Minnesota beats Syracuse in 12th annual Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium

It is a storybook tale.

The starting quarterback suffers an injury. He is replaced by a veteran who leads the team to victory in its last game of the season.

Really, it is almost cliche.

Except for Tanner Morgan, it is reality.

Morgan, a sixth-year senior, threw two touchdown passes to lead Minnesota to a 28-20 win over Syracuse in the 12th Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

“Thankful that I got to step on the field again and wear the maroon-and-gold one last time,” said Morgan, who replaced Athan Kaliakmanis midway through the second quarter and finished 4-for-7 for 58 yards. “It’s been an honor to wear that jersey.”

The school’s all-time leader in wins, Morgan began the 2022 season as Minnesota’s starting quarterback but hadn’t played since Nov. 5 because of a concussion. While he was out, Kaliakmanis, a redshirt freshman, started the last four games for Minnesota (9-4), including the bowl game.

Golden Gophers coach P.J. Fleck announced Wednesday that Morgan had been cleared to play. Which, in retrospect, became a bit of fortuitous timing when Kaliakmanis was lost for the game with a leg injury midway through the second quarter. Fleck would not reveal the severity of the injury other than to say it is “not major.”

Morgan finished a drive that Kaliakmanis started by connecting with Daniel Jackson for a spectacular, leaping 20-yard touchdown catch to help extend Minnesota’s lead to 14-0.

It was Morgan’s first touchdown pass since Minnesota’s win over Michigan State on Sept. 24, when he threw for three.

Whereas Minnesota was getting untracked, Syracuse (7-6) struggled offensively for most of the first half, which prompted the pro-Orange crowd to boo when Syracuse, trailing 14-0, punted on fourth-and-1 from its own 49-yard line with 2:40 left in the first half.

“We felt based off the score [at] the time that we could play this a different way,” Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. “We should get another opportunity to get the ball back and have an opportunity to go for seven.”

Which is exactly what happened.

Quarterback Garrett Shrader’s 1-yard touchdown run with eight seconds left allowed Syracuse to cut the deficit to 14-7 going into halftime.

A field goal to open the third quarter brought the Orange within four. That is as close as they would get because, on their next possession, Coleman Bryson returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 21-10.

Syracuse responded with a 13-play, 54-yard drive that culminated with Andre Szmyt’s 38-yard field goal. But Minnesota needed only two plays on the ensuing drive to decide the outcome for all intents and purposes.

Quentin Redding’s 72-yard kickoff return gave the Gophers a first-and-10 at the Syracuse 25-yard line. After Trey Potts was stopped for no gain on first down, Morgan hit Jackson for the Gophers’ final score of the game.

Syracuse made things interesting when Shrader ran for the second of his two touchdowns to cut Minnesota’s lead to 28-20 with 2:30 left in the game.

However, the Orange’s subsequent onside kick failed, and the Gophers ran out the clock.