'Cuse Takes on Minnesota In Texas Bowl

Syracuse (6-6) vs. Minnesota (8-4)
Date & Time	Friday, Dec. 27 \| 6:00 p.m. ET
Location	Houston, Texas \| Reliant Stadium
Game Notes	Syracuse \| Minnesota
Live Stats	GameTracker
Television	ESPN \| WatchESPN
Live Audio	SUathletics.com
Social Media	Facebook \| @cuse

HOUSTON, Texas--The Syracuse football team wraps up its 2013 season on Friday, Dec. 27 when the Orange takes on Minnesota in the Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium at 6 p.m. ET. This is SU's third bowl appearance in four years.

GAME OVERVIEW
• Syracuse earned a bowl berth for the third time in four years and squares off with Big Ten opponent Minnesota in the eighth Texas Bowl on Friday, Dec. 27 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
• The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Mark Jones (pxp), Brock Huard (analyst) and Jessica Mendoza (sidelines) have the call.
• The Orange finished the regular season with a bang, rallying for a 34-31 victory in the final seconds against Boston College on Nov. 30 to even its record at 6-6 and finish its first year in the ACC with a 4-4 conference mark.
• Minnesota is 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers posted a pair of four-game winning streaks during the regular season, but finished the year with losses to Big Ten champ Michigan State and Wisconsin.

GOING BOWLING
• The Orange owns a 14-9-1 record in its 24 bowl appearances, but has actually received 25 previous bowl invitations. The program declined a berth in the Rose Bowl after the 1914 season because of a previous trip to the West Coast earlier that year.
• This year's Texas Bowl marks the Orange's second postseason trip to the state of the Texas. SU defeated the University of Texas, 23-14, in the 1960 Cotton Bowl to win the 1959 national championship. The triumph against the Longhorns also represented the first bowl victory in program history.
• Beginning with the infamous 16-16 tie to Auburn in the 1988 Sugar Bowl (played after the 1987 season), Syracuse went 7-0-1 in eight bowl appearances from 1987 to 1996.
• The Orange holds a current two-game bowl winning streak, having won the 2010 and 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowls versus Kansas State and West Virginia, respectively.
• Overall, SU has won four of its last five bowl games dating back to a 20-13 victory over Kentucky in the 1999 Music City Bowl.

THE MINNESOTA SERIES
• Minnesota leads the series with the Orange, 3-1.
• The Texas Bowl matchup represents the third meeting between the programs since 2009.
• The Gophers have won the last three pairings, including a 17-10 win in Minnesota in 2012.
• SU's only series victory was in 1995. The Orange defeated the Gophers, 27-17, behind a superb performance by Marvin Harrison. Harrison scored two touchdowns, the first on a 94-yard punt return, and the second on a 30-yard pass from Donovan McNabb.

A WIN AGAINST MINNESOTA WILL …
• Be SU's 705th all-time victory, the 16th-most among FBS schools.
• Mark the Orange's third straight bowl win and its fifth in its last six postseason appearances.
• Increase the Orange's record to 2-0 in bowl games played in the state of Texas.
• End Minnesota's three-game series winning streak.
• Give SU a 7-6 record in its first year under head coach Scott Shafer.
• Even SU's 2013 record at 1-1 in games played at NFL stadiums.

Syracuse University Athletics

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