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Friday, March 29, 2024
The independent student publication of The University at Buffalo, since 1950

Sweet home Alabama: Bulls invited to play in Camellia Bowl

UB will face former quarterback Kyle Vantrease and Georgia Southern on Dec. 27

<p>UB will face former QB Kyle Vantrease in the Camellia Bowl on Dec. 27.</p>

UB will face former QB Kyle Vantrease in the Camellia Bowl on Dec. 27.

Following a 23-22 victory over Akron, UB (6-6, 5-3 MAC) earned a spot in the Camellia Bowl, where the Bulls will be pitted against Georgia Southern (6-6, 3-5 Sun Belt) on Dec. 27. The game will be held in Montgomery, Alabama’s 25,000-seat Cramton Bowl, a century-old stadium that hosted Alabama football from 1922-54. 

The game will mark UB’s sixth bowl-game appearance in program history. The Bulls barely made the cutoff for bowl eligibility this year. UB was the 81st team selected for one of college football’s 41 bowl games.

The Bulls have appeared in four bowls over the last five years, and UB is 2-3 all-time in bowl games. 

UB won its previous two bowl games, most recently defeating Marshall 17-10 in the 2020 Camellia Bowl. The Bulls defeated Charlotte 31-9 in the Bahamas Bowl the year prior. 

In UB’s last bowl, quarterback Kyle Vantrease went 16-for-27, with 140 yards and an interception.

But two years after leading the Bulls to the 2020 Camellia Bowl title, Vantrease will line up on the other side of the field. The sixth-year quarterback transferred to Georgia Southern prior to this season.

Vantrease started 26 games over five years for UB, passing for 4,755 yards and 25 touchdowns with 13 rushing touchdowns. He put up career numbers playing for the Eagles in 2022, passing for 3,895 yards and 25 touchdowns with a 61% completion rate. 

The Camellia Bowl, named after the Alabama state flower, began in 2014. The game annually pits a team from the MAC against a team from the Sun Belt Conference. It is owned and operated by ESPN Events

On Dec. 27, either Vantrease and the Eagles, or UB, will improve to 2-0 in Camellia Bowl play. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN at 12 p.m. 

The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com


RYAN TANTALO
tantalo-2023

Ryan Tantalo is the managing editor of The Spectrum. He previously served as senior sports editor. Outside of the newsroom, Ryan spends his time announcing college hockey games, golfing, skiing and reading.

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