For the first time since 2009, Syracuse’s regular season finale is one without hope for postseason eligibility.

Each Orange team since has headed into the final game of the regular season needing one win for bowl eligibility or having already clinched it. But this year, SU’s seniors know it’ll be their last game when the Orange (3-8, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) plays Boston College (6-5, 3-4) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

“I think the biggest thing we want to do is send them off in a positive way,” Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said in his Tuesday morning press conference. “… We have so many kids who’ve done some great things above and beyond the football side and above and beyond the academic side of things.

“… I’m really going to miss this group. They are a very unselfish group of guys that think outside themselves and that’s just kind of their make-up.”

All four of Syracuse’s captains are seniors. Two, linebacker Cameron Lynch and long snapper Sam Rodgers, earned mentions during Shafer’s press conference. The other two, left tackle Sean Hickey and running back Prince-Tyson Gulley, are fifth-year seniors who will leave Syracuse with three bowl championships — the 2010 and 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowls and the 2013 Texas Bowl.

Shafer also name-dropped linebacker Dyshawn Davis, another outgoing fifth-year player, on Tuesday morning as he praised the senior class.

In the same press conference, Shafer spoke enthusiastically about the Orange’s future and also acknowledged the challenge of keeping the team focused on the upcoming game when the finish line is in sight and a bowl game is out of the picture.

But in addition to hoping Syracuse can build a bit of momentum heading into its offseason, Shafer hopes the Orange can send its seniors off well at the same time.

“We haven’t said a whole lot about ‘last game’ and all that,” Shafer said. “We just say we want to go out there and try to win this last game at Boston College. And then understand that after the fact, we’ll have a lot of time to hug and reflect and have that time to appreciate one another.”

Published on November 25, 2014 at 1:39 pm

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb