New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Final: Syracuse 36, Kansas State 34

Wow. What a final quarter. What a show the Syracuse Orange and Kansas State Wildcats put on for the fans at Yankee Stadium.

In the first-ever Pinstripe Bowl, which had everything a college football fan -- heck, even the casual sports fan -- could want, the Orange beat the Wildcats, 36-34.

Syracuse (8-5) claimed the George H. Steinbrenner Trophy and its bowl first victory since the 2001 Insight.com Bowl, which featured SU beating KSU 26-3.

SU running back Delone Carter, who rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns, earned MVP honors.

The unsung hero, however, was junior wide receiver Marcus Sales.

Sales snagged a collegiate-best three TDs, the third was a 44-yarder that gave SU a 33-28 lead with 7:53 remaining in the game. Sales finished with a game-best 172 receiving yards.

The Orange added a 40-yard field goal by kick Ross Krautman to increase its margin to 36-28 with 3:07 to go.

KSU answered Krautman's kick with a five-play, 57-yard TD drive, which ended when wide receiver Adrian Hilburn caught a quick-out pattern from quarterback Carson Coffman and dashed 30 yards for the score.

However, any chances of a Wildcat comeback were shattered when Hilburn crossed the goal line, stood in a military stance then saluted the fans. Hilburn was flagged and KSU was penalized 15 yards for unsportmanlike conduct.

"Two officials threw the flag, both judged it to be drawing attention to themselves, and that's what the flag was for," said referee Todd Geerlings.

The penalty was assessed on the two-point attempt, pushing Kansas State back to the 18-yard line for its game-tying attempt. Coffman missed his intended receiver, allowing Syracuse to maintain its two-point advantage.

KSU recovered the onside kick attempt, but the Wildcats were penalized as the kick did not go 10 yards. That gave Syracuse the ball and SU ran out the remainder of the clock from the victory formation.

Junior quarterback Ryan Nassib finished 13-of-21 for 239 yards passing and three TDs.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, 3:08 Remaining: Syracuse 36, Kansas State 28

Syracuse kicker Ross Krautman just drilled a 40-yard field goal with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter to give SU a 36-28 lead.

That’s a huge three points by Syracuse, which pushed its lead to eight points. Now, Kansas State needs a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, End Of Third Quarter: Syracuse 27, Kansas State 21

I don’t think they write Broadway musicals better than this — I got more New York puns, don’t you worry.

Entering the final quarter of the inaugural New Era Pinstripe, the Syracuse Orange lead the Kansas State Wildcats, 27-21.

But to start the final quarter, KSU starts inside the Syracuse 10-yard line.

The third quarter featured two touchdown runs by SU running back Delone Carter, the second gave SU a 27-21 lead. The Orange missed the extra-point attempt because of a bad snap by the long snapper.

KSU scored on its lone possession of the quarter to tie the game at 21-21.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Atmosphere Picks Up Electrons

At the beginning of the game there wasn’t much static in the air at Yankee Stadium.

Syracuse started a bit flat and an early touchdown by Kansas State pushed the momentum in the Wildcats favor.

Two second-quarter TDs by SU has turned up the heat — where there is some — and the electric charge in the two-year old stadium.

There’s more chatter and cheers in the crowd as each play becomes more important.

If SU scores on its opening drive of the second half, the temperature may rise a bit… (Delone Cater scores from a few yards out to give Syracuse a 20-14 lead)…

… Yeap, Ed just took off his gloves.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Halftime Observations

Here are a few observations from the first 30 minutes of action in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl between Syracuse and Kansas State.

- For much of the first half it felt like Kansas State was the team with the more consistent, more explosive offense. Two plays into the game the Wildcats got a 51-yard run from Daniel Thomas for a score. Yet, the game is tied at 14-14 and Syracuse has dominated in terms of total offense. The Orange have 242 yards to KSU’s 166. The Orange ran eight more plays, holding a 38-30 edge there.
- Syracuse was very fortunate not to be down 14-0 as Kansas State had a punt return for a touchdown wiped out by a penalty.
- I am guessing that the stadium is maybe two-thirds full. I have to say it looks beautiful as a football venue, and though it isn’t shaped like a traditional football stadium I don’t think there are any bad seats in the house.
- The playing surface is in great shape despite the blizzard that hit New York a few days ago, though you can see that it is very slippery along the edges of the field.
- Fabulous blitz pickup by Antwon Bailey on SU’s second touchdown, a 36-yard pass from Ryan Nassib to Marcus Sales. Bailey identified a corner blitz, and completely flipped the leaping Kansas State blitzer into the air, allowing Nassib to get the pass off.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Halftime: Syracuse 14, Kansas State 14

Like most things in New York, when the sun goes down, the spotlights come on and the show gets better.

That’s what is happening at Yankee Stadium.

Using a seven-play, 73-yard touchdown drive, capped by 10-yard run by running back Daniel Thomas, who took the snap from the Wildcat formation, Kansas State helped the New Era Pinstripe Bowl reach the half in a tie, 14-14.

Early in the quarter, SU took a 14-7 advantage after quarterback Ryan Nassib and wide receiver Marcus Sales connected on a 36-yard touchdown, their second TD connection of the game.

Nassib and Sales capped an eight-play, 79-yard drive that broke a 7-7 tie.

The game, which seemed to be Kansas State’s to lose in the first quarter, has turned into an evenly-matched crowd pleaser.

Though the game hasn’t featured a ton of scoring — KSU did miss on a TD and field goal opportunity — it has featured quality defense, hard hits and big plays.

The second half should be good.

End Of First Quarter: Syracuse 7, Kansas State 7

Syracused turned an awful opening quarter for SU fans into one they could be proud of.

Trailing 7-0 with less than four minutes to go in the opening quarter, junior quarterback Ryan Nassib connected with junior wide receiver Marcus Sales on a career-long, 52-yard TD reception to help SU knot the game at 7-7.

On first-and-10 from the KSU 48-yard line, SU called a flea-flicker and it worked as Sales was wide open at the goal line.

The Orange’s trick play answered a huge 51-yard dash by KSU senior running back Daniel Thomas, who scored a TD on the second play from scrimmage.

Syracuse’s first possession ended in three plays.

On SU’s second possession, the Orange used 12 plays to go just 28 yards — yes, that stat is correct.

The drive ended when junior quarterback Ryan Nassib was sacked on fourth-and-nine from the Wildcats’ 33-yard line.

But as it usually does, the SU defense held its ground and forced KSU to punt on its third possession of the quarter.

SU scored two plays later.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Ten Minutes to Game Time

The countdown clock on the big Yankee Stadium video board has just passed 10 minutes to kickoff. I’m ready for some football — I have already been here for three hours, so let’s go.

Both marching bands just performed. Among its other selection the SU marching band played the school’s alma mater. Let’s just say it did not exactly get a rousing cheer from the Syracuse faithful here.

I am really curious to see what the attendance will be. The place is beginning to fill up.

We just had our first ’Let’s Go Orange’ chant go up, and following the national anthem a healthy chorus of boos as Kansas State came onto the field. The place isn’t full, but this feels like it could be a lot of fun.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Good Sign Or Bad Sign?

Looking over the large stacks of Big East Conference stats, that the fine public relations folks at the Pinstripe Bowl has provided, it got me thinking — which is a dangerous thing.

This season, Syracuse was the first team ever in the Big East to go 0-3 at home but 4-0 on the road during league play.

Today, Syracuse plays on the road but they’re wearing their home blue and orange jerseys.

Is that a good or bad sign?

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse, Kansas State Fans Trickle In

We have just under a half hour until kickoff and if you have comments or questions about what’s going on at the Stadium. Please, post them.

Fans are slowly trickling in. Seems like the Kansas State crowed arrived a bit earlier than the SU folks.

There was a healthy roar from the KSU faithful as the Wildcats players marched off the field.

“I didn’t know there was that many people to make that much sound," said Ed.

I agree.

There’s going to be a much smaller amount of KSU fans here but if they’re going to cheer like that then it will not matter.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: National Anthem Singer

We’re about an hour and a half away from the national anthem — the countdown clock reads 81:00.

Today’s performer is Mitchell Jarvis of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.

Earlier in the day, when I got to the Stadium, the Rock of Ages crew was practicing their halftime performance. Considering the temperature, they were pretty good despite shivering.

The set list includes: "Here I Go Again" (Whitesnake), "Wanted (Dead or Alive)" (Bon Jovi), and "Don't Stop Believing" (Journey).

Next year, I would recommend that the Yankees trying to pull off a two-inning wiffleball game between the alums of the participating schools.

However, knowing how long a Yankees game takes to be completed, that may not be a good idea. The fans probably wouldn’t stick around until midnight.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Teams Are On The Field

We are still nearly two hours from kickoff here at the Pinstripe Bowl, but both teams are on the turf here at Yankee Stadium warming up.

It’s in the mid-30s here, and the most amazing thing I am looking at is a handful of Kansas State players out on the field in sleeveless undershirts. There are also quite a few Syracuse players warming up in shorts and t-shirts. Ah, it must be nice to be young and warm-blooded, rather than 50 and shivering in the open air press box!

By the way, the place looks incredible. The Stadium grounds crew did a fantastic job clearing the snow from the playing surface. The infield portion of the playing field has been covered with sod, and I know that I can’t tell you where the infield is supposed to be. Pretty incredible.

There is a presser going on right now with members of the Yankee brass. But, to be honest, Randy Levine gives me the creeps so I’m still sitting in the press box watching warm-ups. Back later with more.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Live Blog: Hello New York!

Well, we lied.

Ed Valentine and I are already in the Yankee Stadium press box -- he got here a little earlier than expected and I got here a little later than I thought I would -- and already it's a sight to see.

As I predicted, the field, which works it way from home plate (Kansas State end zone) towards Monument Park (Syracuse), is tightly nestled into the stadium. If a fade pattern is thrown in either corner of the end zones, the dugouts or center field wall will catch the receivers fall.

With that said, it makes for great seating where ever you are.

The Yankees' press box is located behind home plate, so our angle is sort of a high-corner end zone look. It's nice.

We will keep you posted throughout the day. Going to grab some grub from Sheppard's.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl, Gameday Stream: Syracuse, Kansas State Meet At A Field Of Dreams

It feels like that famous scene in the movie Field Of Dreams.

You know the scene at the end of the movie when actor Dwier Brown (John Kinsella) is about to disappear into the corn field but he turns and asks Kevin Costner (Ray Kinsella) about the baseball field built in a corn field, "Hey! Is this heaven?"

"No... It's Iowa," Costner answers back with a grin.

On Thursday, Iowa farms are replaced by busy Bronx, N.Y. streets with honking cabs; and a baseball diamond turns into a football field, which brings two timeless American sports -- baseball and college football -- that have the most passionate, cult-like followings in the country, together.

If you're both a baseball enthusiast and a college football guru, your perfect pair will meet today in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium (3:20 p.m. on ESPN).

The Syracuse Orange (7-5) have waited six seasons to earn their way back into the postseason. The Kansas St. Wildcats (7-5) have battled their way through a four-year drought but they are also on the rise.

If you're enjoying the game at home, you'll hear about Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone growing up in the Bronx and enjoying baseball games at the "old" Yankee Stadium.

You'll also be told about Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder, who retired in 2005 after 17 seasons of historic success -- KSU at one point made 11 straight bowl games. After a three-year hiatus, he returned in '09 because he couldn't let the town of Manhattan, KS suffer any longer.

There will be the tale of Syracuse punter and co-captain Rob Long, who is currently battling a brain tumor but will still be on the Orange sidelines rooting on his teammates.

By now, you've probably listened to all the sarcastic talking heads, who say how great of a "reward" it must be to be playing in a cold-weather city that just had over two feet of snow dumped on it during the week-long Pinstripe Bowl festivities; and made it such a hassle for the participants to travel -- Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has something to say to those critics.

Non-baseball fans will ask, "why the heck are you playing a football game in a billion-dollar baseball stadium?"

Non-college football fans will continue to ask Major League Baseball to please stay out of college football.

But as the pregame countdown clock reaches zero and all the Yankee razzle-dazzle is over, it comes down to winning a football game on a baseball diamond. How great is that?

Is this heaven?

No... sorry, it's college football at Yankee Stadium.

Can't make it to Yankee Stadium? Join SB Nation New York on Thursday, as we live blog from the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Regional Editor Ed Valentine and Contributor Jared Smith will fill you in with all the insight and make it feel like you're there. Coverage begins at 2 p.m ET.