Cumberland Times-News

Local Sports

December 28, 2012

West Virginia, Syracuse resume rivalry today

Associated Press

NEW YORK — The forecast for the Pinstripe Bowl calls for snow and scoring.

West Virginia and Syracuse play Saturday at Yankee Stadium in a matchup of former Big East rivals and NFL-prospect quarterbacks.

Snow is expected in the New York area throughout the day, with accumulations of about 3 inches. Maybe that will help the defenses slow down a couple of offenses that have been among the best in the country this season.

“There are two factors that matter: It’s wind and it’s wet,” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said Friday during a news conference with Syracuse coach Doug Marrone at Yankee Stadium. “Snow doesn’t bother us much. If the wind’s blowing that makes us miserable.”

In that case the news should be good. The forecast calls for no more than light gusts of about 10 mph.

Marrone said his only concern was making sure there were enough shovels and workers on the field to clear the snow so the sideline and yard markers were visible.

“I already went to Home Depot,” chimed in Yankees executive Mark Holtzman, who is in charge of running the 3-year-old bowl.

In that case, let it snow.

“That’s what makes football fun,” said Marrone, the Bronx native and Yankees fan who is in his fourth season has head coach of his alma mater. “The only time you cancel a game is if there is lightning. Other than that the one thing we know for sure is we’re playing.”

And if West Virginia is playing that means points will be plentiful. The Mountaineers have scored at least 31 points 10 times this season. Six times in a West Virginia game, the losing team has scored at least 34 points.

Syracuse has shown it should be able to keep up. The Orange (7-5) averaged 36 points a game while winning five of their last six.

Another high-scoring affair would be an appropriate way for West Virginia to finish what has been a wild first season in the Big 12 for the Mountaineers, who fled the Big East after last year.

The Mountaineers (7-5) won their first five games this year, including a 70-63 head-spinner against Baylor and a 48-45 thriller at Texas. At that point they were ranked fifth in the country, quarterback Geno Smith was the Heisman Trophy front-runner and Morgantown was rocking.

Five straight losses followed as West Virginia’s defensive problems could no longer be masked.

The Mountaineers rallied to finish the season with victories at Iowa State and at home against Kansas.

Smith and the Mountaineers are eighth in the nation in total offense at 518 yards a game. Smith has thrown for 4,004 yards and 40 touchdowns, and both Bailey and Austin had more than 1,000 yards receiving. Bailey, a junior who has already said he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft, has 23 touchdown receptions.

West Virginia’s defense has been as bad as its offense has been good. The Mountaineers rank 123rd (out of 124) in the nation against the pass.

Nassib has thrown for 3,619 yards and 24 touchdowns, and NFL scouts are well aware of the senior’s strong arm and athleticism.

The Orange are 21st in the nation in total offense at 473 yards per game.

Syracuse will say goodbye to the Big East, too, after this game. Next season the Orange will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

 Will the Pinstripe Bowl be next to separate with the Big East? The bowl’s contract with the Big East and Big 12 has one more year.

Holtzman said it’s too soon to speculate what conferences the game will align itself with down the road, but he said he was confident in the game's future.

“We expect this game,” he said, “to be part of the bowl landscape for a long time.”

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