2020 Camellia Bowl
7th Camellia Bowl
Marshall Thundering Herd Buffalo Bulls
(7–2) (5–1)
C–USA MAC
10 17
Head coach: 
Doc Holliday		 Head coach: 
Lance Leipold
1234 Total
Marshall 0730 10
Buffalo 01007 17
DateDecember 25, 2020
Season2020
StadiumCramton Bowl
LocationMontgomery, Alabama
MVPKevin Marks (RB, Buffalo)[1]
FavoriteBuffalo by 4.5[2]
RefereeEdwin Lee (The American)[3]
Attendance2,512
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersBill Roth (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline)
Camellia Bowl
 < 2019  2021 > 

The 2020 Camellia Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 25, 2020, at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.[4] It was the seventh edition of the Camellia Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Buffalo defeated Marshall, 17–10, to claim their second bowl victory in school history.[5][6]

This was first bowl game played on Christmas Day since the 2003 Hawaii Bowl.[7] Christmas Day college football had previously been played at the Cramton Bowl from 1979 to 2001 in the form of the Blue-Gray Football Classic. It was one of two bowl games, along with the inaugural Montgomery Bowl, that were played at the Cramton Bowl following the 2020 college football season.

Teams

The Camellia Bowl was contested by the Buffalo Bulls, from the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and the Marshall Thundering Herd, from Conference USA (C-USA).[8] The programs had previously met nine times, with Marshall leading the series, 8–1; their most recent meeting had been a 48–14 win by Marshall in 2004.[9] This was the programs' first meeting in a bowl game,[9] and the first Camellia Bowl for both teams.

Buffalo

Main article: 2020 Buffalo Bulls football team

Buffalo of the MAC accepted their bowl bid on December 20, 2020.[10] The Bulls entered the bowl with an overall record of 5–1 (5–0 in conference play). They won the MAC East division and competed in the MAC Championship Game, where they lost to Ball State.

Marshall

Main article: 2020 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

Marshall from C-USA accepted their bowl bid on December 20, 2020.[11] The Thundering Herd entered the bowl with an overall record of 7–2 (4–1 in conference play); they were ranked at number 15 in the AP Poll at the end of November.

Game summary

2020 Camellia Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
Marshall 0 7 3010
Buffalo 0 10 0717

at Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Alabama

Game information
First quarter
No scoring plays
Second quarter
  • (11:43) UB – Kyle Vantrease 1 yard rush, Alex McNulty kick (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:31; Buffalo 7–0)
  • (5:33) UB – Alex McNulty 25 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards, 4:20; Buffalo 10–0)
  • (0:42) MRSH – Knowledge McDaniel 2 yard rush, Shane Ciucci kick (Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 4:51; Buffalo 10–7)
Third quarter
  • (8:48) MRSH – Shane Ciucci 21 yard field goal (Drive: 15 plays, 60 yards, 6:12; Tied 10–10)
Fourth quarter
  • (1:09) UB – Kevin Marks 2 yard rush, Alex McNulty kick (Drive: 13 plays, 88 yards, 6:18; Buffalo 17–10)

Statistics

Statistics MRSH UB
First downs 16 21
Plays–yards 59–248 70–295
Rushes–yards 37–134 43–155
Passing yards 114 140
Passing: comp–att–int 13–22–0 16–27–1
Time of possession 24:33 35:27
Team Category Player Statistics
Marshall Passing Grant Wells 13/20, 114 yards
Rushing Sheldon Evans 18 carries, 79 yards
Receiving Corey Gammage 6 receptions, 88 yards
Buffalo Passing Kyle Vantrease 16/27, 140 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Kevin Marks 35 carries, 138 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Jovany Ruiz 7 receptions, 61 yards

See also

References

  1. ^ @HustleBelt (December 25, 2020). "Kevin Marks wins Camellia Bowl MVP with 138 rushing yards and the game-winning TD" (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Fornelli, Tom (December 25, 2020). "Marshall vs. Buffalo prediction, pick, odds, line, TV channel, live stream, Camellia Bowl kickoff time". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  3. ^ Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Lenzi, Rachel (December 25, 2020). "Kevin Marks' late touchdown lifts UB football to Camellia Bowl win". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Traylor, Grant (December 25, 2020). "Herd falls, 17-10, to Buffalo in Camellia Bowl". The Herald-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Paulsen (October 31, 2020). "Bowl season schedule slightly less full". sportsmediawatch.com. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  8. ^ "Division champs Marshall, Buffalo meet in Camellia Bowl". USA Today. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Buffalo Bulls football series games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  10. ^ "UB football to face Marshall in Camellia Bowl on Christmas Day". The Buffalo News. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  11. ^ "TU Football Accepts Bowl Invite To Armed Forces Bowl". WCHS-TV. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.

External links

2020–21 NCAA football bowl game season
Camellia Bowl
Buffalo Bulls bowl games
Marshall Thundering Herd bowl games
Categories