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2018 CAMELLIA BOWL GAME NOTES

Posted December 16, 2018
2018 game

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018 

CAMELLIA BOWL GAME NOTES:

  • Georgia Southern defeated Eastern Michigan 23-21 in the fifth annual Camellia Bowl
  • The five Camellia Bowl games have been decided by 17 total points
  • The Georgia Southern-Eastern Michigan game was the lowest scoring game in bowl history
  • The two-point margin tied the closest margin in bowl history
  • Appalachian State defeated Ohio 31-29 (last second FG) in 2015
  • Georgia Southern redshirt junior place kicker Tyler Bass hit the game-winning 40-yard FG as time expired
  • It was the second game-winning FG in Camellia Bowl history
  • Appalachian State’s Zach Matics 23-yard FG in the final play gave ASU 31-29 win over Ohio in 2015
  • Bass accounted for 11 of the Eagles 23 points in the win over Eastern Michigan
  • He set the Camellia Bowl record with three made field goals
  • Bass also set the Camellia Bowl record with a 50-yard FG in the final play of the first half

 

CAMELLIA BOWL MVP:

  • Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts was named the Bart Starr Most Valuable Player
  • Werts accounted for 112 total yards and two TDs in the win over Eastern Michigan
  • He ran the ball 16 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns
  • Werts had a 26-yard TD run in the second quarter that capped a 15-play, 95-yard scoring drive
  • He added a 2-yard TD run later in the quarter as GS regained the lead, 14-7
  • Werts added a 29-run on fourth-and-10 in the final minute that led to game-winning FG
  • Werts completed 4-of-7 passes for 33 yards
  • He completed a 13-yard pass to Malik Murray on third-and-12 to extend first scoring drive

 

CAMELLIA BOWL MILESTONES:

  • Georgia Southern set the Camellia Bowl record with 58 rushing attempts
  • Georgia Southern 301 rushing yards are second-most in bowl history
  • Georgia Southern PK Tyler Bass set Camellia Bowl record for kickers with 11 points
  • Georgia Southern RB Wesley Fields had 23 rushing attempts for 107 yards in the win over EMU
  • Fields 23 rushing attempts are the second most in bowl history
  • Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts had 16 rushing attempts for 79 yards and two TDs
  • He tied the Camellia Bowl record with two rushing TDs (26 yard TD; 5 yard TD)
  • Eastern Michigan QB Mike Glass completed 17-of-25 passes for 204 yards and three TDs
  • He tied the Camellia Bowl record with three TD passes
  • Glass completed a 75-yard TD pass to Arthur Jackson in the first play of the third quarter
  • It was the second-longest TD pass in Camellia Bowl history
  • Bowling Green (James Knapke to Roger Lewis) holds the record with a 78-yard TD pass in the inaugural game in 2014
  • It was the third-longest scoring play in Camellia Bowl history
  • Appalachian State (Darryton Evans) had a 94-yard kickoff return in 2016

 

EASTERN MICHIGAN NOTES:

  • Eastern Michigan finished the season with 7-6 record
  • EMU is now 1-2 all-time in bowl games
  • The Eagles only bowl win was a 30-27 win over San Jose State in the 1987 California Bowl
  • EMU receiver Arthur Jackson caught three passes for 86 yards and two TDs in the loss
  • Jackson hauled in a 75-yard TD reception on the first play of the third quarter
  • He pulled down the go-ahead 5-yard TD reception on fourth down late in the game
  • Eastern Michigan finished with 301 total yards; third-lowest total of the season
  • The Eagles had 235 vs. Army and 242 yards vs. Northern Illinois (EMU lost all three games)
  • Eastern Michigan had a season-high 26 pass attempts in the loss to Georgia Southern

 

GEORGIA SOUTHERN NOTES:

  • Georgia Southern closes out the season with a 10-3 record
  • It’s the first 10-win season since the school moved to FBS in 2014
  • Georgia Southern had an 8-game improvement from last season
  • The Eagles posted a 2-10 record in 2016
  • Georgia Southern did not thrown an interception in 117 attempts this season
  • GS is believed to be the first team in FBS history to complete a season without an interception
  • Temple (1977) and Alabama (1981) threw only interception to hold the previous record in a season
  • Georgia Southern improved to 2-0 all-time in bowl games
  • GS defeated Bowling Green 58-27 in the 2015 GoDaddy.com Bowl
  • Georgia Southern had 58 rushing attempts for 301 yards (5.7 yards per carry)
  • The 58 rushing attempts set a Camellia Bowl record
  • GS recorded its sixth 300-yard rushing game of the season

 

CAMELLIA BOWL PREGAME NOTES:

  • The official kickoff time was 4:40 p.m. (CT)
  • The game time temperature was 55 degrees with rain (first rain in Camellia Bowl history)
  • Eastern Michigan won the toss and deferred to the second half

 

CAMELLIA BOWL FIRST QUARTER NOTES:

  • Georgia Southern outgained Eastern Michigan 102-30 in the first quarter
  • The teams combined for 22 running plays in the first quarter
  • Georgia Southern had 17 running plays and one pass in the first quarter
  • Georgia Southern opened the game with 14 straight running plays
  • The lone pass attempt was a 13-yard completion (Shai Werts to Malik Murray) on third-and-12
  • Eastern Michigan had five running plays and two pass attempts
  • The first touchdown drive by Georgia Southern was the longest in bowl history in terms of plays and time
  • The Eagles used a 15-play, 95-yard drive that took 9:01 of the clock
  • GS quarterback Shai Watts capped the drive with a 26-yard TD run on third-and-one
  • The 95-yard drive was the second longest in bowl history; fourth TD drive of 90+ yards
  • It was Georgia Southern’s longest drive (plays, yards and time) of the 2018 season

 

CAMELLIA BOWL SECOND QUARTER NOTES:

  • Georgia Southern outgained EMU 128-60 in the second quarter
  • GS outgained EMU 230-90 in the first half
  • GS had the ball for over 20 minutes in the first half (20:29)
  • Eastern Michigan Matthew Sexton blocked a punt on the opening possession of the second quarter
  • It was the first blocked kick of any kind in Camellia Bowl history
  • The blocked punt gave the EMU a first down at midfield and led to first TD of the game
  • The offense responded with a 6-play, 50-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7
  • EMU quarterback Mike Glass completed his first seven passes (53 yards; TD)
  • His first incompletion came with 2:54 left in the first half
  • Georgia Southern place kicker Tyler Bass made a 50-yard FG on the final play of the second quarter
  • The 50-yard FG was the longest in Camellia Bowl history

 

CAMELLIA BOWL THIRD QUARTER NOTES:

  • Eastern Michigan outgained Georgia Southern 128-39 in the third quarter
  • Eastern Michigan scored on the first play of the second half
  • Glass threw a 75-yard TD pass to Arthur Jackson as EMU cut the lead to 17-14
  • The 75-yard TD pass was the second-longest TD pass in Camellia Bowl history
  • Bowling Green (James Knapke to Roger Lewis) holds the record with a 78-yard TD pass in the inaugural game in 2014
  • EMU’s 75-yard TD pass was the third-longest scoring play in Camellia Bowl history
  • Appalachian State (Darryton Evans) had a 94-yard kickoff return in 2016

 

CAMELLIA BOWL FOURTH QUARTER NOTES:

  • The lead changed hands twice in the final four minutes
  • Eastern Michigan took its only lead of the game with 3:33 left on the clock
  • Glass fired a 5-yard TD pass to Jackson to cap a 16-play, 75-yard drive
  • The TD pass came on fourth-and-four from the GS 5-yard line and gave EMU a 21-20 lead
  • Georgia Southern answered with a game-winning drive, capped by Bass’ 40-yard FG as time expired
  • The Eagles drove 52 yards in nine plays for the winning score
  • Werts converted a fourth-and-10 form the GS 41 yard line to set up game-winning FG