Syracuse football heading to Pinstripe Bowl
SU football heading to Pinstripe Bowl
Syracuse football will square off with Minnesota (8-4) in the 2022 Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
After starting the season 6-0 for the first time since 1987 and clinching bowl eligibility, the Orange took a turn for the worst, dropping five consecutive games. However, Syracuse ended the season on a high note, defeating Boston College 32-23 on the road.
SU head coach Dino Babers‘ squad easily beat Louisville and UConn in the first two matchups of the regular season.
The third game proved troublesome for the Syracuse Orange with five lead changes in the final quarter against Purdue. After trailing by four points with seconds left on the clock, wide receiver Oronde Gadsden II caught a 25-yard pass from quarterback Garrett Shrader for the winning touchdown.
Syracuse led for most of the following game against Virginia until the Cavaliers scored a TD with less than six minutes in the game, taking their first lead 20-19. With less than 90 seconds left, clutch placekicker Andre Szmyt kicked a field goal to win it for the Orange.
The next two games demonstrated ‘Cuse’s dominance with back-to-back crushing wins against Wagner, 59-0, and No. 15 NC State, 24-9.
After four consecutive games at the JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse packed up and traveled down to South Carolina to take on No. 5 Clemson where the Orange picked up their first loss of many.
Clemson scored first, but Syracuse quickly scored a TD to tie it up in the first quarter. The Orange claimed the lead in the second quarter and held on to it until 11:26 left in the game. Tigers running back Will Shipley ran for a 50-yard TD to snatch the 24-21 lead. The Orange were unable to recover with an additional Tigers field goal.
Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader runs past Purdue defenders at the JMA Wireless Dome on Sept. 17.
SU kicker Andre Szmyt (#91) celebrates with David Obeng-Agyapong after scoring one of his five field goalsl against Virginia on Sept. 23.
Syracuse’s downfall continued with a crushing defeat at home by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41-24. Shrader was replaced at QB with redshirt freshman Carlos Del Rio-Wilson who picked up his first career passing TD. But, it didn’t prove to be enough for the Orange.
The Orange faced four straight ACC opponents to finish off their season. First was Pittsburgh where Syracuse fell 19-9 with Shrader on the bench, a struggling offense and no touchdowns. Next, the Orange played No. 25 Florida State in their last home game and yet again recorded no touchdowns in a 38-3 loss.
Syracuse showed some promise in its game against Wake Forest, but ultimately took home their fifth straight loss. But, the Orange weren’t OK with ending their regular season on a low point.
Syracuse ignited the fire against Boston College in its last regular season game, winning 32-23. ‘Cuse took the lead with 7:05 left in the game and never turned back, scoring four total TDs in the final quarter, two of which were by star RB Sean Tucker.
The Orange look to bring home the trophy for the first time since 2018.
“We’re thrilled to be invited to play in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl,” Coach Babers said in a statement Sunday afternoon. “I’m excited for our players to travel to New York City and experience all the fantastic events that come with a bowl trip as a reward for what they accomplished this year.”
is a magazine, news and digital journalism graduate student and the Sports co-lead producer for The NewsHouse.
