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When the West Virginia Mountaineers face off against the Syracuse Orange on Saturday in the Pinstripe Bowl, they'll be without one of their stalwarts on the offensive line. Senior center Joe Madsen didn't make the trip to New York City for the game and the Charleston Daily Mail reports it's because Madsen is academically ineligible.
This isn't the first time Madsen has missed out on the postseason because of issues with his grades; he sat out of the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl as well. He took all but eight snaps for the Mountaineers this season and will end his career two games shy of the school record for games started, held by former center Dan Mozes at 52. Madsen was voted to the All Big-12 second team after the season.
West Virginia has lost two straight to the Orange and, in those games, Syracuse racked up 17 tackles for a loss and nine sacks.
This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.