being a big spender. SMU, ranked No. 16, is barely ahead of Syracuse in spending and Virginia, ranked No. 25, is tenth in the league.
Duke got to the ACC title game last season and is 16th in league spending. So yes, you can be good on a conference level, but you probably need to have everything else go well as well: Elite player development, a favorable schedule and excellent facilities.
Up next for the Orange
Coming off a tough loss against Cal on Saturday, the Orange will be back in action on Thursday night against Pitt. It will be the first road game of the season for Fran Brown's team.
The Panthers are 2-0 and this will be the ACC opener for them.
