There was lots of snow and very little offense to start the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl, but the Syracuse offense figured things out by the second half, running away with a 38-14 win over West Virginia. It's the second Pinstripe Bowl win over the past three seasons for the Orange.
Prince-Tyson Gulley scored three touchdowns, two on the ground and one catch, while rushing for 208 yards on 26 carries in what was a very snowy and sloppy Yankee Stadium field. SU Quarterback Ryan Nassib was 12 of 24 passing for 127 yards and two touchdown passes.
The SU running game came through on what was one of the more slippery games on the ground. Jerome Smith added 157 yards rushing, as Syracuse finished with a season-high 369 yards.
The score was 3-0 Syracuse after one quarter, and 12-7 Syracuse at halftime, as both teams struggled with their offense in the first half. That all changed to start the second half when Nassib found Beckett Wales in the endzone to cap off a 10 play, 80 yard opening half drive. The offensive floodgates seemed to open at that point, as Tyson Gulley ran for a 67 yard touchdown less than four minutes later.
Geno Smith and Stedman Bailey hooked up for two touchdowns, but the West Virginia quarterback was also sacked in the end zone in the first half and called for intentional grounding in the end zone in the second half, the second safety for Syracuse of the game.
Syracuse finishes their final Big East season with an 8-5 after finishing the season with six wins in its last seven games. It was the third straight time the Orange have beaten West Virginia, their old Big East rivals.
Click on the video link for a full post game story from Niko Tamurian at Yankee Stadium.
