Falcons Selected To Play In Inaugural Camellia Bowl

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Announcement Press Conference (Dec. 7)

Bowling Green State University has been selected to play in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, to be played in Montgomery, Alabama on Dec. 20. Kickoff at the Cramton Bowl, between the Falcons and South Alabama Jaguars, will be at 9:15 p.m. ET.

"We are honored to be selected to play in the Camellia Bowl," head coach Dino Babers said. "I am excited that our seniors have one more opportunity to take the field and represent Bowling Green State University football on a national stage."

Bowling Green enters the contest with an overall record of 7-6 on the year, coming off their second consecutive appearance in the Mid-American Conference Championship Game. The Falcons went 5-0 against teams from the East Division this season, and have arguably the MAC's best win of the season when they defeated Indiana 45-42. Indiana would go on to defeat Missouri, the SEC East Division champion, the very next week on the road.

The Camellia Bowl will mark the 12th bowl game in Bowling Green football history and the third straight season that the Falcons have been selected for a bowl game. BGSU is 4-7 all-time in bowl games, with their last win coming in the 2004 GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Ala.). The bowl selection marks the first time in program history that Bowling Green has gone to a bowl game in three straight seasons.

The Orange and Brown had seven players earn All-MAC honors this season, including two first team members.

Roger Lewis became the first freshman at Bowling Green since 1982 to earn first team All-MAC honors. The last player to do so was Brian McClure. Lewis is just 44 receiving yards shy of becoming the first freshman in school history to reach 1,000 yards in his inaugural campaign in the Orange and Brown. He would be just the seventh player in school history to do such if he was to surpass that milestone in the Camellia Bowl.

Ryan Burbrink was also named first team All-MAC at punt returner. Known as one of the most consistent and prolific punt returners in the conference, Burbrink is averaging 12.1 yards per return. Against Virginia Military Institute earlier this season, Burbrink took a punt 75 yards to the house, which marked his second straight season with at least one punt return for a touchdown.

Three Falcons were named second team All-MAC and two more were honored as third team selections. Alex Huettel (offensive line), Gabe Martin (linebacker) and Nick Johnson (cornerback) all earned second team honors. For Huettel it was his second straight All-MAC selection, while for Martin it was his third. Tyler Tate (placekicker) and Bryan Thomas (defensive line) were both named third team All-MAC.

The Bowling Green offense is averaging 29.8 points per game and 427.8 yards per game this season. The BGSU defense leads the MAC with 29 takeaways on the season – 15 forced fumbles and 14 interceptions. Nine of Bowling Green's 14 interceptions have come by true freshman, as the Falcons feature the top two true freshman in the country in the interception category in Johnson and Clint Stephens. Johnson's five interceptions are tied with Martin Bayless (1980) for the freshman interception record at Bowling Green, while Stephen's four are just one shy of the mark.

"We are so pleased to accept the invitation to play South Alabama in the Camellia Bowl," Director of Athletics D. Christopher Kingston stated. "We are excited to bring the Falcons, with back-to-back MAC East titles and a Big 10 win, to the great city of Montgomery. We couldn't be happier and are honored to participate in the exciting fanfare and activities planned by Johnny Williams and the bowl committee."

South Alabama finished the 2014 regular season at 6-6 overall and 5-3 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Jaguars enter the game having lost four of their final five games. USA did play Kent State of the MAC this season, defeating the Golden Flashes 23-13 in Kent to open the season. Joey Jones leads the Jaguar football program, which will be making their first ever bowl appearance.

The Raycom Media Camellia Bowl will mark the first ever meeting between Bowling Green State University and the University of South Alabama on the football gridiron.

Bowling Green will be looking for their first bowl win since 2004, when they defeated Memphis 52-35 in the GMAC Bowl. Below is Bowling Green's all-time bowl game history:
1961 – Fresno State 36, Bowling Green 6 – Mercy Bowl (Los Angeles, Calif.)
1982 – Fresno State 29, Bowling Green 28 – California Bowl (Fresno, Calif.)
1985 – Fresno State 51, Bowling Green 7 – California Bowl (Fresno, Calif.)
1991 – Bowling Green 28, Fresno State 21 – California Raisin Bowl (Fresno, Calif.)
1992 – Bowling Green 35, Nevada 34 – Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, Nev.)
2003 – Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24 – Motor City Bowl (Detroit, Mich.)
2004 – Bowling Green 52, Memphis 35 – GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Ala.)
2007 – Tulsa 63, Bowling Green 7 – GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Ala.)
2009 – Idaho 43, Bowling Green 42 – Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, Idaho)
2012 – San Jose State 29, Bowling Green 20 – Military Bowl (Washington, D.C.)
2013 – Pittsburgh 30, Bowling Green 27 – Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Detroit, Mich.)

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Burbrink

Alex Huettel

Nick Johnson

Roger Lewis

Gabe Martin

Clint Stephens

Tyler Tate

Bryan Thomas

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