2014 Camellia Bowl

The 2014 Camellia Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 20, 2014 at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The first edition of the Camellia Bowl, it featured the Bowling Green Falcons of the Mid-American Conference against the South Alabama Jaguars of the Sun Belt Conference. The game began at 8:15 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN.[4] It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by the Raycom Media broadcasting company and was officially known as the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.

2014 Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
1st Camellia Bowl
South Alabama Jaguars Bowling Green Falcons (6–6) (7–6) Sun Belt MAC 28 33 Head coach:  Joey Jones Head coach:  Dino Babers
1 2 3 4 Total South Alabama 7 0 7 14 28 Bowling Green 14 6 7 6 33
Date	December 20, 2014
Season	2014
Stadium	Cramton Bowl
Location	Montgomery, Alabama
MVP	Bowling Green QB James Knapke[1]
Favorite	South Alabama by 3.5[2]
Referee	Brandon Cruse[3] (Mtn. West)
Attendance	20,256[3]
Payout	US$TBD
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN/ESPN Radio
Announcers	Dave LaMont, Joey Galloway, & Paul Carcaterra (ESPN) Jason Benetti, Gene Chizik, & Niki Noto (ESPN Radio)

The Jaguars accepted their invitation after finishing the regular season with a 6–6 record.[5] The Falcons had a record of 7–6.

Bowling Green won the game by a score of 33–28.

Team selection

The game featured the Bowling Green Falcons of the Mid-American Conference against the South Alabama Jaguars of the Sun Belt Conference.

This was the first meeting between these two teams.

Bowling Green Falcons

After the Falcons finished the season with a 7-6 record and won the MAC East Division title, they accepted their invite to the Camellia Bowl.[6]

This was the Falcons' third bowl game in Alabama; they had previously won the 2004 GMAC Bowl over the Memphis Tigers by a score of 52–35, and later lost the 2008 GMAC Bowl to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane by a score of 63–7. Coincidentally, the GMAC Bowl (now known as the GoDaddy Bowl) was and is played in Mobile, where South Alabama's campus is located.

South Alabama Jaguars

After the Jaguars finished the regular season with a 6-6 record, bowl director Johnny Williams extended an invitation to play in the game.[5]

This was the first time South Alabama has ever played in a bowl game, seven years after football was approved, five years after the program kicked off, and two years after they joined the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP USA BGSU 1 11:59 7 65 2:21 BGSU Roger Lewis 44-yard touchdown reception from James Knapke, Tyler Tate kick good 0 7 1 7:17 9 93 2:57 BGSU Travis Greene 1-yard touchdown run, Tyler Tate kick good 0 14 1 5:42 5 89 1:35 USA Kendall Houston 44-yard touchdown run, Aleem Sunanon kick good 7 14 2 6:49 14 56 5:09 BGSU 39-yard field goal by Tyler Tate 7 17 2 0:53 8 36 1:41 BGSU 22-yard field goal by Tyler Tate 7 20 3 6:00 9 52 3:13 USA Brandon Bridge 15-yard touchdown run, Aleem Sunanon kick good 14 20 3 4:33 5 47 1:27 BGSU Travis Greene 17-yard touchdown run, Tyler Tate kick good 14 27 4 11:23 5 77 1:46 USA DeMarrion Buford-Hughes 18-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Bridge, Aleem Sunanon kick good 21 27 4 1:20 8 73 2:53 USA Terrance Timmons 3-yard touchdown run, Aleem Sunanon kick good 28 27 4 1:04 1 78 0:16 BGSU Roger Lewis 78-yard touchdown reception from James Knapke, kick failed 28 33 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 33

Source: [3]

Statistics

Statistics[3]	USA	BGSU
First downs	23	24
Plays–yards	75–415	90–500
Rushes–yards	38–136	49–131
Passing yards	279	369
Passing Comp–Att–Int	20–37–2	26–41–0
Time of possession	25:35	34:25

References

1. Pantazi, Dean (December 22, 2014). "Knapke Named MVP Of Camellia Bowl". 21alive.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
2. Odds
3. "2014 Camellia Bowl Game Stats". Stat Broadcast. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
4. "About the Game". ESPNEvents.com/Camellia-Bowl. Camellia Bowl. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
5. "South Alabama accepts invitation to Raycom Media Camellia Bowl". WSFA-TV. December 3, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
6. "Falcons Selected To Play In Inaugural Camellia Bowl". BGSUFalcons.com. Bowling Green Falcons. December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.

External links

• Game statistics at camelliabowl.com