The Big Ten is 1-0 in bowls thanks to Wisconsin’s effort against Oklahoma State. The league tries to keep things rolling in another power-five showdown. This time cold weather Minnesota and upstate New York Syracuse will meet in New York City for this year’s installment of the Yankees Advertisement Bowl, I mean the Pinstripe Bowl.
How did Minnesota get here?
Starting hot and finishing strong…plus getting picked over by other teams for better bowls. The Gophers started 4-0 and finished 4-1 with a little three game skid mid season. Unfortunately their 8-4 record wasn’t seen as good enough or attractive enough by some of the other bowls. The biggest offender was the Music City Bowl taking dreadful 7-5 Iowa over Minnesota.
How did Syracuse get here?
Starting the year 6-0. Injuries and some poor luck resulted in a five game skid but they won their finale over Boston College to head to the Big Apple guaranteed of a winning season as they sit 7-5 for the year.
Why should we watch?
Minnesota is fully loaded! The outstanding running back Mohamed Ibrahim wants to end his career right with a bowl win. I’ll always watch this kid play so that is enough for me. For Syracuse their star running back Sean Tucker is sitting out for NFL prep and their offensive coordinator is off to NC State…but starting quarterback Garrett Shrader is a very fun watch. I’m curious what he will do with the extra bowl prep time to attack the Gopher secondary.
Who should win…and should you bet?
Minnesota has more pieces available as their staff is intact, their mega star running back is playing, and they were the better team during the year. Finally the weather elements. Minnesota played cold weather outdoor games the final month of the year and won them all but the Iowa game, which arguably they should have won. The Orange did win at Boston College in the finale but their only other cold weather outdoor game would be at Pitt, and they lost by 10. Should you place money on this? Hmm, the spread is 10 which is a lot of trust for the Gophers, but honestly Minnesota should win by two touchdowns. They were the better regular season team and are more complete in NYC. I know I have a few clams resting on the boys from Minneapolis.
How to watch?
- Date: Thursday, December 29th
- Time: 1:00 pm, central
- TV: ESPN
- Location: Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York
Random Tidbit:
Despite boasting a better winning percentage, more natties, and more league titles, the Gopher’s bowl history is suspect. At 10-12 in bowl season, the Gophers are just 61st in bowl winning percentage. Syracuse on the other hand has been to four more bowl games (26 vs 22) yet boasts a 16-9-1 record in bowls. That works out to an impressive .635 bowl winning percentage, 8th best nationally. Incidentally, Syracuse has 11 more wins historically than the Gophers – 737 to 726 – so their six extra bowl wins accounts for half the gap between these two programs.
Big Ten and Counting 