Orange outduels Wildcats in first Pinstripe Bowl

NEW YORK -- College football conquered one of baseball's most cherished cathedrals on Thursday, providing an alien atmosphere complete with shirtless fans ignoring the frigid conditions to spell out the name of their alma mater.

Syracuse and Kansas State had the honor of playing in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, and their rabid cheering sections flooded the iconic venue's stands with orange and purple. Snow lined the sidelines and the area behind the near end zone for the first bowl game in the new Yankee Stadium and the first in New York City in nearly 50 years.

And the game -- played on a field that stretched from the normal location of home plate out to center field -- lived up to the environment. Both teams emptied their playbook, using such gadget plays as flea-flickers, halfback option passes and a fake field goal in an attempt to win, and Syracuse did enough things right to wind up with a narrow, 36-34 victory.

"Here I am, born and raised in the Bronx," said Syracuse coach Doug Marrone, a graduate of nearby Lehman High School. "I always tell people I was born a Yankee fan, and there was a moment out there tonight where I truly almost did break down and go to my knees. ... I thank these players for making, again, [for] just a simple kid from the Bronx, a dream come true."

Marrone could thank his entire roster for the victory, and he even took it a step further. He spoke about the foundation that last year's seniors had helped lay through a 4-8 campaign, and he lauded this year's team for building on that modest beginning. Syracuse hadn't been to a bowl game since 2004, and Marrone said this can set a new precedent.

"We needed to come out with a good effort so we could carry ourselves over for the challenge we face in the future," he said. "We talk about accountability [and] we talk about core values. We go to class [and] we won the Big East Academic Achievement Award. We won a lot of battles off the field, but now we are starting to win them on the field."

The action started early on Thursday, with Kansas State's Daniel Thomas going 51 yards for a touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage. Syracuse answered with two touchdown catches by Marcus Sales, and then Thomas book-ended the first half with a 10-yard score at the end of the second quarter. The score, fittingly, was tied at halftime.

Thomas achieved a litany of milestones in the loss, finishing his career as the second-leading rusher (2,850) in school history. He also finished with 30 career rushing touchdowns -- fourth among Kansas State players.

In the third quarter, Syracuse seized control with two short touchdown runs from eventual MVP Delone Carter, but a missed extra point on the second touchdown gave the Orange a six-point lead. Kansas State took the lead in the fourth quarter, but Syracuse answered just three minutes later. The drama went all the way to the final minute, with the Wildcats pulling within two at the 1:13 mark.

And that's when controversy ensued. Adrian Hilburn caught a 30-yard pass from Carson Coffman to make things interesting, but he was penalized for excessive celebration after issuing a crisp salute in the corner of the end zone. The penalty was marked off immediately, which meant that Kansas State had to try for the tying two-point conversion from nearly 18 yards out.

"I really don't agree with the call," said Hilburn. "A lot of my teammates are backing me up. I saw our opponent throw up diamond signs after they score a touchdown, and I give a salute. What's that? ... I know we're kind of on their turf, and maybe I shouldn't have done that, but I still don't think it was a good call. It hurts. I blame myself for it. I shouldn't have done it."

Referee Todd Geerlings explained the call -- and the rationale -- to a pool reporter after the game.

"These kinds of excessive celebrations have been a priority in the rulebook for the last several years. There's a whole page in the rulebook pertaining to sportsmanship," Geerlings said. "It was the salute, which was the judgment of the calling officials, which were the head linesman and the back judge. Two officials threw the flag, both judged it to be drawing attention to [himself]."

Syracuse (8-5) was buoyed by the presence of senior punter Rob Long, who is undergoing an arduous fight against brain cancer. Long was diagnosed with a benign tumor in early December, but after surgery to remove it, the diagnosis became even more dire. He faces a course of radiation and chemotherapy in hopes of eradicating the disease.

His teammates have lauded him for his composure in the face of such a dispiriting outcome, and Long said on Thursday that he deeply appreciates the outpouring of compassion and support he's gotten from the Syracuse fan base.

"The cards, the letters, the messages. Everything. It's so uplifting to me," he said. "You get all this bad news, but you kind of step back and go to the mailbox, and there's a bunch of stuff in there to help you brighten yourself up. You know there's good people out there. There's a lot of people that are rooting for me, and it means so much to get that. I know everybody doesn't get that kind of support, and I know I'm so fortunate to get it. I'm grateful for it. I can't thank the people who have sent me the letters and the messages enough. Every single one is so special, and I wish I could reply to all of them. It's just been amazing."

The game really came down to two starring performances from Syracuse regulars. Sales, who had been singled out by Marrone on Wednesday night for his hard work and persistence, finished the day with 172 yards and three touchdowns. All three of his scoring catches -- for 52, 36 and 44 yards -- exceeded his previous career-long reception heading into Thursday.

Carter turned out to be the other "X" factor, and he ripped off 143 of his 200 yards after halftime. Sixty of those yards came on one play, a scamper that changed the momentum after Kansas State (7-6) had executed a poorly timed fake field goal. Syracuse wasn't able to score on that final drive, setting up the final adrenaline-fueled drive for the Wildcats.

And though that drive incited more drama, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder was ultimately proud of his team's effort.

"We did some favorable things," said Snyder, who has coached in 12 of his program's 14 bowl games. "I always appreciate young guys that compete, that don't give up, that have the quality of character and intrinsic values to do exactly that."

In the end, there was Marrone, standing on the sideline and watching all of his hard work pay new dividends. And while the former offensive lineman at Syracuse watched his team get into Victory formation in the final seconds, a stealth contingent of his players lined him up for the customary Gatorade bath. And how did he react?

Marrone, despite the frigid temperatures, could only turn around and hug the offending players. His two-year tenure at Syracuse has been filled with adversity, but he knew that this moment could be the start of a signal change for his program. And in this place -- on this sideline and in this city -- he couldn't help but feel that the faintest tug of destiny.

"My grandfather worked here for 15 or 20 years," he said of the old Yankee Stadium. "When I first took the field and I was on the sideline and I looked and I saw the arch, I was kind of drawn back a little bit. From all of the stadiums I've been into, to be on that field, I don't know if it was more personal or just the fact of the way it was kind of set up.

"We have said it before when we played the Big East Tournament here in basketball, a sea of orange at Madison Square Garden. If we ever play football here at Yankee Stadium again -- and I hope we do -- we'll see that sea of orange again."

Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.