The Syracuse Orange and Rutgers Scarlet Knights both received votes in the SB Nation BlogPoll 2012 College Football Preseason Rankings, but neither team received enough votes to crack the top 25.
Syracuse earned enough votes to take the 45th position and Rutgers finished a few spots lower at 50th. The LSU Tigers were first in the poll with 13 first-place votes. The USC Trojans garnered more first-place votes (14) but still finished second. The defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide finished third, followed in the top five by the Oregon Ducks and Oklahoma Sooners. The Georgia Bulldogs, Michigan Wolverines, Florida St. Seminoles, South Carolina Gamecocks and Arkansas Razorbacks rounded out the top 10.
Syracuse finished the 2011 season at 5-7, including 1-6 in the Big East. Rutgers, who will be coached by Kyle Flood after former head coach Greg Schiano left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were 9-4, including 4-3 in the Big East. Flood added a highly-ranked recruiting class in the offseason.