Update: After being listed as No. 24 in the coaches poll, SU cracked the AP Top 25 at No. 22

Syracuse, N.Y. -- About 14 hours after breaking a five-year drought, Syracuse football ended a 17-year one on Sunday morning.

The Orange defeated then-No. 22 North Carolina State 51-41 on Saturday night, becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2013. The win was also enough to sway voters in the USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press Top 25 to lift SU into their rankings.

Syracuse was listed at No. 24 in the coaches poll, rising 20 spots from the bottom of the "receiving votes" category. After not receiving a single vote from media last week, the Orange rose all the way to No. 22 in the AP poll.

The last time the Orange was ranked in a Top 25 poll came at the end of the 2001 season. SU finished 10-3 that year, upsetting then-No. 5 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg before capping the campaign with a 26-3 win over Kansas State in the Insight.com poll.

N.C. State dropped out of the polls while two of SU's opponents this season remain in the top three of both listings -- No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame. Boston College, Syracuse's final regular season opponent, also cracked the polls at No. 24 in the AP and No. 25 in the coaches.

After checking off two major boxes in the rebuilding checklist under third-year head coach Dino Babers, SU (6-2, 3-2 ACC) returns to action at Wake Forest (4-4, 1-3) next Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon.

Follow Syracuse football on Twitter and Facebook

Stephen Bailey covers Syracuse football for The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can also be reached anytime via email.