2015 Camellia Bowl, Appalachian State vs. Ohio: Date, time, location and more

A relatively boring start to the 2014 college bowl season was kickstarted by calamity in the fourth quarter of the inaugural Camellia Bowl. Now, the second edition of the game will look to climb from its spot as the lowest-rated bowl game.

Granted, there was a Camellia Bowl before it made its triumphant return in 2014, but the previous matchups served as postseason playoff games for lower divisions. For three years it was the NAIA Championship game, before becoming a quarterfinals game for the NCAA College Division before it was reclassified as Division II and Division III.

In 2014, Bowling Green blew a 20-7 lead to fall behind 28-27 with a minute left and immediately recaptured the lead with a game-winning 78-yard connection between James Knapke and Roger Lewis that resulted in a 33-28 victory for the Falcons. Similar fireworks between two of the nation’s most exciting conferences, the MAC and Sun Belt, should be able to up underwhelming TV ratings from 2014.

Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this year’s Camellia Bowl:

Date and time: Sat., Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m. ET

TV channel: ESPN

Location: Montgomery, Ala.

Stadium: Cramton Bowl, 25,000

Last year’s score: Bowling Green 33, South Alabama 28

Last year’s attendance: 20,256

Last year’s TV rating: 0.7

Last year’s payout for each school: $100,000

Team with the most all-time appearances: Bowling Green and South Alabama, 1

Team with the most all-time wins: Bowling Green, 1

It’s safe to say that Appalachian State’s transition to the FBS is going well. In just their second season at the NCAA’s highest level, the Mountaineers recorded 10 wins and are headed to the Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Mountaineers have rolled to the top tier of the Sun Belt by dominating mismatched teams behind one of the country’s best rushing offenses. Their spread offense features four different players with at least 385 rushing yards on the year, and all four average at least 5 yards per carry. They are led by feature back Marcus Cox, who has gained over 100 yards per game this season after springing for 1,415 as a sophomore last fall.

Appalachian State isn’t just an offensive powerhouse, however. It’s held opponents to seven points or fewer four times this season while building the FBS’s 13th-ranked scoring defense. Much of that has to do with the level of competition; those four games came against Howard, Old Dominion, Georgia State, and Louisiana-Lafayette. Meanwhile, their two toughest opponents, No. 1 Clemson and Arkansas State, each scored at least 40 points against the Mountaineers in their matchup. That defense will have to prove it belongs in the top 15 with a big performance on December 19th.

Last bowl game: This is Appalachian State’s first bowl appearance.

All-time bowl record: 0-0

Head coach’s bowl record: This is Scott Satterfield’s first bowl appearance.

Slowly and steadily, Ohio is developing into one of the MAC’s toughest teams. This season’s 8-4 record - with wins over Northern Illinois and Marshall - marked the Bobcats’ seventh-straight season of bowl eligibility. A balanced offensive attack has made Frank Solich’s team a constant upset threat on the gridiron.

The Bobcats are led by senior passer Derrius Vick (1,809 passing yards, 64% completion rate in 10 games), but the dual-threat quarterback was taken off the field by an ankle injury and replaced by backup JD Sprague for the team’s final two regular season showdowns. Sprague led the team to a victory over Ball State before getting injured as well, turning the reins over to Greg Windham.

Though both Vick and Sprague could return for bowl season, Ohio proved that they can win no matter who is behind center; the Bobcats racked up 230 rushing yards to upset Northern Illinois in their finale. Sophomore running back A.J. Ouellette is the guy they’ll turn to - he gained 261 yards on 52 carries while Vick was sidelined.

Last bowl game: 2013 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl (37-20 loss to East Carolina)

All-time bowl record: 2-6

Head coach’s bowl record: Frank Solich is 4-7 in bowls, going 2-3 at Nebraska and 2-4 with the Bobcats.