Syracuse University
Kansas State
New York's College Team Meets Kansas State In New Era Pinstripe Bowl Thursday
12/28/2010 3:21:53 PM | Football
NEW YORK - Syracuse (7-5), New York's College Team, is set to make history in the Big Apple once again when it matches up against Kansas State (7-5) in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30 at 3:20 p.m. on ESPN.
Fans can follow live game statistics through the following link: http://www.cstv.com/gametracker/launch/?event=971453&school=fo&sport=mfootbl&
The Orange earned its first bowl bid since 2004 in its second season under head coach Doug Marrone. Marrone, a life-long fan of the New York Yankees, is a Bronx native and a 1982 graduate of Herbert H. Lehman High School, located less than 10 minutes from Yankee Stadium.
It marks the 23rd bowl appearance for the Orange, which is 12-9-1 all-time in bowl games. Syracuse has a 3-2 bowl record against opponents from the Big XII Conference, including its most recent bowl triumph -- a 26-3 victory against Kansas State in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl.
Orange in the Big Apple
Syracuse has a rich football history in New York City and the metropolitan area. The Orange is 5-1 all-time at Yankee Stadium, including a 3-0 victory against Pittsburgh in 1923 in the first college football game ever played there. In addition, the Orange has played seven times at the Polo Grounds in New York City and taken the field for games at Shea Stadium in Flushing, N.Y., and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Future Syracuse football trips to the New York City area are already scheduled. The Orange will host USC at New Meadowlands Stadium in 2012. Syracuse will also host Penn State at the same facility in 2013 and Notre Dame there in 2014 and 2016.
Marrone Named AFCA Region I Coach of the Year
Head football coach Doug Marrone has been selected the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region I Coach of the Year. The second-year grid boss guided the Orange to a 7-5 overall record and a bid to the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl – SU's first postseason appearance since 2004.
The 7-5 record marked the first winning season for the team since 2001 and the second seven-win season since 2000. Syracuse set a program record with four BIG EAST road wins while logging four-straight away victories for the first time since 1996. SU's four conference wins were the most since 2004, while its five road victories represent the top total since 1992. The team secured its first season-opening win since 2003 and started 2-0 at home for the fourth time in 16 seasons. The Orange began the campaign 4-1 overall for the first time in 14 years. SU also won at West Virginia for the first time since 2000 and secured its first BIG EAST Conference wins against USF and Cincinnati.
Marrone joins five other Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honorees, including Auburn's Gene Chizik, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, Baylor's Art Briles, Oregon's Chip Kelly and Stanford's Jim Harbaugh. Kelly and Harbaugh tied for the honors in Region 5.
The Syracuse-Kansas State Series
The New Era Pinstripe Bowl will be the third bowl game between the Orange and the Wildcats and the first game in the series played outside of the state of Arizona. The teams first met in the Fiesta Bowl in 1997, where the Wildcats prevailed, 35-18. The Orange earned its most recent bowl victory against K-State in the 2001 Insight.com Bowl, 26-3. In 2001, James Mungro earned the Insight.com Bowl MVP award after rushing for 117 yards on 19 carries and scoring three touchdowns. In 1997, kicker Nate Trout hit three field goals and one PAT for the Orange while Donovan McNabb connected on 16-of-39 passes for 271 yards.
Carter Hits 1,000 yards and Climbs Career Rushing List
Senior Delone Carter surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career when he gained 67 yards on 19 carries against Connecticut. He has 1,035 yards in 12 games this season after gaining 1,021 in 2009. His 86.2 yards rushing per game ranks 40th nationally. Carter's 2,876 career rushing yards ranks fourth in Syracuse history behind Joe Morris (4,299 yds.), Walter Reyes (3,424 yds.) and Larry Csonka (2,934 yds.).
Krautman Eyes School Record
Freshman kicker Ross Krautman is one field goal shy of the SU record for consecutive field goals made with a streak of 15. Gary Anderson hit 16 in a row in 1981. Krautman is third nationally and leads the BIG EAST with a 94.4 field-goal percentage.
Seven Orange Earn All-BIG EAST Honors
Seven Orange student-athletes earned 2010 All-BIG EAST Conference recognition, including senior linebacker Doug Hogue as a first-team selection and sophomore offensive tackle Justin Pugh, senior running back Delone Carter, freshman kicker Ross Krautman, junior defensive end Chandler Jones, senior linebacker Derrell Smith and senior punter Rob Long garnered second-team honors. The seven All-BIG EAST selections are the most for the Orange since 2004, when eight student-athletes earned all-conference honors.
Hogue helped to lead the defense with 89 tackles on the season, including a team-best 9.5 tackles for a loss of 16 yards, two interceptions, 3.0 sacks and a blocked kick. The Yonkers, N.Y. native is ranked seventh in the BIG EAST with 7.4 tackles per game and is tied for 12th with 0.79 tackles for loss per contest. He enters the New Era Pinstripe Bowl ranked ninth on SU's career tackles for loss record list with 25.5, which he has accomplished in just 24 games. Hogue earned Defensive Player of the Week honors from both the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the BIG EAST Conference after recording two interceptions and leading the defense with 10 tackles. He produced 1.5 tackles for a loss of yards and an assisted sack and broke up a pass in Syracuse's win at nationally-ranked West Virginia.
Pugh started all 12 games for the Orange this season, helping the squad convert on 34-of-40 (.850) chances in the red zone in 2010, which ties for second in the BIG EAST. The offensive line has also been instrumental in the ground game, blocking for Carter, who gained more than 1,000 yards for the second season in a row.
Carter was the leading rusher for the Orange in 2010, amassing 1,035 yards on 204 carries through 12 games. His 1,035 yards ranks 10th on the Syracuse single-season record list and his 2,906 career yards is fourth in Syracuse history. Carter's 86.2 rushing yards per game in 2010 ranks fifth in the BIG EAST and 40th nationally while his career average of 70.9 yards per game is seventh in SU history. Entering the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Carter has an active streak of 215 carries without losing a fumble, which dates back to SU's 2009 season finale at Connecticut. The Copley, Ohio native has rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 games during his career, which ranks eighth in Syracuse history while his 22 career rushing touchdowns are ninth all-time.
Krautman earned the placekicker spot as a true freshman and has converted 17-of-18 field goal attempts and 27 PAT's in 2010. The Franklin Lakes, N.J. native enters the New Era Pinstripe Bowl one field goal shy of the Syracuse record for consecutive field goals. He converted his 15th in a row against Connecticut. Krauman's 94.4 field goal percentage ranks second on the Syracuse single-season record list, fourth nationally and first in the BIG EAST. He also ranks third among conference kickers with 6.5 points per game and is third among BIG EAST kickers and is tied for 19th nationally with 1.42 field goals per game.
Jones started all 12 games for the Orange at defensive end. He is tied for 32nd nationally and fourth in the BIG EAST with 0.25 forced fumbles per game. Jones led the defensive line with 53 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss and a team-best 4.0 sacks.
Smith, a 2010 team tri-captain, led the Orange with 103 tackles, including 8.0 for a loss of yards, three forced fumbles and three fumbles recovered. Smith is tied for 19th nationally and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with 8.58 tackles per game. He is tied for 19th nationally with 5.58 solo stops per game. Smith has eight career forced fumbles, which ties for second on the Syracuse record list.
Long, who will not participate in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl due to surgery to remove a benign brain tumor, garnered his third-career All-BIG EAST honor after being named to the second team in 2007 and first team last season. The 2010 team tri-captain ended his season ranked 26th nationally and second in the BIG EAST with a 43.84 punting average. His season average ties for fourth on the SU single-season record list. Long's 43.3 career punting average ranks second in Syracuse history and ninth nationally among all punters in the FBS.
2010 Accomplishments
The 2010 season feature record-setting performances and accomplishments that have not happened in a number of years at Syracuse, including earning a bowl game invitation for the first time since 2004. The Orange also posted a 4-0 BIG EAST Conference record in away games for the first time in Syracuse history and won seven games for the first time since 2001. The 7-5 overall record marked the first winning season for SU since 2001 and the Orange won four BIG EAST games for the first time since 2004. The Orange won its season opener for the first time since 2003 and ranked sixth nationally in total defense, allowing just 295.0 yards per game, which is the program's best effort since 1997. The Orange is also the only BIG EAST school to have three student-athletes earn ESPN District I All-Academic Team honors (quarterback Ryan Nassib, linebacker Derrell Smith and fullback Adam Harris).
Individual student-athletes also turned in notable performances, including Krautman connecting on 15 consecutive field goal attempts, which is one shy of the SU record set by Gary Anderson in 1981. Carter rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, becoming just the fourth Orange back to accomplish the feat. Hogue earned Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second-consecutive season.
Orange Defense Ranks Fifth Nationally
The SU defense is the fifth-rated defense in the FBS this season, allowing just 295.0 yards per game, marking the best performance by an Orange defense since 1997 (290.2 yards per game). Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer has proven he can make defense better. In addition to the improvement at Syracuse, his 2007 Stanford defense improved in every category from the previous season (2006).
2010 Orange Building Winning Ways
Syracuse has seven victories for the first time since 2001. The last time the Orange began a season with a better record was also 2001 (9-3 through 12 games). SU went 4-2 in conference play, marking the most BIG EAST wins since 2004 and a program-record four conference road wins.
The Orange averaged 157.6 yards per game of passing defense, the best since 1989. SU held opponents to 18.1 points per game, the fewest allowed since 1995. On the other side of the ball, the offense averaged 21.0 points per game, a best since 2004 while the 132.2 yards rushing offense were the most since the 2008 season.
Orange is Among Nation's Best Road Teams
Though the Orange will be right at home in New York City, the team has been one of the best away from the Carrier Dome this season, earning five road victories (at Akron, at South Florida, at #20/19 West Virginia, at Cincinnati, at Rutgers). The last time SU won five away games all in the opponents' stadium was 1992 (at East Carolina, at Louisville, at West Virginia, at Temple and at Boston College). That season, SU won six road games (the five above and the Fiesta Bowl). Syracuse is one of 10 FBS teams to have five away game victories this season. Syracuse, Boise State, Central Florida, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, TCU and Utah have won five games in opponents' stadiums this season. Oregon had six road wins this year heading into the bowl season (five away and one neutral site).
