2019 CAMELLIA BOWL PREGAME:
- Weather: Light rain, 53 degrees, WIND: NNE 4 mph
- Kickoff was at 4:35 p.m. (CT)
- Arkansas State won the toss and deferred to second half
- FIU will receive and defend the South goal
2019 CAMELLIA BOWL NOTES:
- Arkansas State defeated FIU 34-26 in the sixth annual Camellia Bowl
- All six games have been one possession games
- The 8-points was the largest margin of victory in bowl history
- The six Camellia Bowls have been decided by 25 total points
OMAR BAYLESS WINS BART STARR MVP TROPHY
- Arkansas State senior wide receiver Omar Bayless won the Bart Starr MVP Trophy
- Bayless caught nine passes for 180 yards and one TD
- He set the Camellia Bowl record with 180 receiving yards
- The previous record was 100 yards by Roger Lewis (Bowling Green) in 2014
- Bayless caught a 4-yard TD pass on the opening drive of the game
- He had a 51-yard catch to set up a second-quarter FG
- He added a 52-yard catch to set the fourth quarter TD
CAMELLIA BOWL TEAM RECORDS:
- There were 14 total teams records set in tonight’s game
Most Yards – 525, Arkansas State (500, Bowling Green, 2014)
Combined Yardage – 969 (915, South Alabama and Bowling Green, 2014)
Passing Yards – 393, Arkansas State (369, Bowling Green, 2014)
Combined Passing Yards – 705 (648, South Alabama and Bowling Green, 2014)
Most Passing Touchdowns – 4, Arkansas State (3, Eastern Mich., 2018, Ark. State, 2017)
First Downs – 31, Arkansas State (30, Arkansas State, 2017)
First Downs by Passing – 20, Arkansas State (17, Arkansas State, 2017)
First Downs by Penalty – 5, FIU (4, Arkansas State, 2017)
Combined First Downs – 54 (47, Mid Tenn and Ark. St., 2017; So. Ala. And Bowling Green, 2014)
Length of Game – 3:58 (3:57, 2017, Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee)
Third-Down Conversions – 63.2 percent, Arkansas State, 12-19
(42.9, Arkansas State, 9-21, 2017, Middle Tennessee 6-14, 2017)
Most Penalties – 10, Arkansas State (10, Middle Tennessee, 2017)
Most Yards Penalized – 142, Arkansas State (87, Middle Tennessee, 2017)
CAMELLIA BOWL INDIVIDUAL RECORDS:
- There were 8 total individual records set in tonight’s game
Total Offense, Most Yards – 430, Layne Hatcher, ASU (392, James Knapke, Bowling Green, 2014)
Most TD Passes – 4, Layne Hatcher, ASU (3, Mike Glass, E. Michigan, 2018; Justice Hansen, ASU, 2017)
Passing Yards – 393, Layne Hatcher, Arkansas State (368, James Knapke, Bowling Green, 2014)
Most Receptions – 10, Austin Maloney, FIU (7, three players)
Receiving Yards – 180, Omar Bayless, Arkansas State (137, Roger Lewis, Bowling Green, 2014)
Field Goals – 4, Jose Borregales, FIU (3, Tyler Bass, Georgia Southern, 2018)
Most Points by Kicking – 14, Jose Borregales, FIU (11, Tyler Bass, Georgia Southern, 2018)
Longest Field Goal – 52, Jose Borregales, FIU (50, Tyler Bass, Georgia Southern, 2018)
FIRST QUARTER NOTES:
- Arkansas State led 14-0 after the first quarter
- The 14-0 score was the largest first quarter deficit in Camellia Bowl history
- ASU ran 31 plays for 149 yards in the first quarter
- Arkansas State was 7-for-8 on third down in the first quarter
- ASU was 4-for-4 on third down on its opening TD drive
SECOND QUARTER NOTES:
- Arkansas State led 20-13 at halftime
- FIU outscored ASU 13-6 in the second quarter
- FIU scored on all three second quarter possessions (TD; 2 FG)
- Arkansas State was 9-for-12 on third down in the first half
- The Red Wolves had 110 yards on 12 third down plays (9.2 per play)
- ASU QB Layne Hatcher was 6-for-7 passing for 59 yards on third down
- FIU nickel back Darreo Jackson had nine tackles (6 solo) and one 1 (PBU) in the first half
- Arkansas State DE Jeffmario Brown was ejected for targeting on the first play of second quarter
THIRD QUARTER NOTES:
- FIU outscored ASU 10-7 in the third quarter
- FIU owned a 23-13 scoring edge in second and third quarters
- Arkansas State scored on its opening drive to take a 27-13 lead
- The 14-point margin equaled it largest lead of the game
- FIU scored the final 10 points on the quarter to trim the lead to 27-23
- FIU wide receiver Tony Gaiter was ejected after a personal foul penalty with 6:22 left
FOURTH QUARTER NOTES:
- Arkansas State outscored FIU 7-3 in the fourth quarter
- FIU cut the lead to 27-26 with 52-yard FG in the fourth quarter
- Jose Borregales 52-yard FG made it a one-point game with 11:52 left
- The 52-yard FG was the longest FG in Camellia Bowl history
- He missed a 29-yard FG with 5:10 left that would have given the Panthers their first lead
- ASU responded with a five-play TD drive to increase the lead to eight points
- ASU recorded two interceptions on its final two defensive possessions
- Jeremy Smith and Darreon Jackson had the picks for the Red Wolves