NEW YORK – Between the freezing temperatures that made handling the football challenging and the snow and rain that fell throughout the game, the conditions at Yankee Stadium on Saturday created a rough surface to play on.

The field conditions worsened as the game progressed. Workers had to constantly use leaf blowers to blow snow off the playing surface. And the rain that fell early in the game left the field slick and muddy. Syracuse’s balanced offense thrived, though, as it used its running game to earn the victory on a day when passing effectively was a difficult task.

“It gives you the opportunity when you become balanced to when you get into situations, and you get into environments, elements, or whatever it may be, you can stick to either running or throwing,” Orange head coach Doug Marrone said. “We are ready to go into today doing either or, whatever he had to do to win, we were going to do.”

While Syracuse’s offense managed to have a good performance despite the conditions, West Virginia couldn’t seem to overcome them.

Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen said after the game that his team’s loss couldn’t be pinpointed on quarterback Geno Smith not playing as well as he had at times during the year. Instead he said West Virginia did a “poor job” of overcoming adversity.

“The surface was not good,” Holgorsen said. “It was sloppy out there. It was wet.”

Holgorsen said the Mountaineers’ wide receivers had a hard time running their routes and the offensive line struggled to hold off Syracuse’s defense. All of it combined to give West Virginia a lousy offensive performance.

While snow fell for most of the game, the freezing temperature was also an obstacle and made handling the football a nightmare for both teams.

Some players, though, didn’t mind the snowy weather.

“It was cold. You couldn’t wear gloves because the ball was too slippery,” Syracuse running back Jerome Smith said. “It was good. I never got a chance to play in the snow, though. It was good.”

Published on December 30, 2012 at 12:54 am

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman