'Cuse Heads to Boston for Regular Season Finale

Syracuse looks to end the regular season on a high note when it takes on Boston College in the final regular-season game of the of year on Saturday. The Orange have already clinched a bowl game invitation but want to grab momentum heading into the postseason.

Fans can watch the game on ACC RSN beginning at 7:30 p.m. Click here for a complete list of stations carrying the game.

"We're excited to play our Northeast rival, Boston College," Orange head coach Dino Babers said during Monday's press conference. "They have come back and turned it around lately. Those guys have played really well. Notre Dame got after them, but Notre Dame has gotten after a lot of people this year."

Both squads will try to reverse their recent fortunes. Syracuse will try to snap a five-game losing streak, while Boston College has lost four of five. The Orange offense showed signs of returning to form in last Saturday's game at Wake Forest. The 477 yards of total offense was the second-highest total this season, trailing only the 631-yard performance against Wagner.

Quarterback Garrett Shrader was 17-for-31 for a career-high 324 yards, while running back Sean Tucker rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries. Tight end Oronde Gadsden II led the squad with six catches and 85 yards.

"We addressed some things coming out of the Florida State game going into the Wake Forest game that we thought were an extreme positive," Babers said. "When you think about offensively, Garrett Shrader throwing for over 300 yards for the very first time in his career. Sean Tucker getting back over a 100 yards, Oronde getting six catches. The triangle was alive again. I thought the offensive coaches did a good job with that as well. Eleven explosive plays, seven different guys caught the ball. I was excited about the new faces that had to play in the game. For the most part they did a good job, offensively. Just like as the defensive players have come in and really kind of stepped up a little bit, it was fun to see that those guys who have been practicing a long time come in and get an opportunity to do well. That was exciting. And that just shows you guys are getting better and coaches are doing a good job bringing the underbelly along."

Offensive lineman Jakob Bradford and tight end Dan Villari, who moved to that position from quarterback late in the preseason, made their first starts in the loss at Wake Forest. Syracuse has now used 37 different starters this season, which is nearing the most in the power 5. No ACC team has yet used 40.

The Syracuse defense, which has faced two of the top three offenses in the ACC the past two weeks, will go against one of the top receivers in the nation on Saturday in the Eagles' Zay Flowers. He is a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation's top receiver. Flowers ranks first in the ACC and 12th in the NCAA in yards (967), second in the ACC and sixth in the nation in touchdowns (10) and second in the league and 15th in the NCAA in receptions (70). Babers and the 'Cuse defense will look to bounce back after giving up an average of 41.5 points in their last two games.

"When you think about some things that happened defensively, third downs were extremely tough on us," Babers said of last Saturday's contest. "We have to find a way to get off the football field on third down. That offense for Wake Forest is really good. Our process and our thoughts right now are getting back to Boston College, finding a way to get back in the win column with our last game. We know it's going to be extremely difficult. There are a lot of seniors over there, they are going to have Senior Day. Another fantastic 7:30 start in the Northeast."

The Orange will face one of their most frequent foes when it takes on the Eagles. The squads will take to the gridiron for the 56th time in a series that dates back to 1924. Syracuse's 55 games against Boston College rank as its fifth-highest total against any opponent. Pittsburgh leads the way with 78 meetings after the game earlier this season.

Syracuse will travel to Chestnut Hill for the first time since 2018. The Eagles own a 13-12 advantage in games played on their home field, but the Orange have won the last two.

Syracuse University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jakob Bradford

Oronde Gadsden II

Garrett Shrader

Sean Tucker

Dan Villari

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