College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Bowling Green 33, South Alabama 28
When: 9:15 PM ET, Saturday, December 20, 2014
Where: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
Temperature: 54°
Head Official: Brandon Cruse
Attendance: 20256

Bowling Green 33, South Alabama 28: James Knapke threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Roger Lewis with 1:04 remaining and Travis Greene rushed for two scores as the Falcons edged the Jaguars at the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.

Knapke completed 25-of-39 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yard TD strike to Lewis on the Falcons’ first possession. Lewis had 137 receiving yards and Gehrig Dieter had seven catches for 108 yards for Bowling Green (8-6), which scored on its first play from scrimmage after Terrance Timmons rushed 3 yards for a touchdown to put South Alabama ahead 28-27 with 1:20 left.

South Alabama (6-7) quarterback Brandon Bridge was 20-of-37 for 279 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, including one on the final possession that ended its comeback hopes. Bridge added 41 rushing yards and a touchdown and Danny Woodson had six receptions for 122 yards as the Jaguars closed the season with their third straight loss.

Greene capped a 93-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run to put Bowling Green ahead 14-0 midway through the first quarter, but Kendall Houston answered with a 44-yard TD run on the Jaguars’ ensuing possession. Tyler Tate kicked two field goals to give the Falcons a 20-7 lead at the half before the Jaguars pulled within six points on Bridge’s 15-yard TD run with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Bowling Green responded with a five-play, 47-yard drive capped by Greene’s 17-yard scamper into the end zone, but Bridge opened the fourth quarter with an 18-yard TD pass to DeMarrion Buford-Hughes. South Alabama, in its first-ever bowl appearance since starting the football program in 2009, took its first lead when Timmons capped a 73-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Bowling Green WR Ronnie Moore was ejected for targeting early in the third quarter on a tackle of punt returner Jereme Jones. … South Alabama was 0-of-8 in third-down conversions in the first half and finished 5-of-15. … Bowling Green had 500 yards in total offense, forced four turnovers and claimed its first bowl victory since 2004.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
South Alabama   Bowling Green
Kendall Houston Player Fred Coppet
5 Attempts 16
53 Yards 70
10.6 Avg Yards 4.4
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Receiving
South Alabama   Bowling Green
Danny Woodson, Jr. Player Roger Lewis
6 Receptions 4
122 Yards 137
20.3 Avg Yards 34.2
0 Touchdowns 2
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
South Alabama 415 136 279 4 0 0 2.0 0
Bowling Green 500 131 369 4 2 2 4.0 0