Even in the middle of a five-game skid, with Thanksgiving around the corner, there’s plenty the Syracuse football team has to be grateful for.

“The guys, the team and the characters we have on this team," Garrett Shrader said. "There’s no place I’d rather be.”

“Of course, the teammates and brothers and everything, but I’m most thankful for the people behind the scenes," Marlowe Wax added. "The people you don’t think about, and that you don’t see.”

Contrary to some beliefs, Saturday’s regular season finale comes at a perfect time for the Orange — no school work with the holiday break. It’s strictly football, a chance for the offense to build on a promising performance against Wake Forest.

“Clearly, the scoreboard showed it, that we were doing some things versus the last couple of weeks. But we have to score more points than the other team,” Shrader said.

But amid the skid, one thing is for sure. There is no tension in the locker room, no wedge driving the team apart.

“There’s no elephant in the room," Shrader said. "We need to score more points in order to win. Move the ball and get our defense off the field, because they’ve played a whole game more that we have snaps-wise so...”

“It does suck losing five in a row, but we’re still together," Wax said. "Every single practice, we’re competing like crazy. Offense coming at the defense. Defense coming at the offense, trying to get each other better, so Saturday’s it’s easier.”

Regardless of how things have been, there’s another opportunity to right the ship, a chance for the Orange to get back to where they were the first six weeks of the season before the postseason.

“You don’t want to lose your last game of the season," Wax said. "It’s just making sure we get this ‘dub’ because it's what happens at the end is what people remember.”

“It’s been frustrating these last couple of weeks, but we definitely have to go out there and score a lot of points so we can go out and win," Shrader added. "Just have to find a way. That’s the biggest thing.”