The Appalachian State Mountaineers (10-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) have accepted an invitation to face off against the Ohio University Bobcats (8-4, 5-3 MAC) in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 19., in Montgomery, Alabama. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m., and the event will be televised on ESPN nationwide.
“It’s with great pride that we accept the invitation to participate in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl,” athletic director Doug Gillin said in a press release. “With 10 wins in their first season of bowl eligibility, our coaches and student athletes are very deserving of this honor and for the opportunity to be showcased on a national stage.”
The Mountaineers tied a Sun Belt Conference single season win record with 10 after Saturday’s 34-27 win over South Alabama and finished second in the conference behind Arkansas State, who handed them their only conference loss of the season. Their only other loss came against Clemson, the official No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, on Sept. 12.
“While this is a reward for everyone associated with our program, we are not just happy to be here. Our goal is to come home with a win,” head coach Scott Satterfield said in the same press release.
The Camellia Bowl will mark App State’s first bowl appearance as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, and their first overall since 1955’s Burley Bowl in Johnson City, Tennessee, when the Mountaineers lost to Eastern Tennessee State 7-0.
Ohio, on the other hand, will be making their seventh bowl appearance in nine seasons. Their most recent bowl appearance came against East Carolina, a 37-20 loss in the Beef ‘O’ Brady bowl in 2013.
The Bobcats wrapped up their 8-4 season with a 26-21 victory over Northern Illinois on Nov. 24, good for a second place finish in the Mid-Atlantic’s Conference’s eastern division.
The game will take place at Montgomery’s historic Cramton Bowl, the former home of the Blue-Gray Football Classic – an annual college football all-star game that was held each December from 1938-2001.
Tickets are available through Appalachian State Athletics online 24 hours a day, and by phone weekdays from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
“We have our work cut out for us facing a very good Ohio team,” Satterfield also said in the release. “The Mid-American Conference was perhaps the deepest ‘Group of Five’ conference in the nation this season and we have a lot of respect for what Ohio has been able to accomplish.”
Story by: Chris Warner, Sports Editor