Syracuse and Pitt both cannot wait to be a part of it.
It'll be a 3:30 kickoff in the Bronx!
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) July 25, 2023
TV network will be determined at a later date.
🎟️ - https://t.co/58SZyDY3cu pic.twitter.com/Z3YonjDPdB
On November 11th, the Orange and the Tigers go head-to-head at Yankee Stadium to commemorate the 100th football game to be played in the Bronx. For some, it’s just another game on the schedule at a neutral venue. For Pittsburgh offensive lineman and Yankees fan Matt Goncalves, playing at Yankee Stadium is a dream come true.
“I was running around the locker room,” Goncalves said about when he found out the Panthers have a game at Yankee Stadium this season. “I was jumping up and down. I was going to the training room and the weight room. I made sure everybody knew about it.”
Goncalves grew up in Manorville, New York, which is about a 90 minute drive from Yankee Stadium. Even so, the redshirt senior’s Yankees fandom did not stop his family from attending games.
“My favorite Yankees memory is back at the old Yankee Stadium,” Goncalves said. “My dad would pack me and my two brothers in the car and we would go see the core four…I think we saw [Mariano] Rivera’s 400th save.”
Whether it’s the old Yankee Stadium or the current venue, which was built in 2009, that November 11th matchup could not come soon enough for the offensive lineman. Even Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi knows how impressive it is to play at a site like Yankee Stadium.
“I think it’s a special game in a special place,” Narduzzi said. “It kind of hit me when I heard Matt [Goncalves] talk about how excited he is. He really is excited. I’m not a huge baseball fan, but I like the Yankees.”
Narduzzi and the Panthers have played at Yankee Stadium before. In 2016, Northwestern took down Pitt in the Pinstripe Bowl. This time, Narduzzi is “working hard to go back there” to get a win at Yankee Stadium.
Meanwhile, Syracuse fell to Minnesota in last year’s Pinstripe Bowl. This November matchup, according to SU quarterback Garrett Shrader, will be much different than last season’s tilt at the venue.
Huge pitch and catch for @CuseFootball before the half 👏 pic.twitter.com/sxPJl8laBe
— Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (@PinstripeBowl) December 29, 2022
“That organization does a great job with the venue and the set-up,” Shrader said. “Even playing in the bowl game [the site] was phenomenal. The time of the year wasn’t ideal, with the field and it was cold and slippery. I think it will be much more fun this year, especially the time of year we’re playing. Hopefully the weather is nice and cooperates.”
Syracuse and Pitt get going at 3:30 p.m. on November 11th in the Bronx. WAER will have live coverage of the contest, as well as all SU football games in 2023.