The West Virginia Mountaineers ( 7 – 5, 4 – 5 Big 12) will be heading to the Big Apple to take on the Orange of Syracuse ( 7 – 5, 5 – 2 Big East) in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on December 29 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
The Mountaineers boast a top 10 offense that ranks 6th in passing offense (340.92 YPG), 8th in total offense (518.50 YPG), and 7th in scoring offense (41.58 PPG). They are led by Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Manning Award finalist Geno Smith who ranks 4th in passing yards (333.67 YPG). Tavon Austin is the WVU “Jack of all trades” and ranks 2nd in all-purpose yards (230 YPG) while Stedman Bailey, a Biletnikoff Award finalist, is 3rd in receiving yards (125.08 YPG). The defense has been the complete opposite, ranking towards the bottom the whole year. They did show signs of life against Kansas by only allowing 10 points to the Jayhawks.
The Syracuse Orange ended the season in a four-way tie for the Big East title but lost out on the tiebreaker to Louisville. They have a top 25 offense that averages 473.42 YPG. They are led by quarterback Ryan Nassib, who ranks 15th in the nation in passing (301.58 YPG). Jerome Smith leads the rushing attack with 1,019 yards on the season. The receiving core is led by Alec Lemon (96.64 YPG) and Marcus Sales (71.92 YPG) who combine for 15 touchdowns this season. The defense allows 385 YPG and 25 PPG.
Syracuse leads the all-time series 32 – 27 while winning the last two meetings (19 – 14 in 2011, 49 – 23 in 2012). Kickoff is set for 3:15 on Dec 29th and will be televised on ESPN.
