On Dec. 20, 2014, the inaugural Camellia Bowl kicked off at the historic Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama

The Cramton Bowl has played host to Major League Baseball, minor league baseball and plenty of football. The stadium has the designation of having been the first in the South to feature a football game under the lights, a night game pitting Cloverdale against Pike Road High School in 1927. The game drew more than 7,200 attendees and helped prompt a stadium seating expansion in 1929. Cramton Bowl is also formerly the home of the Blue-Gray Football Classic college football game. The Alabama Crimson Tide played home games in the capital city at Cramton Bowl from 1922 to 1932 and in various years through 1954.

CAMELLIA BOWL HISTORY

ALL OF THE PAST 5 CAMELLIA BOWL GAMES HAVE BEEN DECIDED BY A TOTAL OF 17 POINTS

History figures

  • The ninth annual Camellia Bowl will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. (CT)
  • The game will be televised by ESPN
  • This year’s game will be the first game not played on Friday or Saturday
  • The 11 a.m. kickoff is the earliest start time in bowl history
  • The 2020 and 2021 Camellia Bowl games were played on Christmas Day
  • The camellia was designated as the Alabama state flower on Aug. 26, 1959
  • The 2022 game will feature two former Camellia Bowl Champions
  • Georgia Southern will meet Buffalo in this year’s game
  • Georgia southern defeated Eastern Michigan 23-21 in the 2018 Camellia Bowl
  • Buffalo defeated Marshall 17-10 in the 2020 Camellia Bowl
  • Georgia State defeated Ball State 51-20 in the 2021 Camellia Bowl
  • It was the highest-scoring and most-lopsided Camellia Bowl in history
  • The first seven Camellia Bowl games were decided by 32 total points
  • There have been three game-winning field goals and two game-winning TDs in the fourth quarter
  • There have been two walk-off wins in the previous eight years
  • Appalachian State kicker Zach Matics drilled a walk-off FG in the 31-28 win over Ohio in 2016
  • Georgia Southern kicker Tyler Bass hit a 40-yard FG as time expired to beat Eastern Michigan 23-21 in 2018

CAMELLIA BOWL RESULTS

  • Here are the game-by-scores of the Camellia Bowl

Date                       Result                                                    Attendance             TV

Dec. 20, 2014      Bowling Green 33, South Alabama 28                         20,256                     ESPN

Dec. 19, 2015      Appalachian State 31, Ohio 29                                         21,395                      ESPN

Dec. 17, 2016      Appalachian State 31, Toledo 28                                     20,300                    ESPN

Dec. 16, 2017      Middle Tennessee 35, Arkansas St. 30                          20,612                       ESPN

Dec. 15, 2018      Georgia Southern 23, E. Michigan 21                              17,710                      ESPN

Dec. 21, 2019      Arkansas St. 34, FIU 26                                                      16,209                     ESPN

Dec. 25, 2020      Buffalo 17, Marshall 10                                                 2,512 (Covid)               ESPN

Dec. 25, 2021      Georgia State 51, Ball State 20                                         7,345                       ESPN

Camellia Bowl Record Book

2014

Bowling Green 33, South Alabama 28 (Dec. 20, 2014)

  • BGSU and South Alabama met in inaugural Camellia Bowl
  • James Knapke 78-yard TD pass to Roger Lewis with 1:04 left in the game lifted the Falcons to victory

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes | Final Stats (PDF)

2015

Appalachian State 31, Ohio 29 (Dec. 19, 2015)

  • APSU kicker Zach Matics hits game-winning 23-yard FG as time expired for the win
  • Appalachian State scored 24 points in the fourth quarter for the win
  • The Mountaineers trailed 24-7 entering the fourth quarter

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes | Final Stats (PDF)

2016

Appalachian State 31, Toledo 28 (Dec. 17, 2016)

  • APSU is the only two-time winner in Camellia Bowl history
  • Michael Rubino hits game-winning 39-yard FG with 5:19 left in the game
  • The game was tied 7-7, 14-14, 21-21 and 28-28 before Rubino’s game-winning kick 

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes | Final Stats (PDF)

2017

Middle Tennessee 35, Arkansas State 30 (Dec. 16, 2017)

  • Darrius Liggins sack and forced fumble on the final play of the game thwarted a last-minute drive and preserved the 35-30 win for the Blue Raiders.
  • Arkansas State trailed by double digits entering the fourth quarter and responded with two TDs to cut the Middle Tennessee lead to 35-30. The Red Wolves looked poised for a fourth-quarter comeback, but back-to-back sacks by the Blue Raiders curtailed the final drive.

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes (Arkansas) | Post-Game Notes (Middle Tennessee) | Final Stats (PDF)

2018

Georgia Southern 23, Eastern Michigan 21 (Dec. 15, 2018)

  • Georgia Southern delivered another walk-off win in the short history of the Camellia Bowl
  • GSU kicker Tyler Bass drilled a 40-yard FG as time expired to give the Eagles the win
  • GSU QB Shai Werts set up the winning FG with a 29-yard run on fourth and 10 from his own 41 yard line
  • EMU had taken a 21-20 lead on Mike Glass’ 5-yard TD pass to Arthur Jackson on fourth and goal at the GSU 5 yard line with just over three minutes to play

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes | Final Stats (PDF)

2019

Arkansas State 34, FIU 26 (Dec. 21, 2019)

  • Arkansas State, making its second Camellia Bowl appearance, posted an 8-point win over FIU
  • The 8-point game was the largest margin of victory in Camellia Bowl history
  • Layne Hatcher’s 13-yard TD pass to Jonathan Adams sealed the win in the final four minutes
  • Hatcher threw for 393 yards and 4 TDs in the win
  • Omar Bayless caught nine passes for 180 yards and one TD

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes | Final Stats (PDF)

2020

Buffalo 17, Marshall 10 (Dec. 25, 2020)

  • Kevin Marks scored the game-winning TD with a yard run with 1:09 left in the game
  • Marks game-winning, fourth-quarter TD was the second in bowl history
  • Marks had a bowl record 35 carries for 138 yard and one TD in the win
  • After a scoreless first quarter, Buffalo took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter
  • Kyle Vantrease scored on a 1-yard run and Alex McNulty hit a 25-yard FG
  • Marshall cut the lead to 10-7 on Knowledge McDaniel’s 2-yard run just before halftime
  • The Herd tied the game on Shane Ciucci’s 21-yard FG in the third quarter
  • The 2020 Camellia Bowl was the first Christmas Day Bowl game since the 2003 Hawaii Bowl

Post-Game Story | Post-Game Notes | Final Stats (PDF)

2022

Buffalo 23, Georgia Southern 21 (Dec. 27, 2022)

Post-Game Story | Final Stats (PDF)

BART STARR MVP AWARD

The Camellia Bowl Most Valuable Player Award is named for former Sidney Lanier High School, Alabama and Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr.

Camellia Bowl MVP Trophy Named for Bart Starr

Roger Lewis, Bowling Green (2014)

Marcus Cox, Appalachian State (2015)

Taylor Lamb, Appalachian State (2016)

Darrius Harris, Middle Tennessee (2017)

Shai Werts, Georgia Southern (2018)

Omar Bayless, Arkansas State (2019)

Kevin Marks, Buffalo (2020)

Darren Grainger, Georgia State (2021)

ALABAMA FOOTBALL COACHING LEGEND

The Camellia Bowl honors an Alabama Football Legend each year at the Camellia Bowl Luncheon on Friday before the game. The annual award is presented by Regions Bank.

Bobby Bowden, Florida State Head Coach (2014)

Pat Dye, Auburn Head Football Coach (2015)

Woodrow Lowe, Alabama Linebacker (2016)

Gene Stallings, Alabama Head Coach (2017)

Johnny Davis, Alabama Fullback (2018)

Larry Blakeney, Troy Head Coach (2019)

Woody McCorvey, Alabama State, Alabama and Clemson (2021)

Chan Gailey, Troy Head Coach (2022)