2018 RAYCOM MEDIA CAMELLIA BOWL
Eastern Michigan (7-5, 5-3 MAC) vs. Georgia Southern (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt)
Saturday, December 15, 2018 • 5:30 pm ET • Montgomery, Ala. • Cramton Bowl (25,000)
ESPN Announcers: Mike Corey (play-by-play), Rene Ingoglia (analyst), Lauren Sisler (sideline)
Watch Live
Eastern Michigan Notes; MAC Notes
Eastern Michigan will play its first bowl game on United States soil in 31 years when it participates in the fifth annual Raycom Media Camellia Bowl Saturday, Dec. 15, in Montgomery, Ala. The Eagles, who finished the regular season with a 7-5 mark and 5-3 record in Mid- American Conference play, are back in the postseason for the second time in three years after an appearance in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl. Eastern will meet the Georgia Southern University Eagles in a matchup of the MAC against the Sun Belt Conference. GS is making its second bowl appearance in program history after finishing the regular season 9-3 and 6-2 in conference play. Georgia Southern last played in the postseason in 2015 when it knocked off MAC foe Bowling Green, 58-27, in the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Kickoff from the historic Cramton Bowl is set for 5:30 p.m. ET and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN.
Let’s Roll, Let’s Bowl: The Camellia Bowl marks the third Division I bowl game in program history, and Eastern Michigan’s first since 2016. Eastern Michigan is 1-1 in those games, as it defeated San Jose State, 30-27, in the 1987 California Bowl and fell to Old Dominion, 24-20, in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl. The trip to Montgomery, Ala. marks the first time Eastern Michigan student-athletes have the opportunity to play in more than one bowl during their careers.
Earning The Eighth: The Eagles head into their third bowl game in nearly three decades in search of their eighth win of the season, currently posting a 7-5 overall record. Eastern Michigan has not posted eight wins in a season since 1987, when they finished the season 10-2 under Jim Harkema. If the Eagles were to defeat Georgia Southern, it would be just the seventh time in Eastern Michigan’s 127-year history that the Green and White have posted eight-or-more wins in a season all-time.
Postseason Teams: Eastern Michigan’s 2018 regular season included games against seven teams that will close out their schedules in the postseason. Purdue, Buffalo, San Diego State, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Toledo, and Army West Point. Eastern Michigan’s five losses have come against teams that are a combined 42-20 overall (.667). All five of those teams are playing in the postseason.
Standing Tall: Eastern Michigan currently holds the nation’s fourth-best red zone defense, allowing opponents to score only 33 times on 46 attempts. Eastern Michigan is ranked 14th nationally in the fewest second half points allowed at just 8.9 a game.
Saxx Crosby: Junior defensive lineman Maxx Crosby joined former NFL Draft picks Ron Johnson and Lional Dalton as the only Eastern Michigan defensive players to ever earn back-to-back First Team All-MAC selections. Johnson did so during the 1976 and 1977 campaigns, while Dalton collected the honors in 1996 and 1997. Meanwhile, Crosby is just the fourth Eagles defender to earn the first team accolades twice in a career, joining Johnson, Dalton, Richard Palmer (1991 and 1993), and Pat O’Connor (2014 and 2016). Opposing quarterbacks have gotten to know Crosby more than they would like over the past three seasons, as he has wreaked havoc in opponents’ backfields. Crosby ranks fifth nationally in forced fumbles per game (0.36), as well as 10th in tackles-for-loss per game (1.6). He is also fifth in the MAC in sacks (0.68), a mark that ranks 35th in the FBS ranks.
First Time Since 1995: Eastern Michigan has posted five consecutive MAC victories for the first time since 1995. The Eagles posted five consecutive wins over Toledo, Ball State, Central Michigan, Akron, and Kent State. In 1995, Eastern Michigan started out the conference campaign with wins over Akron, Ohio, Central Michigan and Ball State.
Tally The Takeaways: Eastern Michigan’s defense registered three interceptions and forced a fumble in its victory against Akron, Nov. 10. It was just the fourth time since 2005 that Eastern’s defense has racked up four-or-more takeaways.
