Syracuse will play Minnesota in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 27 in Houston, the bowl officially announced on Sunday night.  The game will kick off at 6 p.m. in Reliant Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN.

“It is great to see an ACC-Big Ten matchup in a terrific bowl game,” Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said in a statement. “I couldn’t be happier for our senior class to have the opportunity to go to Texas and play a Big Ten school. One of the things I have enjoyed the most about this season is our seniors. They are tough kids who never give in. This is a perfect way for them to end their season and their Syracuse career – playing in their final game in an SU uniform in the Texas Bowl.”

The Orange finished 6-6 (4-4 Atlantic Coast) with a last-minute scoring drive against Boston College in its finale on Nov. 30, but a bowl bid was not guaranteed. With 35 bowl games and 79 total eligible teams – including 11 from the ACC – SU could have been the first power-conference, bowl-eligible team to not play in the postseason since 2007.

Instead, SU is on its way to its third bowl game in four years. The Orange will fill the Big 12’s spot in the Texas Bowl as not enough of the conference’s teams won six games. Syracuse’s $1.7 million payout will go into the ACC’s total bowl earnings and be divided equally among all members.

“We are thrilled and honored to be selected for the Texas Bowl,” SU athletic director Daryl Gross said in a statement. “This reward for Coach Shafer, his staff and the hard-working student-athletes was earned through desire and dedication in the building of our football program. We look forward to the great experience that awaits all in the Syracuse family in Houston.”

The Gophers (8-4, 4-4 Big Ten) lost their last two games after winning eight of their first 10 to crack the Bowl Championship Series Top 25 poll. Quarterbacks Philip Nelson and Mitch Leidner share snaps for Minnesota and running back David Cobb paces the 34th-best rushing offense in the nation with 1,111 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

First team All-Big Ten defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman leads the Gophers defense, which has allowed just 22.3 points per game this season — good for 27th nationally.

Minnesota swept a home-and-home series against Syracuse in 2009 and 2012, and leads the all-time series 3-1. Last season, the Gophers beat SU 17-10 as Ryan Nassib and Co. were unable to put together a touchdown drive until only 46 seconds remained in regulation.

The Orange has already played two Big Ten teams this season, losing to Penn State, 23-17, and Northwestern, 48-27, in its first two games of the year.

SU returns to the Longhorn State for the first time since tying Texas, 21-21, on Sept. 18, 1993. The Orange also won its only national championship there, beating UT in the 1960 Cotton Bowl.

Published on December 8, 2013 at 6:52 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1