By Josh Aubrey, Statesboro Herald
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Missed chances and Buffalo’s success on third downs, particularly late in the game, spelled doom for the Georgia Southern Eagles in the Camellia Bowl. The Bulls converted 12 of 19 third downs, including two on its final possession to run out the clock, and held off the Eagles 23-21 before 15,322 fans at the Cramton Bowl.
The Eagles scored with 3:38 remaining in the game on Kyle Vantrease’s 13-yard pass to Jjay McAfee. The Bulls, though, converted a third-and-7 and a thirdand- 3 on their ensuing possession.
“Sometimes you fight your guts out and it just doesn’t go your way in the end,” said Eagles coach Clay Helton. “I feel like that is what this team did today. I felt like our defense kept us in the game and kept it within a one-score game. The two second-half turnovers really hurt us. We fought back and put up some yards, but we just needed to protect the ball a little better.”
The Eagles had plenty of opportunities, but squandered a couple of chances inside the Buffalo 5-yard line in the second quarter. A pair of second half turnovers didn’t help matters, even as the defense keeping Buffalo out of the end zone in the second half.
The Eagles (6-7), going 7-for-15, were close to their season average of third-down conversions, which placed them 15th in the nation, but the Bulls (7-6) converted nearly twothirds of their third downs. Buffalo had been 88th in the nation in third-down conversions before the Camellia Bowl, a 36.8% clip.
But the Eagles converted just two of seven thirddowns in the first half, and the Bulls picked up six of their nine third-down chances, Helton pointed out. The Bulls also held the Eagles to two field goals on two red zone possessions, while Buffalo turned their two red zone trips into touchdowns.
“We did a better job in the second half,” Helton said, “and then late in the game, we knew we needed two stops and we weren’t able to do it as we came up just short.”
The Eagles got inside the Buffalo 5-yard line twice in the second quarter but had to settle for field goals each time. Buffalo scored on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Cole Snyder to Justin Marshall and a 5-yard Tajay Ahmed touchdown run to take a 14-6 halftime lead.
The Eagle defense forced a Bulls fumble to start the third quarter, and Vantrease lofted a pass for freshman Joshua “Jet” Thompson, who caught it on the run and broke a tackle at the 10-yard line for a 79-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion pass to Mcafee tied the game at 14-14.
Buffalo took the lead back on Alex McNulty’s 33-yard field goal. The Bulls took over at the GSU 25 after Khaleb Hood was stripped of the ball, but the Eagles defense held, leading to another McNulty field goal and a 20-14 Bulls lead.
Dylan Powell intercepted a Vantrease pass near midfield in the fourth, but again, the Eagles defense held the Bulls to a McNulty field goal try. His 20-yarder with 8:38 to play put Buffalo in front 23-14.
Vantrease hit Beau Johnson on a 42-yard pass on fourth and 7 to keep hope alive. The Eagles then scored on the 13-yard pass to McAfee.
There were plenty of similarities between this year’s Camellia Bowl for Georgia Southern and the last time the Eagles played in it back in 2018 — right down to the final score.
The crowd was about the same as Eagle Nation packed the stands at the Cramton Bowl. The Eagles also outgained their opponent, once again from the MAC.
For Vantrease, Tuesday wrapped up his collegiate career as he threw for 353 yards and surpassed 4,000 yards for the season. He ended up just shy of setting a Sun Belt single-season record.
Though frustrated with the loss, Vantrease credited Helton and offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis for a remarkable senior season he says he will always cherish.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the guys who have been a part of this journey, especially Coach Helton and Coach Ellis,” he said. “They put me in positions to be successful, but more than that, they have been my friends and mentors. They have really cared about me as a person. Things didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else.”
Vantrease and Helton each said this year’s team has laid a foundation for the program going forward and see bigger and better results ahead.
“One thing I feel we have built here is a tenacity to never quit,” Helton said. “This team has come so far from a confidence standpoint, which was the thing I saw the most growth this year. They have a confidence that no matter what is happening, we are always in the game. I feel like our next step is to win games that don’t necessarily go into the last seconds, getting two or three-score leads and keeping them.”