In its brief history, the Pinstripe Bowl has paired teams from the Big 12 and the Big East -- now the American Athletic Conference. This matchup continues for one last year, before the Big Ten and ACC will take over as the game’s tie-ins beginning in 2014.
2013 Pinstripe Bowl, Notre Dame vs. Rutgers: TV time, team profiles and more
Yankee Stadium will host the country’s premier independent and a local.
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The first edition of the game was also its best thus far -- Syracuse edged Kansas State, 36-34, after the Wildcats failed on a late two-point try that would have evened the score.
The Big 12 would be trying to get its first Pinstripe Bowl win -- Big East teams are 3-0 since its creation -- but Notre Dame’s filling in this year.
Date and time, ET: Dec. 28, 12:15 p.m.
TV channel: ESPN
Location: Bronx, NY
Stadium: Yankee Stadium (54,251)
Tickets: Find available seats here.
Last year’s score: Syracuse 38, West Virginia 24
Last year’s attendance: 39,098
Last year’s TV rating: 3.4 (5.1 million viewers)
Last year’s payout for each school: $1,800,000
Team with the most all-time appearances: Syracuse (two)
Team with the most all-time wins: Syracuse (two)
Notre Dame (8-4)
After appearing in the BCS National Championship last year, the Fighting Irish took a bit of a step back in 2013, going from 12-0 to 8-4. Some regression here can be blamed on injuries, some on graduation, and still more on general personnel loss, with Louis Nix, Manti Te’o and Everett Golson examples of each. Still, that 8-4 record included impressive wins over Arizona State and rival USC, as well as Michigan State, producing signs of a talented team. The Irish came within a late touchdown of knocking off Stanford, as well.
With Golson dismissed from school earlier this year for cheating on a test, the Irish were forced to turn to Tommy Rees at quarterback. Rees, a senior from Lake Forrest, Illinois, did serviceably in that regard, completing 53.7 percent of his passes for a career best 7.99 YPA and throwing for nearly 3000 yards. Most of that production went to receiver T.J. Jones, who had a career year of his own with 1042 yards and nine touchdowns. Inside linebacker Dan Fox picked up some of the responsibility in Te’o’s absence, leading the team with 90 tackles (5.0 for loss).
Last bowl game: 2013 BCS National Championship Game vs. Alabama, 42-14 loss
Last year without a bowl: 2009
All-time bowl record: 15-17
Head coach’s bowl record: Brian Kelly, 3-3
Rutgers (6-6)
In Rutgers’ last season in the rearranged American Athletic Conference, they struggled. They gained bowl eligibility in large part thanks to their 3-1 out -of-conference record. Before they dismantled Southern Florida, their two victories in-conference totaled six points against Southern Methodist and Temple.
The Rutgers offense is powered by a three-headed rushing attack led by sophomore Paul James. James leads the Scarlet Knights in carries (120), yards (720), yards per carry (6.0) and touchdowns (7). The other head of the trifecta are junior Savon Huggins and freshman Justin Goodwin.
Last bowl game: Russel Athletic Bowl 2012 vs. Virginia Tech, 13-10 loss
Last year without a bowl: 2010
All-time bowl record: 5-3
Head coach’s bowl record: Kyle Flood, 0-1
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