PINSTRIPE BOWL CHAMPIONS!!

It was an adventure just getting all of the Syracuse Orangemen athletes into New York City, but in the end it was all worth it. Doug Marrone, in just his second year as head coach of his alma mater, delivers the Syracuse University Orangemen their first Bowl game victory since 2001. Behind 198 rushing yards and two touchdowns by senior and game MVP Delone Carter and an unbelievable 172 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns by junior Marcus Sales, Syracuse knocked off the Kansas State Wildcats 36-34 in Yankee Stadium in front of 38,274 fans. Ironically, Syracuse's previous bowl win was also against the Kansas State Wildcats in the Insight.com Bowl.

On just the third play from scrimmage Daniel Thomas took a hand off 51 yards to the end-zone to put the Wildcats up 7-0 just nineteen seconds into the game. It appeared as if Syracuse wasn't fully prepared to start the game, which was peculiar since they won the coin toss and opted to defer possession until the second half.

After Syracuse's offense went three and out, Ryan Lichtenstein got his first chance to punt in place of Rob Long, who is recovering from surgery. Kansas State took the punt back to the house to seemingly give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead and an absolute tremendous edge in momentum. However, a block in the back foul was called on the return team and Kansas State took the ball on the 28 yard line with the score remaining 7-0. It was a tremendous moment in the game for the Orangemen.

Two possessions later for the Cuse, Doug Marrone opened up the playbook. After a 24 yard scamper by Delone Carter brought Syracuse to the 48 yard line, Marrone called for the flee flicker. Ryan Nassib unloaded an absolute bomb to Marcus Sales which was right on the money. Sales caught the pass in stride 52 yards down field for a huge touch down and momentum-changing score for Syracuse, tying the game at 7-7. The Orange fans in attendance were sent into absolute pandemonium at Yankee Stadium, and they would not settle down for the remainder of the game.

About eight minutes later in the 2nd quarter Ryan Nassib would hook up with Marcus Sales again, this time for 36 yard touchdown pass, giving the Orangemen their first lead of the ballgame, 14-7. Marcus Sales, who had 1 touchdown catch all season (the difference-maker in West Virginia), now had two touchdown catches in the Pinstripe Bowl, and he wasn't done yet.

Kansas State would score on a 10-yard rush by Daniel Thomas with 1:51 to go in the first half to knot the score at 14-14. The score, the second of the game for Daniel Thomas, set the stage for the most exciting half of football Syracuse has played all season.

The second half would be an absolute shoot out. Syracuse took the opening kickoff of the second half and pounded the ball on the ground seven straight times against the 4th worst rushing defense in the country. Delone Carter rushed 47 yards on the drive, and Antwon Bailey chipped in a 13-yard carry to help bring the Orangemen down to the KState 7 yard line. Carter bounced into the end-zone on a 7 yard run to give Syracuse a 21-14 lead.

Kansas State responded to tie the score at 21 on their next drive, a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chris Harper, who had a terrific day in the Pinstripe bowl. He made numerous difficult catches, many of them drive extenders, to finish the day with 56 yards on 5 catches and 1 touchdown.

Delone Carter would find the end-zone again with just 2:11 left in the 3rd quarter. It was a balanced drive, featuring 37 passing yards by Nassib to three different receivers and 35 rushing yards by Delone Carter, including a 15 yard touchdown run to give the Orangemen the lead again, 27-21. With the fourth quarter looming, there was a bad snap on the extra point which Charley Loeb (filling in for Rob Long) barely got down. Ross Krautman did the unthinkable, and missed his first extra point of the season, leaving the Orangemen up just 6 points.

Kansas State answered the drive with a trick play of their own. Daniel Thomas took a direct snap and found his quarterback Carson Coffman down field for a 29 yard completion down to the Syracuse 16 yard line. The Wildcats would go for it on 4th down twice, including the final play of the drive, a 1 yard touchdown run for Daniel Thomas, his third of the ballgame. They would not miss their extra point try, and now KState was up 28-27 with 11:03 left on the game-clock.

In true shootout fashion, 3:08 later Ryan Nassib again threw an absolute bomb up into the Bronx sky. Running free was Marcus Sales, and the two hooked up for their third touchdown on the night, Sales' fourth on the year. This one to the tune of a 44 yard touchdown blast to put the Orangemen back up top 33-28. Syracuse would miss the two point conversion, and their lead would remain just five points.

Kansas State's ensuing drive would be the first time an offense was held without a touchdown in the second half. The Wildcats had been pushing the envelope all night on 4th down, and this drive would be no different. After a quick drive which began at their own 43 yard line, Coffman hit Aubrey Quarles for a 41 yard gain to the Syracuse 16 yard line. The Orangemen defense finally held, and the Wildcats lined up for a field goal try, down 5 points, with 5:09 left to play.

Syracuse, who was not fazed by the lineup, did not all out attempt to block the ball, and instead stayed home protecting the tackle box. Freshman linebacker Marquis Spruill was the first snuff out the fake, and the Wildcat's futile effort to fake field-goal run into the end-zone was thwarted, as the Orangemen clung to their 5 point lead.

On the very next play, Delone Carter exploded out of the gates for a 60 yard gain down to the KState 26 yard line. The rush set up a 39 yard Ross Krautman field goal, who has been money all season long, and pushed Syracuse's lead to 8 points with 3:13 on the clock. 36-28 Orangemen.

What happened next will be remembered by Wildcat fans in Kansas for as long as the victory will be remembered in Syracuse. With 1:24 on the game-clock and Kansas State driving, Coffman found Adrian Hilburn for a 30 yard touchdown pass to put the Wildcats down just 36-34 with a two-point conversion looming. Hilburn, who clearly has some military appreciation, opted to take the time to salute the crowd, and immediately two officials threw the yellow flag for excessive celebration. Fifteen yard penalty which will be added to the 2-point try. Instead of attempting the 2-pointer from the 3-yard line the Wildcats were lining up at the 18-yard line.

The two point conversion failed as did Kansas State's onside kick attempt, which was touched by a KState player before the ball went 10-yards, and Syracuse retained possession. A couple kneel downs later and with 00:00 showing on the game-clock, the Syracuse Orangemen were 2010 Pinstripe Bowl Champions!

Many KState fans will cite the excessive celebration penalty for years to come. As Syracuse fans

that's really not our concern. It's not a given that the Wildcats punch in the two-point conversion from the 3-yard line, and had KState kicked the field goal with 5 minutes on the clock to cut Syracuse's 5 point lead to 2, they would have won the game on that late touchdown rather than attempting a 2-point conversion to tie it.

After giving up a 51 yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage to Kansas State star running back Daniel Thomas, Syracuse's defense put the clamps on the big back. Although he did scamper for two more touchdowns to give him 3 total on the day, he was held to just 90 total yards in the game. That's a mere 39 yards on 21 carries the rest of the game after his first carry of the game, which comes out to 1.8 yards per attempt. A tremendous job by Syracuse's rushing defense.

Doug Marrone, the kid from the Bronx. The kid who's grandfather was an usher at the true Yankee Stadium for 20 years. The kid who went to Syracuse University, and then to the NFL, and then returned as head coach at his school's darkest hour. Doug Marrone has taken the first step towards national respectability, and after five years of humiliation at the hands of Greg Robinson, Syracuse Orangemen football fans can kick-back, put their feet up, and bask in the warmth of an 8-5 season and a 2010 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Championship.

PINSTRIPE BOWL PREVIEW!!

Way back on December 2nd it was announced that the Syracuse Orangemen were accepting an invitation to play in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The news sent Orange Nation into a frenzy, as fans scrambled to purchase tickets, talk trash to their friends, and make travel plans to the big city.

Along the way, 20" of snow fell in Manhattan and brought much of the city to a stand still. Airports were shut down and literally thousands of flights were cancelled. Trains stopped running. Subways were frozen. Buses were stuck in tremendous snow drifts.

While 20" of snow in Syracuse, NY is a walk in the park, in New York City, people panic. The Syracuse University football team was schedule to arrive in the Big Apple on Sunday night. Unfortunately, that's when the storm was at its peak, and many players were stuck in airports around the country. Only twenty or so athletes were in Manhattan as of Monday morning.

Senior Mike Holmes took off from Jacksonville, Fl. en route to NYC when his flight had to land in Charlotte, NC due to the winter storm in New York. Holmes and an SU graduate assistant then rented a car and drove 12-hours to New York City, arriving around 5:00AM monday morning.

Delone Carter's , Syracuse's senior running back, flight from Akron, OH to New York was cancelled and he was told that he may not be able to fly out until Tuesday. So, on Monday, Carter boarded a bus at 12 noon, and arrived in NYC 2:30AM on Tuesday. Just a 12.5 hour bus ride!

Kansas State's football team, on the other hand, flew to NYC as a group and arrived at their hotel as a team and on time. They did not have to deal with the hassle of getting everyone to one location from all across the country during the worst snow storm of the season as the Orangemen did.

Turning our focus to the game, Syracuse fans are going to be witnessing their first bowl game since the 2004 season. That year Syracuse finished 6-5 in their last season under Paul Pasqualoni, and went to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Let's just say Syracuse did not win that game.

Syracuse has faced the Kansas State Wildcats twice in team history, both times in post-season bowl games. The first meeting was the 1997 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. K-State took that game 35-18, however Syracuse would take the 2nd match up in 2001 at the Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. Syracuse defeated the Wildcats 26-3 on that fateful day, which means that the 2010 New Era Pinstripe Bowl will be the rubber match.

Kansas State's biggest weapon is Daniel Thomas, a 6'2" 228 pound running back out of HIlliard, Florida. The senior rushed for 1,495 yards this season and 16 touchdowns, breaking the 100 yard plateau seven times in twelve games, and rushing for over 200 yards twice. In the final game of the regular season, Thomas rushed for 269 yards and 2 TDs on the road against North Texas. For Syracuse's 39th best rushing defense in the nation (that is playing without starters Max Suter and Andrew Lewis), stopping Daniel Thomas will be a difficult but necessary challenge to be victorious on this day.

At the quarterback spot Carson Coffman, a senior out of Peculiar, MO (6'3" 211 pounds) will be taking the majority of the snaps. This season Coffman's completed 154 of 240 (64.2%) passing attempts for 1,832 yards and 12 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. Coffman's best game of the season came back on September 11th when he threw for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns against Missouri State. Coffman also ran for a season high 45 yards against Nebraska back on October 7th.

Also playing quarterback is sophomore Collin Klein, who is expected to see action in the Pinstripe Bowl. While Klein (6'5" 233 pounds) out of Loveland, Colorado has only thrown 1 touchdown pass this season and 138 yards on 18 passing attempts, he is the 2nd leading rusher on the team behind Daniel Thomas. Klein has rushed for 430 yards on 75 attempts, for six touchdowns. Rutgers used the wildcat formation effectively against the Orangemen, something you can bet K-State's coaches are aware of.

On the receiving end, Aubrey Quarles (5'11" 202 pounds) is leading the Wildcats with 47 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns. Chris Harper (6'1" 234 pounds) has 20 catches for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns. Daniel Thomas has the 3rd most receptions on the team (26) for 163 yards. The Orangemen have the 6th best passing defense in the nation, only allowing 157.58 yards per game this season. With the Wildcat's limited passing attack, attention must be paid to the ground game.

For the Orangemen on offense, Ryan Nassib will be leading the team out of the huddle. Nassib has thrown for 2,095 yards on 189 of 337 passing attempts. He has thrown for 16 touchdowns and 8 interceptions this season, and has a quarterback rating of 119.2. Kansas State boasts the 48th ranked passing defense in the nation, so there's a chance Nassib will be able to exploit their secondary for some big chunks of yardage as the Wildcats allow 212.25 yards per game on average through the air.

Syracuse's receiving group, which was banged up at the end of the season and thus much less ineffective, has had the benefit of having the past month off to rest and recover. Van Chew has pulled down 41 catches for 611 yards and 5 touchdowns to lead the Orangemen this season. Second is Alec Lemon who has 30 catches for 377 yards and 4 scores.

Marcus Sales emerged as a great pass catching option. After not factoring in the offense at all for the first 9 games of the season, Sales has lead the team in receiving yardage the final three games of the season. Sales finished the regular season with 21 catches for 242 yards and 1 score.

Nick Provo, tight end, has also been a reliable target for Ryan Nassib, grabbing 32 catches for 356 yards and 1 touchdown. Antwon Bailey has been another trusty target for Ryan Nassib, grabbing 32 catches of his own for 277 yards and 3 scores out of the backfield.

On the ground, its all Delone Carter all day. Carter has rushed for 1,035 yards on 204 carries, his second consecutive 1,000 yard season, and 7 touchdowns. Carter left the final regular season game against Louisville with an undisclosed injury, however he is expected to be 100% come game time. Delone Carter has 2,906 yards in his Syracuse career, ranking him 4th All-Time and just 28 yards behind #3 leading rusher Larry Csonka.

Complimenting Carter is Antown Bailey. Bailey has rushed for 504 yards on 107 carries and 2 touchdowns to go along with his 32 catches for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns. That gives Bailey 781 all-purpose yards and 6 total touchdowns in 2010. Kansas State's rushing defense ranks 117th in the nation, and that is no typo. They give up 229.1 yards per game on average on the ground, and are quite literally the 4th worst rushing defense in the FBS. Hopefully Carter and Bailey are ready to feast on them, as Syracuse loves to pound the running game and play smash-mouth football.

Kickoff for the Pinstripe Bowl is at 3:20PM on Thursday at Yankee Stadium, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN. Be sure to follow @CuseConnection on twitter, as we will be tweeting live all day from our Manhattan Pre-Game party and will be at Yankee Stadium for kickoff. Be sure to check back with The Cuse Connection for post game recap and analysis!

Updates from New York City

The Pinstripe Bowl is just days away and a monkey wrench has been thrown into many Syracuse fan's and player's travel plans, to the tune of 12-20" of snow in Manhattan. In Syracuse, a foot of snow is nothing. Even two feet of snow is a snooze-fest, however in New York City, anything over 3" of snow is enough to bring the biggest city in the world to a standstill.

This morning in Central Park there was a reported 20" of snow. Thousands were left without power around the New York Metropolitan Area, and thousands of flights in and out of New York City airports were cancelled. Normal airline service is expected to resume Tuesday, however delays will likely continue for days.

Where does this leave the traveling SU Football team?

Doug Marrone and his staff along with about 20 players took an Amtrak train from Syracuse into New York's Penn Station which arrived yesterday on schedule. They all checked into the team hotel, The Grand Hyatt, on 42nd and Park without a problem. For a team that has been losing players at an alarming rate since the regular season has ended, stranded traveling players are definitely a serious concern!

Head Coach Doug Marrone told reporters that "We may be missing some [players] tomorrow, but they should be here by Monday night." Syracuse has a scheduled practice today, Monday, at 4:00PM at the Timex Performance Center, which is located adjacent to the New Meadowlands [Giants] Stadium.

Kansas State athletes and coaches flew as a team into New York City and were checked into their hotel, The Sheraton Hotel and Towers around 5:30PM. While driving crosstown yesterday, I noticed the team's equipment bus on 53rd Street and 7th Avenue, incase any SU fans want to go heckle the opposing team (encouraged).

There was a scheduled clinic for Bronx youth at Macombs Dam Park which was to be hosted by Syracuse athletes, however it has been cancelled. There was also a pep-rally for the Pinstripe Bowl which was going to kick the bowl-week off at 12:30PM in Times Square today that was also cancelled.

For the Syracuse fans traveling to NYC, be safe. If you are flying, maybe think about driving. Check your carrier's and make sure that your flight or train is on time, and good luck getting to your hotels/destinations!

The Cuse Connection is already situated very comfortably in NYC and will be eagerly awaiting all of your arrivals. Be Sure to follow @CuseConnection all week for updates from the Big Apple, leading up to kick-off on Thursday.