Northern Illinois: 2023 Camellia Bowl Champions

In a game that was contentious from warmups on, the Northern Illinois Huskies defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves 21-19 in the 2023 Camellia Bowl. Both teams were 6-6 entering the day.

Huskies' head coach Thomas Hammock secures Northern Illinois' second winning season in his tenure and their first bowl win in eight appearances. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi completed 18 passes on 29 attempts for 200 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Here's what else stood out from the MAC's second win of this bowl season.

Kicker Kanon Woodill's Play of the Day

Northern Illinois' third touchdown of the day came from an unlikely source. Place kicker Kanon Woodill took a short toss from holder Tom Foley 32 yards for a touchdown. It's his first career touchdown. Woodill didn't make a field goal in the win, but this arguably made up for that.

Husky Ball Control

Despite being shutout in the second half, Northern Illnois managed to win the game through expert ball control. The Huskies had the ball for forty minutes and 21 seconds - over 75% of the game. Running back Antario Brown had 25 carries for 132 yards, his fifth 100-yard performance of the season. All together, the Huskies rushed for 189 yards in the win.

A Comeback Attempt That Fell Just Short

In the final minutes, Jalen Raynor led a touchdown drive for the Red Wolves that made the score 21-19 in favor of NIU. The two-point conversion that would have tied the game was unsuccessful. Arkansas State then attempted an onside kick and appeared to recover it, but the officials called the Red Wolves for offsides on the kick, much to Butch Jones' chagrin. NIU were able to run out the last minute on the clock to secure the win.  

Arkansas State are still searching for their first winning season under Jones. 

Buffalo: 2022 Camellia Bowl Champions

MONTGOMERY, AL – For the second time in three years, the University at Buffalo football team hoisted the Camellia Bowl trophy over its heads as bowl champions, defeating Georgia Southern, 23-21, at the Cramton Bowl on Tuesday afternoon. An undermanned Bulls squad had reserve players step up all day to help UB win its third bowl in program history.

Players like Clevester Hines, who before this week was a wide receiver, was forced to start at cornerback and finished with seven tackles and three pass breakups. He helped the Bulls slow down a pass-happy, high-powered Georgia Southern offense. On the offensive side of the ball, running back Tajay Ahmed was pressed into action due to injuries and responded by rushing for a career-high 98 yards and a touchdown.

While several new faces stepped up, the usual old reiables paced the Bulls, especially early. Wide receiver Justin Marshall had 11 catches for 127 yards, both career highs, and scored UB's first touchdown of the game enroute to being named the bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Marshall was the favorite target of quarterback Cole Snyder who threw for 265 yards and a score. He became just the third quarterback in program history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. Snyder also connected with Quian Williams five times for 100 yards.

Buffalo took a 14-6 lead late in the first half on a short touchdown run by Ahmed.

Georgia Southern responded early in the second half by quickly tying the game on a long touchdown pass. However, the Bulls answered with consecutive Alex McNulty field goals to take a 20-14 lead into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Dylan Powell came up with his first career interception to set up UB at the Georgia Southern 40-yard line. The Bulls were able to drive down the field and McNulty hit a chip shot to extend the UB lead to nine. It was McNulty's third field goal of the game and 49th of his career, breaking the program's all-time record.

The Eagles scored a touchdown, with 3:38 left, to cut the UB advantage to two points. However, the Bulls were able to get two key first downs and Georgia Southern never got the ball back.

Linebacker Shaun Dolac led the UB defense with 13 tackles and added a forced fumble that was recovered by Jalen McNair to set up a UB field goal. Fellow linebacker James Patterson, making his 56th and final career start for the Bulls, had eight tackles, including a tackle for loss.

 

It was the third straight bowl win for the Bulls after winning the 2019 Bahamas Bowl and 2020 Camellia Bowl.

Georgia State: 2021 Camellia Bowl Champions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- — Darren Grainger and Georgia State saved their best for the last game of the season — and especially for a thoroughly dominating third quarter.

Grainger passed for 203 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 122 yards and a fourth TD to lead Georgia State to a 51-20 victory over Ball State in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday.

The Panthers (8-5) finished with their seventh win in eight games, dominated the lone bowl played on Christmas Day and set a season record for wins.

Coach Shawn Elliott called it "the best performance Georgia State football has had this year."

"I think we finished Christmas Day with one of the best presents we could have ever asked for and that's a commanding, dominating win," Elliott said. It was the first time the program had won back-to-back bowl games.

His team was up 20-13 at halftime but scored the next 31 points.

Grainger completed 15 of 19 passes and carried 11 times, including a play fake midway through the third quarter when he scampered 34 yards untouched into the end zone. It was the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, and he was named the game MVP.

Ball State (6-7) couldn't summon up many big plays after Drew Plitt's 56-yard touchdown bomb to Jayshon Jackson for an early lead.

The Cardinals finished with a losing record a year after coach Mike Neu led his alma mater to its first Mid-American Conference championship since 1996.

"This group of young men has changed our program, and I mean that," Neu said. "A few years ago, we were struggling, we were down and out. These guys stuck together."

Tight end Aubrey Payne had two touchdown catches for Georgia State, along with career-highs of eight catches and 109 yards.

The Panthers defense also supplied two touchdowns: a 37-yard fumble recovery by defensive end Javon Denis and a 55-yard interception return by Antavious Lane that ended the team's 28-point third quarter.

"I really just wanted to win," Grainger said. "It didn't really matter how it came. We were talking so much about getting the eighth win this week."

Plitt completed 27 of 46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Ball State, which was without injured leading receiver Justin Hall. Jackson caught 12 passes for 146 yards.

It was Plitt's last game of his career at Ball State, but afterward, he was looking ahead to how his returning teammates can bounce back.

"I feel like this team is going to surprise a lot of people," Plitt said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Georgia State: Completed a dramatic turnaround after a 1-4 start that included losses to Army, North Carolina, Auburn and Appalachian State. The nation's No. 8 ground game dominated Saturday, churning out 259 yards.

Ball State: Had a disappointing ending after gaining bowl eligibility with a 20-3 win over Buffalo in the regular-season finale. A failed fourth-and-1 try from its own 34 in the first half led to a field goal. The Cardinals fell to 1-9-1 in bowl games.

MISSING PLAYERS

Ball State was without two offensive line starters —left guard Anthony Todd (injury) and right tackle Damon Kaylor (COVID-19 protocol) — along with Hall.

"We had some moving parts on the offensive line," Neu said. "We had a few adjustments we had to make throughout the week. That's part of it. There's some guys who stepped in and played their first snaps this week."

Georgia State starting noseguard Dontae Wilson also didn't play for undisclosed reasons, and tight end Roger Carter was out with an injury.

UP NEXT

Ball State: Opens next season at Tennessee, and must replace Plitt and had 32 seniors/grad students.

Georgia State: Will have Grainger back next season and also starts on the road against an SEC team — South Carolina. "This team is growing, and I think it's going to continuously grow under Coach Elliott," Payne said.

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Buffalo: 2020 Camellia Bowl Champions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Kevin Marks looked like a super sub early, stalled against a stingy defense and then delivered the decisive blow.

Marks scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:09 left after a clock-eating drive and Buffalo made a final defensive stop to beat Marshall 17-10 in the Camellia Bowl on Friday.

Subbing for the national leader in rushing yards per game, Jaret Patterson, Marks carried 35 time for 138 yards for the Bulls (6-1) against one of the nation's top run defenses.

Buffalo milked more than six minutes off the clock on the final 13-play, 88-yard drive. Quarterback Kyle Vantrease took a knee on first down and coach Lance Leipold even considered calling for a second one for a team that had only made its first field goal of the season in the first half.

"Obviously. we needed every second we could get there toward the end," Leipold said.

Grant Wells then took Marshall (7-3), which had rallied from a 10-0 deficit, to the Buffalo 20 with no timeouts. Kadofi Wright's sack helped force a fourth-and-11 and Eric Black added his second sack to end the threat.

Both teams lost their conference championship games.

Buffalo improved to 2-3 in bowls, also beating Charlotte in the 2019 Bahamas Bowl. The Thundering Herd dropped their final three games after a 7-0 start and No. 15 ranking.

"We just didn't make enough plays offensively the last three weeks," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said.

The matchup between the nation's top rushing team and the No. 2 run defense lost some of its luster even before kickoff.

Patterson, who had 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns in six games, didn't dress out after sustaining a right knee injury in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game. He served as a cheerleader on the sideline.

"We thought it would be best for his future," James Patterson, Buffalo's linebacker and Jaret's brother, said of the prolific runner's decision not to play. "That's all that went into it. Nothing else."

Marks had 23 carries for 117 yards by halftime, though he was mostly shut down in the second half by a defense giving up just 88.9 rushing yards a game coming in. Marks said he found out he would be starting "at the end of the week." He wasn't surprised yards were hard to come by.

"It was all about patience," he said. "With a good defense like that you have to take what they give you."

The Thundering Herd still held Buffalo to 155 rushing yards, half of its own average.

Marshall tied it on Shane Ciucci's 21-yard field goal with 8:48 left in the third quarter, and that's where the score stood until Marks' touchdown.

Like Buffalo, Marshall wasn't at full strength. Leading rusher Brenden Knox, C-USA defensive player of the year Tavante Beckett and starting right tackle Josh Ball opted out of the game. Beckett was one of three defensive starters missing.

It was the first NCAA bowl game played on Christmas Day since 2003.

THE TAKEAWAY

Marshall: The offense went nowhere early but the defense withstood early scoring threats to keep the game tight. Punter Robert Lefevre helped out with fourth-quarter punts of 59 and 61 yards.

Buffalo: Got zip out of two impressive drives to open the game. Alex McNulty missed a 34-yard field goal — falling to 0 of 3 on the season — and then the Bulls failed on a fourth-down try from the Marshall 25. ... McNulty made a 25-yarder in the second quarter.

RUIZ SCHOLARSHIP

Leipold gave receiver Jovany Ruiz a scholarship the night before the game, and Ruiz responded with seven catches for 61 yards. "It looked like a pretty good move," the coach said.

HOLLIDAY'S FUTURE

Holliday wasn't interested in discussing his own future with a contract that expires on June 30. "I haven't even thought about it," he said. "I'm trying to go see my family for a little bit. You know what I mean?"

UP NEXT

Marshall: Wells returns after earning Conference USA freshman of the year honors to lead the offense. Most of the starting defenders return but Beckett was one of the program's top pass rushers.

Buffalo: Patterson and Vantrease are only juniors so Buffalo could get them back for another season. But three offensive line starters and three starting receivers are seniors and so is defensive end Malcolm Koonce, a two-time All-MAC selection.

Arkansas State: 2019 Camellia Bowl Champions

Layne Hatcher threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns, the last with 3:37 to play, in Arkansas State's 34-26 win over Florida International in Saturday's Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl.

Hatcher was 27-for-51 passing with an interception.

His four touchdowns went to four different receivers: a 4-yarder to Omar Bayless, a 9-yarder to Kirk Merritt, a 15-yarder to Reed Tyler and a 13-yarder to Jonathan Adams.

Bayless finished with nine catches for 180 yards to win the Bart Starr MVP award for the Red Wolves (8-5). Austin Maloney caught 10 passes for 178 yards for the Panthers (6-7).

Jose Borregales kicked a career-high four field goals for FIU, including a Camellia Bowl-record 52-yarder.

But he missed a potential go-ahead 29-yarder with 5:10 remaining and Arkansas State leading 27-26. The Red Wolves followed with a five-play, 80-yard TD drive.

Borregales' field goals were for 25, 25, 48 and 52 yards. He was one shy of tying both an FIU record and an all-time bowl record.

Arkansas State ended FIU's last two possessions with interceptions, the final with 19 seconds to go.

The eight-point final margin made it the most-lopsided Camellia Bowl in history. The game's previous five games were decided by no more than five points, including two final-play field goals.

Georgia Southern: 2018 Camellia Bowl Champions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Tyler Bass found a way to top his last-play 50-yard field goal to end the first half.

Bass kicked a 40-yarder as time expired to give Georgia Southern a 23-21 victory over Eastern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday night.

Shai Werts kept the winning drive alive with a 29-yard scramble on fourth-and-10. Bass came on for his third field goal after Wesley Fields' two runs pushed Georgia Southern (10-3) 7 yards closer.

"Right when Shai got that first down, I knew we had a chance to kick it," Bass said. "We've been preparing all week for it, all year for it. When I got out there, I didn't think about anything but the snap, the hold and me just kicking it through. That was it."

Georgia Southern completed the biggest turnaround in the Football Bowl Subdivision this season, going from 10 losses to 10 wins.

"I said at the beginning of the year, we're not sexy, we're just blue collar," coach Chad Lunsford said. "That showed tonight."

Eastern Michigan (7-6) had delivered its own big fourth-down play to take the lead for the first time.

Mike Glass threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Arthur Jackson with 3:33 left on fourth-and-4, followed by Chad Ryland's extra point.

"It was a great football game, and they're obviously a great football program and a great football team," Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton said. "They got it done in the end. Much as it rips our heart out to say, we do congratulate them, and (it was) an awesome football game."

Georgia Southern took over at its own 25 with a triple-option offense that attempted fewer passes than every FBS team but Army. Werts completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Ellis Richardson, but Georgia Southern fittingly covered most of the 52 yards with runs.

Werts ran for 79 yards and two first-half touchdowns while completing 4 of 7 passes for 33 yards to receive Most Valuable Player honors. His biggest play came on the fourth-and-10.

"I really should have thrown the ball. Ellis was wide open," Werts said. "Wesley had made a block on the linebacker. There was nobody in front of me so I just took off running."

Wesley Kennedy III gained 107 yards on nine carries.

Eastern Michigan's Glass completed 17 of 25 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder to Jackson on the opening play of the second half. He had missed the final two games of the regular season with a right leg injury and had only two previous starts.

Glass found Jackson in the back of the end zone to cap a 16-play, 75-yard drive that consumed more than six minutes.

"I was just going through my reads and came back to it late," Glass said. "The linebacker stepped up a little bit and I saw I could get it over their heads."

As it turns out, it left too much time on the clock.

THE TAKEAWAY

Georgia Southern: Ran for 331 yards on 58 carries. Finished the season without throwing an interception. Had its first 10-win season in FBS and second bowl win in as many tries.

Eastern Michigan: Had eight games decided by one score. Just missed its first eight-win season since going 10-2 in 1987.

TURNOVER RECORD

Georgia Southern set an NCAA FBS record with only five turnovers this season. The previous NCAA record was eight turnovers in a season by six teams, last done by LSU in 2017. The Eagles were the only FBS team that didn't throw an interception this season.

THEY SAID IT

"When we first got here this program was in shambles." Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Jeremiah Harris.

CLOSE CAMELLIAS

The five Camellia Bowls have been decided by a combined 17 points, including two winning, last-play field goals.

UP NEXT

Georgia Southern returns most of its offensive starters, including Werts, but loses leading rusher Wesley Fields and top tackler Joshua Moon. It will be the second full season for Lunsford, who led the team's rebound from a 2-10 season.

Eastern Michigan is set to lose six starters on both offense and defense, including quarterback Tyler Wiegers. Glass started three games and is a dual threat running and passing.

Middle Tennessee State: 2017 Camellia Bowl Champions

'
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Brent Stockstill and Middle Tennessee produced a triumphant finish to an injury-riddled season.

Stockstill passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns and the Blue Raiders came up with some key stops to hold off Arkansas State 35-30 in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday night.

A team that had players miss a combined 125 games with injuries earned its first bowl win since 2009.

"We never made excuses this whole year," said Rick Stockstill, the quarterback's coach and father. "A lot of people wanted to give up on us but this team never gave up."

There were some chances to fold in this one, too.

The Blue Raiders (7-6) ran out most of the final 5 minutes with a series of short passes from Stockstill after losing much of an 18-point lead over the Red Wolves (7-5).

Punter Matt Bonadies pinned Arkansas State's prolific offense 91 yards from the end zone with 1:27 left and no timeouts. Middle Tennessee defenders then sacked Justice Hansen three times, including one by Darrius Liggins on the final play.

That capped a wild game that included DJ Sanders' 54-yard fumble return for a touchdown, six turnovers and 17 penalties.

"Stockstill, as we expected, played really, really well," Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said. "They made plays they had to make and we made too many mistakes to win a game against a good football team. I thought all along they were better than their record and they proved that tonight."

The Blue Raiders won four of their final five games after Brent Stockstill's return from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for half the season. He was intercepted three times.

"Not very often as a quarterback can you throw three picks and (have) your defense bail you out like that" the quarterback said.

The Red Wolves had cut a 28-10 deficit down to 35-30 on Hansen's 41-yard touchdown pass to Christian Booker with 5:03 left.

Middle Tennessee linebacker Darius Harris was MVP after collecting 12 tackles, a sack and two pass breakups. He forced the fumble that allowed Sanders to scoop and score.

Hansen completed 31 of 57 passes for 337 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He had a 2-yard touchdown pass to Warren Wand after Arkansas State converted a fake punt with Cody Grace's 21-yard pass to Chris Murray on fourth-and-14. The 2-point attempt failed.

Stockstill then swiftly gave the Blue Raiders a bigger cushion with a pair of big plays. He hit CJ Windham on a 34-yard catch and then threw a 30-yard touchdown to Shane Tucker.

Arkansas State then marched down to Middle Tennessee's 1 with help from a couple of pass interference calls but the Blue Raiders held with Darryl Randolph's tackle for loss and an incompletion.

THE TAKEAWAY

Arkansas State: Is 3-4 in bowls over the last seven seasons. Outgained Middle Tennessee 462-352 and ran 33 more plays (97-64). Justin McInnis had seven catches for 107 yards.

Middle Tennessee: Finished strong after only clinching bowl eligibility with a win over Old Dominion in the regular season finale. Had 10 penalties for 87 yards. Terelle West scored on a 45-yard run.

ROLLAND-JONES: Arkansas State defensive end Ja'Von Rolland-Jones finished his career with 43.5 sacks, just shy of Terrell Suggs' record of 44. He had one sack negated by a penalty but didn't get one that counted, though he did have a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry.


WILD PLAYS: Sanders' fumble return wasn't even the wildest defensive sequence of the first half. Arkansas State's Justin Clifton grabbed an interception and fell on his back late in the first quarter. He got up and ran most of the way down the field before fumbling. Darreon Jackson tried to pick it up but the ball bounced to Kyle Wilson in the end zone. Officials ruled Clifton down at the Red Wolves' 1 so none of that counted.

UP NEXT

Arkansas State's Hansen and leading rusher Warren Wand both return on the offense, but tight end Blake Mack and left tackle Jaypee Philbert are seniors, and so is Holland-Jones and star defensive back Blaise Taylor.

Middle Tennessee returns virtually every key player on offense, including Stockstill, and loses four seniors on defense.

Appalachian State: 2016 Camellia Bowl Champions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Marcus Cox, Taylor Lamb and the Appalachian State kicker came through again in the Camellia Bowl.

Cox rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown, Lamb ran for 126 yards and Michael Rubino kicked the go-ahead 39-yard field goal to lift the Mountaineers to a 31-28 victory over Toledo on Saturday night.

"We're getting used to this Camellia Bowl trophy right here," said Satterfield, adding that it rode next to him on the return flight last year and probably would again.

"We have so much fight and so much integrity in our football team. They do things right on and off the field. You can't win close games like this if you don't do things right on and off the field."

The Mountaineers got a couple of fourth-quarter reprieves after failing on a fake field goal.

Cox became the ninth FBS player with four 1,000-yard seasons and the 22nd to top 5,000 in his career. Game MVP Lamb passed for 119 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score and some key third- and fourth-down conversions.

Kareem Hunt covered 42 yards on four straight rushes to propel Toledo (9-4) down the field after the field goal. Damion Jones-Moore was stopped on third down.

Toledo took a delay of game penalty to line up the potential tying kick. Jameson Vest pushed his 30-yard field goal attempt wide right with 1:48 remaining.

"If we had to go out and do it again, I'd kick the field goal again," first-year Rockets coach Jason Candle said. "I trust in our kicker and I trust in our protection. That was not the reason why we lost the game."

Each of the first three Camellia Bowls have gone down to the final minutes, decided by a combined 10 points.

Rubino, a freshman, opened the season with two missed field goals and a missed extra point attempt in an overtime loss to Tennessee. He finished in much better fashion.

"He's come a long way," Satterfield said.

The teams traded a pair of touchdowns each an 8-minute span of the third quarter, forging a deadlock heading into the fourth.

The Mountaineers converted two fourth-down plays to jump ahead the first time, including Lamb's 13-yard run off a play fake to Cox.

"All 11 guys on defense went to Marcus," Lamb said. "I just went around the edge and there was nobody in sight."

They also got a 94-yard kick return down the right sideline by freshman Darrynton Evans, who skipped away from the grasp of one final diving defender.

Toledo answered with Thompson's 4-yard touchdown catch and a 1-yard plunge by Hunt. Woodside set up the second touchdown with a 58-yard bomb to Thompson.

"This senior class had a storied career," Candle said. "Guys like (senior safety) DeJuan Rogers have no reason to hang their head."

On the Mountaineers' fake, holder Bentlee Critcher's pass to Collin Reed fell incomplete.

THE TAKEAWAY

Toledo: Logan Woodside completed 18 of 26 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He came in leading the nation with 42 TD passes. Hunt broke Chester

Taylor's school career rushing mark.


Appalachian State: Gained 297 rushing yards. Held Toledo, which came in averaging 529 yards, to 374 total yards

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Appalachian State reached 10 wins, at least making a case to finish in the rankings.

UP NEXT

Toledo loses five starters on each side of the ball, including Hunt. But the potent passing duo of Woodside and Thompson will both be seniors next season. Opens 2017 season at home against Elon Phoenix on Aug. 31.

Appalachian State must replace Cox, but gets back Lamb and has a number of underclassmen returning who are either starters or backups. Opens at Georgia on Sept. 2.

Appalachian State Mountaineers: 2015 Camellia Bowl Champions

Despite taking the two middle quarters off, Appalachian State won its first ever bowl game in its first ever bowl appearance, beating Ohio, 31-29, in the Camellia Bowl, with a last-second field goal from Zach Matics, who missed his first two field goal attempts on the day.

The Mountaineers were ecstatic.

Appalachian State dominated the first quarter and most of the second quarter, scoring a touchdown and missing two field goals that could have put the Mountaineers up 13-0, but they were down by 10 at halftime after Ohio scored 17 unanswered points in the final 1:11 of the first half. After an Ohio field goal, the Bobcats got a pick-six to go up, 10-3. Then, five plays after the next kickoff, Ohio forced a fumble, then took two more plays to get into the endzone again.

Things kept going south for the Mountaineers in the second half, as Ohio linebacker Jovon Johnson just flat out took the ball from Appalachian State quarterback Taylor Lamb for a touchdown.

Then the Mountaineers came back, scoring a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and turning two straight interceptions into touchdowns.

Ohio came back with five straight points to take the lead again, but with the game on the line, Lamb stepped up, using both his feet and his arm to get the Mountaineers in field goal range. Then, Zach Matics hit a field goal to win it.

1. Appalachian State won its first bowl game

Appalachian State was an FCS team just two years ago, and despite being bowl eligible last season, the Mountaineers couldn't go to a bowl game because they were still a "transitional" team. However, they got to go this year after going 7-1 in the Sun Belt and 10-2 overall. Now, they end the season with 11 wins.

The future is certainly bright for App State, which will be among the Sun Belt favorites again next year, but this will be a memory to cherish for a long time. Winning a bowl game is the ultimate "we're here" moment for a former FCS team.

2. This was a game of runs.

This was essentially a basketball game, with lots of runs. Here's a closer look:

RUN 1: Appalachian State dominated the beginning of the game, scoring a touchdown and missing two field goals that could have made it 13-0. Ohio gained just four yards on its first four drives, and the Bobcats had -3 yards on their first three drives.

RUN 2: Everything changed quickly when Ohio scored 17 unanswered points in 1:11 before halftime. That came with a field goal, a pick-six, then a touchdown off a fumble. After halftime, the Bobcats returned a strip for a touchdown to go up 24-7

RUN 3: Appalachian State roared back with a touchdown, then two straight touchdowns off interceptions to go up 28-24.

Run 4: Ohio got a safety to make it a two-point game, then drove down the field to get a field goal and go up by one.

Run 5: Appalachian State drove back down the field to win the game.

3. There are not too many bowl games

Why aren't there too many bowl games? Because the Camellia Bowl was an awesome game. It featured two teams that absolutely deserved to be there, and two teams that got to face opponents in similar leagues. Moreover, it was an entertaining game, with big plays and huge momentum swings. This game won't be remembered forever, but it was a lot of fun for everyone involved.

Bowling Green: 2014 Camellia Bowl Champions

The inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl was a knock down, drag out battle that left each team, and literally South Alabama head coach Joey Jones, beaten and battered.

And when South Alabama (6-7) capped off a dramatic, late-game drive with a Terrance Timmons three-yard touchdown run with 1:20 left in the game to take a 28-27 lead, it looked like Bowling Green (8-6), after swallowing body blows for the whole second half, was finally down for the count.

But James Knapke, an early-season replacement for preseason starter Matt Johnson, picked Bowling Green up off the canvas, and 16 seconds later, delivered the final knockout blow to the Jaguars, hitting Roger Lewis for a 78-yard touchdown pass that clinched the Falcons’ 33-28 victory Saturday night at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery.

With his performance, Knapke was named the Camellia Bowl Bart Starr MVP.

“We wanted to be aggressive with that play call,” Knapke said. “Roger (Lewis) was one on one and my job is to just get him the ball. He made the play after that.”

Knapke and the Falcons got off to a blazing start in the teams’ third-straight bowl appearance.

After holding the South Alabama offense to a three-and-out on their first drive of the game, Knapke lead Bowling Green on a seven-play, 65 yard drive, capped by a 44-yard bomb on fourth-and-two to Lewis for the first touchdown of the game.

“We just tried to take advantage of what the defense was doing,” Knapke said. “Roger did a great job of getting open.”

The Falcons struck again one drive later, this time on a 93-yard march. After a 53-yard pass to Gherig Dieter put Bowling Green in the South Alabama red zone, Travis Greene punched the ball in from one yard out to put the Falcons up 14-0.

With just over seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, it seemed as though Knapke and the Bowling Green offense could do no wrong.

But South Alabama finally responded when Kendall Houston took a handoff 44 yards into the end zone, cutting the lead to 14-7. It was Houston’s longest touchdown run of his career.

Bowling Green added two field goals to push the lead to 20-7 before halftime.

At 9:13 of the third quarter, South Alabama quarterback Brandon Bridge ignited the Jaguars’ second-half comeback, scrambling into the end zone from 15 yards out to narrow the Falcons’ lead to 20-14.

“It says that they’re (South Alabama) resilient as hell,” Jones said. “They never backed down and that’s the heart of this team.”

After Travis Greene responded for Bowling Green with a 17-yard touchdown run late in the third, South Alabama kept pace with a DeMarrion Buford-Hughes 18-yard touchdown reception, cutting the lead again to 27-21 before the final two dramatic scores.

Knapke finished Saturday with 368 yards and two touchdowns on 25-of-39 passing.

“What a story,” Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers said. “How he started his very first game, finished up the WKU game… Still win the (MAC) East, still get to the MAC Championship game and then we have a bowl game like this. Who would have ever thunk his name would have been underneath Bart Starr for the MVP of this bowl game in its inaugural year. That’s an OMG right there.”

The Falcons had two receivers tally more than 100 yards receiving. Roger finished with 137 yards receiving and two touchdowns and Dieter finished with 108 yards.

This is the Falcons’ first bowl victory since defeating Memphis in the GMAC Bowl in 2004, coincidentally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, South Alabama’s home field.

In the loss, South Alabama still made history. The Jaguars became the fastest team in Sun Belt history to become bowl eligible. The Jaguars have been a full member of the FBS for just two years.

It’s a feat the South Alabama seniors hope will set the standard for teams and recruiting classes to come.

“The legacy that we left is just a legacy that is just going to keep on growing,“ Bridge said. “Like Maleki (Harris) said, we left that stepping stone with that first bowl game.”

Bridge completed 20-of-37 passes for a touchdown, but threw two interceptions, including a costly one on the Jaguars’ last drive of the game.

Danny Woodson led South Alabama with 122 yards receiving on six receptions.