Orange Focused For DIRECTV Holiday Bowl

Syracuse heads to the West Coast for the third time this season when to take on Washington State in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl. It marks the Orange's third-straight trip to postseason play and the 29th time in program history.

"We are extremely thankful and happy to be playing in the Holiday Bowl," 'Cuse head coach Fran Brown said. "Just an honor to be able to go out and represent the ACC, to be able to play and go out and represent Syracuse University, our community, our fans in this bowl, and it means a lot to us. We're very thankful for the opportunity, especially to get a chance to go play against Washington State. It's a prestigious program. They've done a good job for a long time. I've watched them year in, year out, every year I've got an opportunity of just watching them play bowl games, and watching them at night since they are a West Coast team and so being able to see them, I thought they've done a great job for a long time."

Kickoff in San Diego is set for 8 p.m. Eastern time (5 p.m. PST) on Friday, December 27. Tickets are on sale now at Cuse.com/Bowl. Orange fans should purchase through Cuse.com to ensure their seats in the Syracuse sections.

Syracuse enters the game with a 9-3 record. And getting win No. 10 would be a big deal for the Orange. It would mark just the eighth time in program history and third since 2001. Brown would become just the second head coach to lead Syracuse to 10 wins in his first season at the helm of the program, joining Paul Pasqualoni, who guided the Orange to a 10-2 mark and a win in the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1991. And while a win would put an exclamation point on a successful season, it also becomes the building block to the future.

"We're very excited about the opportunity of finishing with 10 wins," Brown said. "That means a lot to us, it means a lot to the University. It means a lot because we want our seniors to go out on top, the way that they should. And this is also the first game of next year. Our seniors get the opportunity to show the young guys now, grabbing by the hand and showing them, this is how I want you to lead. This is your job now. This is what you're supposed to do so guys are just showing them and doing that."

Washington State finished 8-4 in 2024. The Cougars had two four-game winning streaks during the season but ended the campaign with three-straight losses.

The Orange finished the regular season tied with Texas for the nation's most wins over bowl-eligible teams (8).

"I think that put us in the right track to be able to reach our ultimate goal, which is to get into the college football playoff, which is to win a conference championship and then win a national championship," Brown said of the chance to reach double digits in wins in his first season. "That was the goal the entire time, doesn't matter what year I'm in or what year it is. That's what football is about and I'm happy I get to watch these 12 teams go out and compete and play because I think all 12 did an amazing job. And excited about seeing all of them go out and play football so it's a good deal to be able to watch this. Pray that we have an opportunity of competing all winter and all summer and putting ourself in the right position to be in the same spot that those 12 are in this year."

The DIRECTV Holiday Bowl will feature just the second meeting between the two schools. The squads played in 1979 at then Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. as the Dome was being constructed. The Orange posted a 52-25 victory.

Syracuse University Athletics

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