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Syracuse head coach Dino Babers showed up to Monday’s press conference in his Yankees’ pinstripes. 

“You can tell by the attire that we’re a little fired up about this,” Babers said to open the press conference, pointing at the name Judge on his back after he left the podium. 

It was announced less than 24 hours ago that Syracuse’s first bowl appearance since 2018 would be at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29, 2022, against Minnesota at Yankee Stadium. The Orange have made two appearances at the Pinstripe Bowl, in 2010 and 2012, winning both matchups. Now, what happened during Syracuse’s up-and-down regular season doesn’t matter. Syracuse has a chance to go 0-1 or 1-0, Babers said. 

“Season ended at 7-5 and now this gives us the opportunity to be in a Bowl and end 1-0,” Babers said. “I’m glad these young men get an opportunity to play one more time.”

Here’s what else Babers, Marlowe Wax and Garrett Shrader had to say a day after the announcement: 

Head coach Dino Babers takes to the podium after yesterday’s announcement that Syracuse will play Minnesota in the Pinstripe Bowl. He showed up in a Yankees jersey, fittingly. @DOsports pic.twitter.com/XAyhtfsvHq

— Anish Vasudevan (@anish_vasu) December 5, 2022

The last Syracuse bowl game

Babers remembered the impact of redshirts in SU’s 2018 Camping World Bowl appearance against West Virginia, specifically from Abdul Adams and Trishton Jackson. Adams found the end zone twice in the first half while Jackson snagged three receptions for 27 yards, including a 14-yard back shoulder fade in the fourth quarter.

“You’re (finally) allowed to play these guys,” Babers said about redshirts and transfers.  

Adams and Jackson made immediate contributions the following season too as Jackson was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Second Team and Adams tied for second on SU with three rushing touchdowns. Babers said the bowl game can “absolutely” be a preseason for next year, giving his staff an opportunity to figure out who could be big contributors for next year. Shrader said transfer Dan Villari, who is now listed as a tight end after arriving as a quarterback, could make a difference after zero appearances this year.

“These next three weeks we really get to shape who we want to be going into next season,” Shrader said. 

For a lot of Syracuse’s roster it’s their first time in a bowl game, but Shrader has talked to a few players who were on the team in 2018 — most notably then-redshirt-freshman Andre Szmyt won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker. The win back then capped off a 10-win campaign for SU, its first since 2001 and the seventh time in program history. 

Like this year’s team, Syracuse was projected to finish last in the ACC in 2018 before the season started. But both the 2018 and 2022 squads surpassed expectations. The only question is if the Orange have the same luck as in their last bowl appearance.  

Time, at last

Time has been hard to come by for the Orange. They’ve needed time to heal, time to make upgrades to the offensive scheme and time to recruit more depth ever since their bye week five games into the season. 

“Anytime you give football players rest, it’s going to make them better,” Babers said. 

If the bowl game had been earlier, like the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 17, SU wouldn’t have had enough time to practice. They’re not going to practice during finals week, which runs from Dec. 12 to Dec. 16, but Babers is hopeful the Orange can have at least 15 practices before heading to New York City. 

These next three weeks will be a sort of “baby type spring,” Babers said, giving Syracuse enough time to install new concepts and get some of the players who didn’t see a lot of time this season more reps. 

The transfer portal also opened on Monday with four ACC quarterbacks already announcing their departure. Shrader said he would finish his collegiate career at SU. 

Babers added a lot of the injuries players sustained players who left early in the year, like Garrett Williams, required more of a 9-month, one-year recovery and they likely won’t be back for the bowl game. But other players recovering from smaller injuries, or even starters that played the back half of 85%, could get back to full strength.  

“Those guys will get back to feeling as good as they felt probably in the last two months,” Babers said about the starters. 

Wax said the team’s main contributors have some time to “relax” and not rush their bodies into the next game which is roughly three weeks away. But they need to stay “locked in” for the next few weeks. 

“We have to win this game,” Wax said. 

Game Planning for Minnesota

There’s some familiarity with Minnesota and Syracuse, most notably that Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle hired Babers as SU’s football coach. That just means there’s less new names to learn, Babers said, though the game will be decided between the white lines by the players. 

Shrader is more focused on catching up on some homework over the next few days, but Syracuse’s staff just finished the initial “breakdown” on Minnesota, he said. Shrader added the Gophers play like a typical, “physical,” Big Ten team, led by running back Mohamed Ibrahim.

Ibrahim was the “talk of the town” in the Baltimore area when Wax was a freshman in high school. Wax didn’t see the field much, but faced the-then senior once. Syracuse’s defense has struggled against the run and will have another tall task to stop Ibrahim, who recorded more than 100 rushing yards in 10 games this year. 

Wax knows defensive coordinator Tony White will have a good plan to stop Ibrahim. Shrader said offensive coordinator Robert Anae is best at changing the offense to the personnel involved, which will be the biggest decider in the game with a multitude of new recruits, redshirts or transfers possibly in the offense. 

“Be ready to celebrate,” Wax said about the outcome on Dec. 29th.

Published on December 5, 2022 at 1:49 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu