Final Score

The West Virginia Mountaineers (8-4) suffered another disappointing loss to end a promising 2018 football season, this with a 34-18 loss to the Syracuse Orange in the Camping World Bowl. The Mountaineers entered the game against the Orange (10-3) without their star quarterback, starting left tackle and one of their best receivers and the impact of their absence was obvious.

Jack Allison filled in for the absent Grier, and finished the day 17-of-35 passing for 277 yards and an interception.

I’ll have an article with my post game thoughts later this evening after I have time to digest the loss and process my thoughts. Until then, feel free to discuss the aftermath of the game in this article.

Fourth Quarter

West Virginia 16th Drive: Hofrichter’s punt goes out of bounds at the West Virginia 45 yard line. 1st & 10 with 2:38 remaining.

Allison is still in at QB, and connects with Simmons on the first play of the drive for a gain of 16 yards and the first down. 1st & 10, Allison drops back again and is blown up by a Syracuse defender for a loss of 9. Jack has been sacked 5 times in this game. 2nd & 19, McKoy takes the ball ahead for a gain of 24. FIRST DOWN.

1st & 10 from the 24, Allison’s pass to Sam James fall incomplete. 2nd & 10, Allison’s pass is behind Bryce Wheaton. Meanwhile, ESPN is showing shots of upset West Virginia fans, and hoo boy there’s gonna be some meme material here.

3rd & 10, Allison’s pass to Simmons is high and we’ve got 4th down with 55 seconds left. Allison has two receivers deep, and...doesn’t really throw it to either one. The ball just kinda floats down to Simmons’ feet. This one is over.

Syracuse 15th Drive: The Orange take over at their own 3 yard line. They’ll look to keep the ball on the ground and run the clock out on the Mountaineers.

First play of the drive is a handoff to Strickland. He’s tackled for no gain. 2nd & 10, Dungey throws to Hackett for a gain of 9 yards. 3rd & 1, West Virginia will have to bring the house to try to get the stop here. Dino Babers lets the play clock run down before calling a timeout with 4:55 remaining in the game.

3rd & 1, after the timeout, and Dungey rushes forward for a gain of two. First down, Syracuse, and this is all but over.

1st & 10, Dungey throws to Hackett again for a gain of 6. 2nd & 4, and you can hear the Syracuse fans singing in the stands. Strickland rushes for a gain of 2 yards. 3rd & 5, handoff to Strickland again for a gain of 1. Dana Holgorsen calls a timeout with 2:46 remaining. Syracuse sends on Hofrichter to punt.

West Virginia 15th Drive: Syracuse kicks off from midfield because of a facemask on the touchdown, and it’s another touchback. I’m sitting here screaming for Trey Lowe, but we get Jack Allison again.

Handoff to Leddie Brown to start the drive for a gain of 4. 2nd & 6, another run by Brown and he picks up the first down, but it’s called back on a hold. 2nd & 16, Allison swings it out to Brown he runs through a Syracuse defender for a gain of 25 yards. FIRST DOWN.

Allison finally connects with David Sills for a HUGE GAIN down the left sideline. I’m not sure how Sills got that open, but Sills takes it 48 yards down to Syracuse’s 8 yard line. FIRST DOWN.

First down, Allison drops back and throws toward Tevin Bush in the endzone. Bush was wide open, but Allison’s pass was no where near him. Sills was also flagged for offensive pass interference on a pick play and we’re back up to the 23 yard line. 1st & Goal.

Allison completes a four yard pass to TJ Simmons to bring up 2nd & Goal. Allison connects with Sills again for a gain of 16. 3rd & Goal from the 3 yard line. West Virginia lines up with Wesco stacked behind a receiver on the right side, and Dino Babers calls a timeout.

McKoy comes back in as the wildcat QB, and takes the direct snap. McKoy goes down for a loss of 3 yards. I’m not sure what the thinking behind that playcall was, but I don’t like it.

4th & Goal, Allison completes a pass on the left side to Wesco. Wesco hesitates and looks like he’s about to throw it before he tucks it and tries to run. He’s met by a gang of Syracuse defenders and the drive is all for naught. Syracuse holds, still up 34-18 with 6:12 remaining.

Syracuse 14th Drive: 1st & 10 from the 42 yard line, Dungey hits Jackson for a gain of 9 to start the drive. He keeps it on 2nd & 1 and rushes ahead to pick up the 1st down.

1st & 10, Dungey drops back and is surrounded by Mountaineer defenders. He somehow avoids the sack and gets the pass off to Moe Neal, who turns a huge loss into a 42 yard gain. Jarveon Howard powers through from the 4 yard line, and Syracuse has this one in the bag.

The Orange lead 34-18 with 9:59 remaining, and we’ve got penalty flags flying for unsportsmanlike conduct. This is getting dumb, and my fingers are about to fall off.

West Virginia 14th Drive: Time is starting to run out on the Mountaineers. They’ll need to get something going on this drive if they want a shot at coming back in this one.

Syracuse’s kickoff goes for another touchback. Back to the 25 yard line. The announce team is really talking up this David Sills is unhappy theory, showing clips of Allison not even looking in Sills’ direction when he’s in single coverage.

Handoff to McKoy to start the drive goes for no gain. 2nd & 10, and Allison’s pass to Maiden falls incomplete, off Maiden’s hands. 3rd & 10, Allison drops back and is sacked by Kendall Coleman for a loss of 9. Not great.

Kinney comes on to punt, and it’s fair caught at the Syracuse 40 yard line.

Syracuse 13th Drive: Dungey hands off to Strickland for a gain of 22 yards. Dungey dances around in the pocket before firing it down to Custis at the one yard line, but it’s bobbled and falls incomplete. 2nd & 10, Strickland takes the ball again but is swallowed up by Jabril Robinson for a loss of 4 yards. 3rd & 14, Dungey throws to Jackson for a 4 yard gain, and David Long is all over him. Syracuse sends on Szmyt for a 34 yarder.

The kick is good and Syracuse is now up 27-18 with 12:55 left on the clock.

West Virginia 13th Drive: Tevin Bush signals for the fair catch, West Virginia takes the ball at the 25. Jack Allison steps forward and attempts a pass to McKoy, but it’s off his fingers and into the arms of a Syracuse defensive back. It’s returned 20 yards, but is followed up with a 15 yard penalty.

Syracuse 12th Drive (continued): 3rd & 10 from West Virginia’s 13 yard line. Dungey goes to the left side of the field and it’s caught by Michigan State transfer Trishton Jackson in the endzone for a touchdown.

Syracuse goes for two, but the play is blown dead before he can get the pass off. False start on the Orange. After the penalty, Babers elects to kick the field goal. Syracuse leads 24-18 with 14:54 remaining.

Third Quarter

Syracuse 12th Drive: Staley’s kickoff goes into the endzone for another touchback, Syracuse ball at the 25 yard line. Syracuse gets called for a delay of game on the first play of the drive, and Dino Babers is livid. 1st & 15 from the 20 yard line. Dungey is hit by David Long in the backfield, but he gets a shovel pass off to his fullback for a gain of 6 yards, becoming Syracuse’s all-time passing leader. 2nd & 9, Adam surges ahead for a gain of 8, just short of the third down. 3rd & 1, Dungey keeps it and picks up the first down.

Dungey completes a pass to Johnson for a gain of 18 yards for a first down, but offensive lineman Evan Adams comes flying in late and gets called for a 15 yard penalty. 1st & 10 from their 39, Dungey passes to Riley for a gain of 23 yards and a first down.

Dungey fires off another pass to Johnson, who runs out of bounds after a 7 yard game. Dungey keeps it on 2nd & 3 for a 5 yard gain and another first down. Dungey goes back to Custis for another first down on a 13 yard completion, and the Orange are rolling.

Handoff to Adams who is stopped at the line by Shea Campbell and Hakeem Bailey for no gain. 2nd & 10, Dungey keeps it and is also stopped for no gain.

The third quarter is over. When we come back, Syracuse will have it at 3nd & 10 from West Virginia’s 13 yard line.

West Virginia 12th Drive: Tevin Bush takes the kickoff at the 3 yard line and returns it to the 14 for an 11-yard return.

First down, Allison hands off to McKoy for a gain of 3. 2nd & 7, Allison shows his limited mobility on a bizarre play that ends with a batted down pass. 3rd & 7, Allison drops back, and finds Kwincy Hall on the left side for a big gain of 43 yards. FIRST DOWN.

1st & 10, handoff to McKoy for a gain of 6 yards. 2nd & 4, quick pass to Maiden for a pickup of 3 yards. 3rd & 1 from the Syracuse 30 yard line. We’ve got a Syracuse defender down on the field. Allison lunges forward on a keeper and picks up the first down.

Handoff to McKoy again, but he’s swallowed up in the backfield for a loss of 3. 2nd & 13, Allison fires another pass to Maiden, but it’s knocked down by Fredrick to bring up 3rd down. 3rd & 13, Allison goes to the left side again, this time to Bryce Wheaton. The ball falls incomplete and Evan Staley will come on to kick a 49 yarder.

THE KICK BOUNCES OFF THE UPRIGHT AND THROUGH THE GOALPOST. West Virginia is back on top, 18-17 with 3:23 remaining in the third. What a game.

Syracuse 11th Drive: Syracuse fields the kickoff and returns it to the 22 yard line. Dungey hands off to Moe Neal for a gain of 5. 2nd & 5, Dungey swings it out to Johnson on the right side for a gain of 3. 3rd & 2, the handoff goes to Neal again, and he fights ahead to pick up the first down.

1st & 10, Dungey fakes the handoff on a RPO, and finds tight end Aaron Hackett down the middle for a gain of 26 yards and another first down. Keith Washington is down on the field this time, and looks to be in a good deal of pain as we go to a media timeout.

Syracuse comes out in a two tight end formation, which can only spell disaster.

Dungey pitches to Neal and he runs around the right end for a gain of 5. 2nd & 5, Dungey drops back and connects with Custis again for a 12 yard gain and the first down. 1st & 10, Neal carries it 5 yards again. 2nd & 5, the handoff goes to Neal one more time, but Dante Stills breaks through the Syracuse offensive line and stuff the run in the backfield. 3rd & 8 from the West Virginia 21 yard line, Dungey drops back to throw and David Long is all up in his face. Dungey gets the pass off, but it’s incomplete.

Syracuse sends Groza Award winner Andre Szmyt on for the 39 yard field goal. The kick is good, and the Orange are back on top of the Mountaineers, 17-15.

West Virginia 11th Drive: Syracuse kicks the ball out of bounds for a touchback, and West Virginia will start the second half from their own 25 yard line.

Allison hands off to McKoy on first down. McKoy runs off tackle for a gain of 4. 2nd & 6, Allison completes a pass to Simmons for a gain of 8. FIRST DOWN.

Allison hands off to McKoy again for a gain of 3 up the middle. Lowe comes in as a receiver, and McKoy is back under center as a wildcat QB. The play is blown up, but McKoy gains a yard before being tackled. 3rd & 6, Allison is back in and he hits a wide open Tevin Bush cutting across the field for a gain of 34. FIRST DOWN.

1st & 10 from the 25, Allison hands off to McKoy again and he’ll be tackled for a loss of 4. 2nd & 14, Allison looks to the sideline for the play. He takes it and hands off again to McKoy for a loss of another yard. 3rd & 15, Allison swings a pass to Dominique Maiden. Maiden is wrestled down after a gain of 3 yards. Staley comes on to attempt the 44 yarder.

Staley’s kick is good and the Mountaineers are back on top, 15-14 with 10:11 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Attendance has been announced as 41,125.

Halftime Analysis

Jack Allison has looked shaky through the largest part of the first half. He’s completed 7-of-16 attempts for 77 yards. A few of those incompletions were targets to David Sills, who has been targeted 7 times and only has two catches to show for it. Sills was visibly upset in the first quarter, but it’s not clear what the cause of his annoyance was. It’s possible that he felt as though Syracuse defenders were committing pass interference that wasn’t being called.

Defensively, the Mountaineers are doing a fine job. With the exception of Syracuse’s second touchdown drive in which Kenny Robinson got ejected for targeting, the Tony Gibson has called a decent game. They sacked Dungey 5 times in the first half.

Second Quarter

West Virginia 10th Drive: West Virginia has time to run one play before the half, and it’s a handoff to McKoy for a gain of 12 yards.

We go to the locker room down 14-12.

Syracuse 10th Drive: Dungey throws a quick hitter to Johnson, but Jamal Custis is whistled for a hold. Syracuse will back up 10 yards. 1st & 20, handoff to Strickland for a gain of 7 yards. 2nd & 13, Syracuse is whistled for a false start and has to take their final timeout to avoid the clock runoff.

2nd & 18 with 25 seconds left, Dungey scrambles in the backfield and ends up throwing it away. 3rd & 18, Dungey overthrows his receiver and it’s picked off by Derrek Pitts. West Virginia gets the ball at their 35 yard line.

West Virginia 9th Drive: 1:48 remaining in the half. Allison is sacked by Coleman for a loss of 9 on the first play of the drive. 2nd & 19, the handoff goes to Kennedy McKoy for a gain of 3. Syracuse takes a timeout, hoping to get the ball back in good field position before the half expires.

3rd & 16, Allison tries to get a swing pass to Kennedy McKoy on the right side, but McKoy drops it. West Virginia will punt with 1:06 on the clock. Dana Holgorsen is not happy.

Kinney’s punt is fair caught at the Syracuse 49.

Syracuse 9th Drive: From the 11 yard line, Dungey keeps it on a designed quarterback run and runs ahead for a gain of 7. 2nd & 3, Dungey drops back but then elects to keep it himself. He stiff arms a Mountaineer defender and picks up the first down.

1st & 10, Dungey hands off to Moe Neal, and he breaks off a 22 yard run. First down. Dungey follows it up with another keeper, but Jovanni Stewart is all over him for another West Virginia sack. Loss of a yard. 2nd & 11, Dungey throws to Custis past the sticks, but Washington defends the pass perfectly. 3rd & 11, and Dana Holgorsen takes his first timeout of the half before the ball can be snapped.

3rd & 11, Dungey drops back and Tony Gibson sends everyone. Dungey sheds a tackle, but is met by Darius Stills for another sack. Loss of 2. Syracuse will punt. Hofrichter’s punt falls to the ground and rolls out of bounds around the 20 yard line.

West Virginia 8th Drive: 1st & 10 from the 13, Allison fires down the sideline to David Sills. Sills catches the ball and makes a fantastic move to try to stay inbounds, but his toes are on the white line. 2nd & 10, Allison fires to Simmons for a gain of 17 and we tack on a facemask penalty for 15 more yards. FIRST DOWN.

Allison hands off to Brown for a gain of four on 1st down. 2nd & 6, Allison tries to hit Brown on a pass in the flat, but it’s over his head. 3rd & 6, handoff to Brown again. He surges forward for a gain of 4 to the Syracuse 47 yard line to bring up 4th down. Isaiah Hardy is down on the field, and Dana Holgorsen takes a minute to think about going for it on fourth down.

Hardy is helped off the field by the training staff, it’s unclear what the issue is. Punt team comes on, and Kinney’s punt is fielded at the 10 yard line by the Orange.

Syracuse 8th Drive: Staley’s kick goes to the one yard line, and is returned by Sean Riley for 43 yards. Staley saves the touchdown by tackling Riley.

1st & 10, Dungey drops back, fires deep to Custis down the left sideline. The ball is underthrown a bit and hits Keith Washington in the back. Incomplete. 2nd & 10, handoff to Strickland for a gain of 4. 3rd & 6, handoff again to Strickland he he gets to the 50 yardline to bring up 4th & 3. Hofrichter comes on to punt. Sills fair catches it at the 13 yard line.

West Virginia 7th Drive: Syracuse kicks into the endzone for a touchback, West Virginia ball at the 25 yard line.

Allison is in at QB, he takes the snap and hands off to Pettaway who breaks off an incredible 51-yard run through the Orange defense. FIRST DOWN.

1st & 10, Allison drops back and doesn’t see a Syracuse defender coming at him from his blind side. He’s sacked for a loss of 6, and heads to the sideline with a possible eye injury.

Lowe comes in and pitches the ball to McKoy, who pitches it to Wesco. Wesco fires down the sideline to Trey Lowe, but it’s knocked loose by an Orange defender.

3rd & 16, Allison back on and he hands off to McKoy. McKoy runs for an 11 yard gain, but fails to get the first down. Staley comes on to attempt the 36 yard field goal, and IT’S GOOD.

Syracuse leads 14-12 with 6:33 remaining in the half.

Syracuse 7th Drive: Dungey scrambles and is nearly sacked in the backfield. He gets loose and rushes ahead for a gain of 9. 2nd & 1, Dungey is sent scrambling again by Reese Donahue. He gets the pass off, but is nailed by Darius Stills on a late hit. West Virginia takes a 15 yard penalty and Syracuse has a fresh set of downs at West Virginia’s 38-yard line.

1st & 10, Dungey hits Harris again for a gain of 19 and another first down. 1st & 10, Dungey keeps it for a one yard gain. 2nd & 9, Dungey goes back to Harris on the right sideline. He breaks a couple tackles and rushes ahead before getting rocked by Kenny Robinson. Robinson is flagged for targeting and is ejected. He’ll watch the rest of the game from the locker room. He exits to a chorus of boos from the Syracuse fans.

1st & Goal from the 5 yard line, Dungey hands off to Abdul Adams for a gain of 3 yard up the middle. 2nd & Goal, Dungey goes back to Adams, and he busts through the line for the touchdown.

Syracuse is back on top, 14-9, with 8:30 remaining in the first half.

West Virginia 6th Drive: Allison fires to Trevon Wesco on the right side, and he sheds a couple tackles for a gain of 12 yards. FIRST DOWN. Allison tries to go back to Sills, but the connection just isn’t there.

Trey Lowe comes in and carries the ball again for a gain of 9 yards. 3rd & 9, Lowe connects with fellow true freshman Sam James for a loss of 2 yards. Allison comes back in on 4th & 3, and fires a quick shot to TJ Simmons for a gain of 2. He’ll be short of the first down and Syracuse will take over on their 40 yard line.

Syracuse 6th Drive: Staley kicks into into the endzone for another touchback. 1st & 10, Neal rushes ahead for a 2 yard gain. 2nd & 8, Dungey drops back and Shea Campbell rushes right past the right guard to sack Dungey for a loss of 12 yards. 3rd & 20, and West Virginia jumped offside. Dungey fires it anyway, and it’s caught by Custis for a gain of 39. BUT WAIT. OFFSETTING PENALTIES WIPES IT OUT.

3rd & 20 from their own 18, Dungey runs to the right sideline for a gain of 3 before being tackled by David Long III. Hofrichter on to punt again. Sills signals for a fair catch, but muffs it. Sills falls on top of the ball, and the Mountaineers will take over at their 40-yard line.

West Virginia 5th Drive: West Virginia takes over at the 16 yard line. Allison hands off to Kennedy McKoy, who hits the outside edge for a gain of 11. FIRST DOWN.

1st & Goal, Allison fires a pass to Sills in the endzone, but the pass is behind him. 2nd & Goal, Trey Lowe comes in and Kennedy McKoy takes a direct snap on a wildcat play and runs up the middle for a 2 yard gain. 3rd & Goal, and before Allison can get the snap off, Dino Babers calls a timeout.

Mountaineers come back out in the same formation, Allison is out as a receiver and the snap goes to McKoy again. This time he charges forward and into the endzone. TOUCHDOWN! Evan Staley’s extra point doinks off the upright and we’ve got ourselves #WeirdFootball.

West Virginia leads 9-7 with 13:52 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

First Quarter

Syracuse 5th Drive: False start on the Orange. 1st & 15 and Syracuse gets whistled for illegal motion for another 5-yard penalty. 1st & 20 from the 10, Dungey keeps it and rambles up the middle for a gain of 10. 2nd & 10, Dungey drops back and is met by Kwantel Raines in the backfield. Dungey breaks away from the sack and throws the ball, BUT IT’S PICKED OFF BY KENNY ROBINSON. WEST VIRGINIA BALL AT THE 16 YARD LINE AS THE FIRST QUARTER COMES TO A CLOSE!

West Virginia 4th Drive: Syracuse kicks off, fielded by Tevin Bush. The Orange were offsides when they kicked, so West Virginia will get it at the 30-yard line to start the drive.

1st & 10, Allison hands off to Alec Sinkfield for a loss of a yard. 2nd & 11, Allison drops back and hits Sills again for a nice gain of 18 yards to the 47 yard line. FIRST DOWN.

1st & 10, Jack hands off to Sinkfield again, and he hits the hole up the middle for a gain of 5. 2nd & 5, Jack drops back again and connects with Trevon Wesco for a gain of 2. 3rd & 3, Allison overthrows Sills down the right sideline to bring up 4th & 3. Kinney comes on to punt. The ball goes into the endzone for a touchback and Syracuse will get it at their own 25 yard line.

Syracuse 3rd Drive: Staley kicks off and it’s fielded at the 2 yard line. The Orange try some trickeration, throwing to Melifonwu. Donte Bonamico tackles him for a loss of 4 yards. 1st & 10, Dungey connects with Custis for a gain of 9. He goes back to him again on the next play for a gain of 1 and the first down. 1st & 10, Dungey hits Harris for another 9 yard gain. Adam rushes 3 yards for another Orange first down. 1st & 10, Dungey throws again to Harris for 19 yard gain and another first down. 1st & 10 again, Dungey keeps the ball and scrambles for an eight yard gain.

Jabril Robinson is down on the turf and the two teams are pulled apart by officials. Robinson walks off under his own power.

2nd & 2, Dungey takes the snap but Jamal Custis is whistled for a false start, backing the Orange up. 2nd & 8, Dungey heaves it deep to Custis and it’s caught at the 3 yard line for a gain of 44 yards. 1st & Goal, Abdul Adams rushes for no gain. 2nd & Goal, Dungey pitches to Adamss for a loss of a yard. 3rd & Goal from the 4, Adams gets it again and surges ahead for Syracuse touchdown.

Syracuse leads 7-3 with 3:01 left in the 1st quarter.

West Virginia 2nd Drive: West Virginia takes over at their 40. Allison hands off to Martell Pettaway for a gain of two yards. 2nd & 8, Allison hands off to Pettaway again, up the middle for a gain of 3 yards. 3rd & 5, Allison fires a nice shot to David Sills on the right sideline for a gain of 8 yards. FIRST DOWN. Allison hands off to Pettaway again, who bursts through for a 5-yard gain. 2nd & 5, Allison hands off to Leddie Brown to the left side of the line for a gain of 1. Brown is down on the field and is getting his knee looked at by Dave Kerns and the training staff.

We’re back after a media timeout, and Brown walked off under his own power. 3rd & 4, Tevin Bush comes from right to left on a jet sweet and carries the ball 20 yards to Syracuse’s 16 yard line. FIRST DOWN. 1st & 10, West Virginia fails to snap the ball before the play clock expires and is backed up 5 yards. 1st & 15, Allison drops back and is sacked for a loss of 6 yards. 2nd & 21, Allison fires off another pass to Sills, who slipped and fell before the ball got to him. 3rd & 21. Allison throws up the middle to TJ Simmons for a gain of 16 yards. Evan Staley comes on to attempt the 28-yard field goal. The kick is up, and it’s good.

West Virginia leads 3-0 with 6:42 remaining in the 1st quarter.

Syracuse 2nd Drive: Syracuse takes over on their own 25 yard line. First play of the drive goes in a handoff to Moe Neal for a gain of 2 yards. 2nd & 8, Dungey tries to run up the middle, but cuts back and to the left. He’s popped for a loss of 2-yards by Toyous Avery. 3rd & 10, Dungey drops back and is sacked by Keith Washington for a loss of 13 yards. Tony Gibson’s DAWGS are playing with fire today. Hofritcher fires off a booming punt, caught by Sills and returned for a 1 yard loss.

West Virginia 1st Drive: On the first play, Allison drops back to pass, but can’t connect with Dominique Maiden. On 2nd & 10, Allison passes to Kennedy McKoy in the flat for a 3-yard gain. 3rd & 7, Allison fires a quick pass to TJ Simmons, but it falls short. Billy Kinney comes on for a 40-yard punt, fair catch by Syracuse’s Sean Riley.

Syracuse 1st Drive: Evan Staley’s kick goes into the endzone for a touchback. Syracuse gets the ball at their own 25-yard line. Dungey hands off to Dontae Strickland for a gain of two yards up the middle. On 2nd & 8, Dungey rolls out of the pocket and throws the ball away to the Syracuse sideline. 3rd & 8, Dungey drops back to pass, but is popped by Dante Stills as he throws, ball falls incomplete. Syracuse punts, David Sills V signals for a fair catch at their own 32 yard line..

Coin Toss: West Virginia wins the toss and elects to defer. Syracuse will get the ball first. LET’S GO!

Pregame Updates

• Wide receiver Marcus Simms is OUT for today’s game.
• Today’s game will be officiated by a Pac-12 crew led by Steve Strimling.

Pregame

This is your live updates thread! Check back for highlights/commentary/score changes/etc. If you’re looking to talk about the game in the comments, you can join us in OUR OPEN GAME THREAD. Comments on this article will be opened after the game is final.

We’ll provide any updates as kickoff approaches in this thread.

Game Information

And so it comes down to this.

Despite the fact that West Virginia fielded arguably their most talented team under Dana Holgorsen, the 2018 season fizzled out with losses to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Oklahoma Sooners. West Virginia fell 4 points short of their goal of making an appearance in the Big 12 Championship game, to the disappointment of many. Today, however, the Mountaineer football program has new life.

The goal is simple: Beat Syracuse.

It won’t be easy. Gone are your 3rd runner-up Heisman candidate, first-round offensive tackle, and your most dependable receiver.

A new era has dawned on the Mountaineers.

It’s Jack Allison’s time to shine in his first collegiate start. It’s even more special that it’s happening just a little over 100 miles away from his hometown of Palmetto, Florida.

But Jack isn’t alone. He’ll have true freshman quarterback Trey Lowe backing him up and putting a little pressure on him to play well. West Virginia is headed for a quarterback battle in 2019, and Allison can give himself a leg up on the competition today in Orlando.

For Tony Gibson, today is an opportunity to make things right. The Mountaineer defensive coordinator has caught a lot of flack for West Virginia’s season ending losses - and for good reason. The Mountaineers scored 97 points over two games and lost both. Today, that can change.

Will the Mountaineers step up or will the Camping World Bowl continue the disappointing end to a very promising season? Only one way to find out.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the game.

Game Vitals

Date: Friday, December 28, 2018

Time: 5:15PM EST

Channel: ESPN

Announcers: Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessenich

Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network on IMG (Online Stream | Radio Affiliates) | SIRIUS: 84, XM: 84

Online Streaming: WatchESPN

Betting Odds: Syracuse -3, 67.5 Total

History Lesson

Today is the 61st all-time meeting between the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Syracuse Orange. Syracuse holds a 33-27 advantage in wins over the Mountaineers, and have won the last three meetings between the two programs. West Virginia last played the Orange in the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl in New York.