The 3rd annual New Era Pinstripe Bowl will take place in New York City on Saturday, December 29th with a start time of 3:15 PM (Eastern). The game will pit the Syracuse Orangemen vs the West Virginia Mountaineers and will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have West Virginia favored by 4 points, while the total sits at 73.5.
It's been a bumpy ride for Geno Smith and West Virginia, who had BCS aspirations earlier this year before coming undone mid-season. The Mountaineers, though, have since regrouped and will surely be looking to come out strong against a familiar foe at Yankee Stadium. While the Mountaineers (7-5) climbed their way to . No. 5 in the country after averaging 52.0 points during a 5-0 start, things didn't exactly go their way thereafter. West Virginia lost its next five games, eliminating any hopes of playing in a BCS bowl. Coach Dana Holgorsen's program, however, put an end to its woes with a 31-24 win at Iowa State on Nov. 23, then blew by Kansas 59-10 in its regular-season finale the following weekend. Most of the headlines surrounding this game figure to highlight Smith, who's shattered school records with 11,461 passing yards and 96 touchdowns. He's thrown for 4,004 yards and an FBS-best 40 scores this season and completed 23 of 24 passes for 407 yards and three TDs against the Jayhawks to tie a single-game FBS record with a 95.8 completion percentage.
The 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl will mark the eighth time the Orange will play a college football game at the home of the Yankees. The Orange were participants in the first-ever college football game at the original Yankee Stadium, defeating Pittsburgh, 3-0, on October 20, 1923. The 2012 Orange finished the season winning five of its last six games and won a share of the Big East championship. Syracuse has a 13-9-1 bowl record, going 1-0 under third-year head coach Doug Marrone. For Syracuse, it will be their second appearance in the bowl, having defeated the Kansas State Wildcats, 36-34, in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in 2010. Syracuse, which is headed to the ACC next season, is 13-9-1 all-time in bowl games. Syracuse is led by senior Ryan Nassib, whose school-record 3,619 passing yards rank 10th in the country. He could be in for a big day against a Mountaineers defense thats given up 38.1 points per game - the nation's ninth-worst mark.
Syracuse Stat Rankings--- The Orange come in 21st in total offense, 22nd in passing, 54th in rushing and 64th in scoring (29.3 ppg) On defense the Orange are 52nd overall, 65th vs the pass, 49th vs the run and 54tyh in points allowed (25.7 ppg).
West Virginia Stat Rankings--- The Neers are 8th in total offense, 5th in passing offense, 48th in rushing, and 7th in scoring (41.6 ppg). On defense West Virginia is 111th overall, 123rd vs the pass 42nd vs the run and 116th in points allowed (38.1 ppg).
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