There’s obviously no national championship at stake, and the Pinstripe Bowl is a lower-tier matchup still trying to build a postseason brand in a city that, frankly, doesn’t seem to realize the game exists.
So what’s the incentive for the teams? The coaches addressed the motivating factors during Friday’s press conference at Yankee Stadium, where both teams made their walk-throughs.
“It counts as a win or it counts as a loss, so you better treat it like any other game,” West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen said. “At the end of the week you better be prepared to win, because everybody’s going to expect you to win.”
One media member even likened the game as an exhibition, which didn’t ring true to Syracuse coach Doug Marrone.
“I don’t think I would ever use the word ‘exhibition’ to describe not just our game but any game,” Marrone said. “These young men are highly competitive … and both teams are going out there to win.”
WEATHER WORRIES
The New York City forecast calls for up to three inches of snow Saturday, but both coaches sounded more concerned about wind.
“Snow doesn’t bother us much, but if the wind’s blowing then that makes it miserable,” Holgorsen said. He hopes WVU doesn’t anything along like the gusty conditions that affected Geno Smith’s downfield passes in Ames, Iowa, on Thanksgiving weekend.
Marrone joked that his only troubling precedent with a snowstorm involved his days of playing for the New York Jets at the old Meadowlands, where “they only had a couple shovels and it was tough seeing the out-of-bounds line.”
Marrone looked at Pinstripe Bowl executive director Mark Holtzman and cracked, “let’s make sure we don’t make the same mistake.” To which Holtzman replied, “I already went to Home Depot.”
WHERE WAS BAILEY?
WVU receiver Stedman Bailey was not present at the start of Thursday’s practice, when the media was afforded 20 minutes to watch periods of stretching and special-teams work. Bailey’s absence created a buzz, especially after sports-information staff couldn’t verify the reason.
Holgorsen explained Bailey’s situation Friday.
“He wasn’t feeling good — he was on the toilet,” Holgorsen said. “It took him about 30 minutes to take of his business and he was back to work.”
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
Holgorsen estimated that 75 percent of his players had never been to New York, and few who toured the city “thought this was the greatest thing ever.”
But the coach said receiver Tavon Austin wasn’t one for the hustle and bustle.
“Tavon walked down about three blocks, said ‘This is not for me,’ turned around and went back in his hotel room and stayed put for a couple days.”
FEELING DEFENSIVE
The prevailing sentiment that Saturday’s game will be a shootout doesn’t sit well with WVU linebacker Shaq Petteway.
“That’s basically a slap in the face, saying that our offense is going to have to score 70 points to win the game,” Petteway said. “As a defense, we need to man up and take that as an insult.”