CAMELLIA BOWL: Ball State, Georgia State ready to go for Christmas Day tilt

Coaches Mike Neu of Ball State (left) and Shawn Elliott of Georgia State met the media during Tuesday’s introductory press conference for the upcoming Camellia Bowl this Saturday. (Graham Dunn)

By GRAHAM DUNN

The matchup in the eighth TaxAct Camellia Bowl is not exactly  “new vs. old.”

But it’s close.

Ball State (6-6) and Georgia State (7-5) will meet on Christmas Day at 1:30 p.m. at Cramton Bowl.

The Cardinals played its first football contest in 1924 and has been a part of the Mid-American Conference since 1975.

Georgia State has been a football program for 12 years but already has a few feathers in the cap of success. The Panthers are looking for their third bowl victory in school history on Saturday.

“(The program is) 12 years old,” stated Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott. “My kids are older than this football program. They are 13 and 15.

“Everything we do is a new experience. I am thrilled to death to be where we are. You have to know the story behind where we came from.”

Ball State won the MAC championship a year ago but was unable to follow up with the success of a 7-1 season. But the Cardinals will attempt to win a second-straight bowl game after winning the Arizona Bowl, which would be a first for the program.

“There is a lot of excitement and anticipation heading into this season,” Cardinals coach Mike Neu said. “We won our first MAC championship a year ago in 24 years. We won the first bowl game in the history of the program. Unfortunately I was part of one of those bowl games as a player… we lost the Las Vegas Bowl my final game against Utah State, 42-33. That still bugs me to this day. To be able to get over that hump, I was certainly proud of them.”

It will also be a new experience for the two teams to play on Christmas, although neither coach had complaints about being away from home on the holiday.

“I don’t know if there are any challenges,” Elliott said. “So many times at a college program, we have a lot of things that pull us in different directions. And Christmas Day is unique, spending time with our immediate family.

“This is an opportunity to be with our football family, seeing them play on that special day.. If anything, I think it elevated our enthusiasm, created a great excitement on our football team. I told them we aren’t taking Christmas out. We are having Christmas.”

College football fans in the River Region are all too familiar with games played on the holiday. The annual Blue-Gray Classic was featured for several years  and usually played before one of the largest TV audiences annually.

Last year, the Camellia Bowl made its Christmas debut with Buffalo topping Marshall.

Both coaches were complementary of the other during Tuesday’s introductory press conference.

“Talk about all three phases, you are going to get their best shot,” Neu said. “They make you earn it. Me being an offensive guy, a former quarterback, I notice they don’t give up very many big plays. They don’t miss tackles, very physical, they are extremely disruptive up front. They set the sack record a year ago. 

“They play at a high level week in and week out, and can also throw the ball when they need to. Their quarterback can hurt you both ways, on the ground and through the air. They are a well-coached football team. You are not going to catch them on a down time or down week.”

“They have the best special teams in the country,” Elliott said of the Cardinals. “They are well coached. That’s the No. 1 thing I see. They play offensively well. They have a quarterback that doesn’t just manage the game… he controls the game. They have playmakers on the edge.  They have a running game. They are consistent defensively. They are in place all the time.”

The game will be televised by ESPN. Tickets are available on the Camellia Bowl website.