The Texas Bowl is finally upon us as the Minnesota Gophers will take on the Syracuse Orange on Friday night at Reliant Stadium in Houston. In a match up against Big Ten and ACC, the Gophers are the favorites, having so far compiled a 8-4 record including wins over Nebraska and Penn State this season.
As for Syracuse, they’re 6-6 on the season and are coming off a 34-31 win against Boston College in their last regular season game to secure a bowl bid for the second straight year, and the 25th time in program history.
While the Gophers haven’t won a bowl game since 2004 against Alabama, they’ll look to snap a five game bowl losing streak against the Orange, who won the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl against West Virginia.
It’ll also be a shot at redemption for Minnesota, who lost in the Texas Bowl last year to Texas Tech on a last minute field goal, 34-31.
Stats
Passing:
Syracuse Passing: 181.5 yards per game (103rd overall)
Minnesota Passing: 141.8 (116th)
Rushing:
Syracuse Rushing: 193.8 (39th)
Minnesota Rushing: 200.9 (33rd)
Points Against:
Syracuse Defense: 26.1 points per game (60th)
Minnesota Defense: 22.3 (27th)
Game Details
When: 5 p.m. CT
Where: Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Television: ESPN
Online Streaming: WatchESPN