Each time Syracuse has suffered an embarrassing loss, the Orange has rebounded with a convincing win the following week.

SU lost by 21 to then-No. 19 Northwestern on Sept. 7. Syracuse beat Football Championship Subdivision Wagner the following week. The Orange lost by more than 30 to then-No. 3 Clemson on Oct. 5. SU earned its first ACC win against North Carolina State the next week. The Orange got shut out against Georgia Tech on Oct. 19. SU followed up a bye week with a shutout of its own against Wake Forest.

“That’s why I like to have the kids in on Sunday,” head coach Scott Shafer said during his weekly teleconfernce on Tuesday.

The NCAA requires coaches to give their players a day off each week and Shafer said most coaches make that Sunday. But Shafer likes to get his team right back together so he can “put it to bed as quick as possible.”

“For me that lingers too long,” Shafer said, “so win, lose or draw I’d like to turn to the next page as soon as possible.”

Against Pittsburgh this week, though, the Orange will have more on the line than it has in any prior bounce-back opportunity. Bowl eligibility is on the line, and a victory would render the final week — against an already bowl-eligible Boston College team — meaningless.

Said Shafer: “We’re full speed ahead preparing for the Pitt Panthers.”