Syracuse Looks Happy With Liberty Victory

Syracuse didn’t let disappointment interfere with business Friday.

The Orangemen, ranked No. 23, wanted to spend the holidays somewhere in Florida in a bowl named Orange, Carquest or Gator. Instead, they found themselves in Elvis Presley’s hometown, where they ran all over Houston in winning the Liberty Bowl, 30-17.

“There were a lot of rumors going around that we weren’t happy to go the Liberty Bowl,” Syracuse cornerback Rod Gadson said. “But the people outside didn’t really know what was going on. We were very excited.”

Syracuse (9-4) finished the regular season sharing the Big East Conference title with Miami and Virginia Tech. A loss to Miami in the final game resulted in Syracuse’s only invitation, from the Liberty Bowl, which pays a minimum of $750,000 to each team.

A quarter of the team voted not to attend.

That attitude was nowhere to be seen Friday. Syracuse quickly took control with a running attack keyed by senior Malcolm Thomas, who rushed 24 times for 201 yards, a career high, and scored a touchdown.

“Early on, immediately after the Miami game, there was a question as to whether or not Syracuse wanted to be here,” Coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “I think our kids showed today they wanted to be here very, very badly.”

Syracuse won its eighth consecutive bowl game in the last 10 years by playing keep-away from Houston (7-5). The Orangemen piled up 396 yards rushing and 472 yards in offense.