Syracuse Orange fans say it was only a matter of time before SU football cracked the top 25 again.

And, it certainly didn’t take some time — 17 years to be exact.

But longtime SU fans tell Spectrum News they knew the Orange would eventually get back on top. They credit a great combination of players and a great head coach in Dino Babers.

Former SU football player and owner of Shirt World, Dave Jacobs, says the magic comes from the top down.

"When Dino came in he had to take over from another coach and another philosophy. He has his own way of running the offense and defense and special teams and he just had to get the kids to believe in the system, they had to start from somewhere. So his foundation, his basis, was ‘we are going to win some games, we are going to lose some games initially, but we are going to build something here, we are going to build something special,’” said Jacobs. 

Their 6-2 start also makes them bowl eligible. Syracuse is ranked 22^nd in the AP Poll and 24^th in the Coaches Poll. 

They look to keep the good times rolling this Saturday against Wake Forest.