9 p.m. | ESPN
Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama
SERIES HISTORY
Overall Bowling Green leads 1-0 In Jonesboro — In Bowling Green Bowling Green leads 1-0 At Neutral Site — Last Meeting 0-17, L (Nov. 9, 1974) First Meeting Current Streak Bowling Green W1
Arkansas State Red Wolves Notes
1ST AND 10
1 Trevian Thomas is the only FBS player with three interceptions on an opponents final possession of a game.
2 With eight catches for 115 yards in the regular season finale, Corey Rucker became A-State’s career receiving yards leader with 176 receptions for 2,930 yards.
3 Justin Parks is one of three current four-year FBS captains, along with Utah’s Cameron Rising and Auburn’s Payton Thorne.
4 Butch Jones is one of three all-time FBS Head Coaches to take four different programs to multiple bowl games.
5 A-State’s five appearances at the Mobile-based bowl game are the most of any team.
6 The 68 Ventures Bowl marks the sixth time A-State meets a MAC opponent in its FBS Bowl history.
7 Seven different players have combined for 14 total interceptions for the A-State defense.
8 Of A-States 12 FBS bowl appearances, the 68 Ventures Bowl will mark the eighth the Red Wolves play in Alabama.
9 A-State is among nine teams in FBS with five or more wins decided by one score. 10 Zak Wallace has
10 rushing touchdowns this season, including a rushing score in each of the last five games. He is first A-State player to have a rushing score in five consecutive games since Johnston White in 2015.
BOWL HISTORY
Arkansas State is 7-10-1 all-time in bowl games, 4-7 in FBS bowl matchups. Last year at the Camellia Bowl, the Red Wolves were dealt a 21-19 setback against Northern Illinois. The 68 Ventures Bowl marks A-State’s fifth appearance in the Mobile-based bowl sporting a 2-2 record in the previous four appearances. A-State played in seven bowl games from 1951-70, including the Pecan Bowl (1968, 1969, 1970), Tangerine Bowl (1952, 1954) and Refrigerator Bowl (1951, 1952). In the FBS era, the Red Wolves played in the New Orleans Bowl (2005, 2015), the GoDaddy Bowl (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Cure Bowl (2016), Camellia Bowl (2017, 2019, 2023) and Arizona Bowl (2018).
HOWLABAMA
Of A-States 12 FBS bowl appearances, the 2024 68 Ventures Bowl will mark the eighth the Red Wolves play in Alabama. A-State is 3-4 in the seven bowl games in Alabama. The Red Wolves five appearances at the Mobile-based bowl are the most of any team while Bowling Green’s four appearances are second-most.
A-STATE VS THE MAC
The Red Wolves are 3-9 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with two of those three victories coming in bowl games played in Mobile. This is the sixth bowl matchup for A-State against a MAC opponent with the Red Wolves 2-3 in those previous contests.
BOWL ELIGIBLE
With a 27-20 win at Georgia State, Arkansas State secured bowl eligibility. This season will mark the 12th bowl game as a FBS member; 2005 New Orleans Bowl, 2011 GoDaddy.com Bowl, 2012 GoDaddy. com Bowl, 2013 GoDaddy Bowl, 2014 GoDaddy Bowl, 2015 New Orleans Bowl, 2016 Cure Bowl, 2017 Camellia Bowl, 2018 Arizona Bowl, 2019 Camellia Bowl, 2023 Camellia Bowl and 2024 68 Ventures Bowl.
AN A-STATE WIN WOULD
Be the 103rd career win for head coach Butch Jones … Improve A-State to 5-7 all-time in FBS bowl games … Be the first bowl win for A-State since 2019 … Make the Red Wolves 8-10-1 all-time in bowl games … Give A-State eight wins for the first time since 2019 and eighth time in FBS era.
PICK IT OFF
A-State has snagged 14 interceptions this year most in any season since the 2015 squad totaled 26 picks. The Red Wolves rank 18th nationally with those 14 picks. The 14 interceptions are by seven different players.
MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Since head coach Butch Jones arrived in Jonesboro, the Red Wolves are one of three teams among the Group of Five to rank inside top 50 in the final yearly SP+ special teams rankings available via ESPN+. A-State is joined by Eastern Michigan and UTSA among Group of Five programs while Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, NC State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, Texas Tech and Washington State are the others among 17 total programs to rank top 50 the last three seasons.
SETTING THE MARK
Ja’Quez Cross was named Thrid Team All-Sun Belt as a return specialist in 2023. He finished 28th nationally, fifth in the league, with 117.77 all-purpose yards per game and ranked third in the league, eighth nationally, with 654 kickoff return yards. He averaged 28.4 yards per kickoff return, second in the conference and seventh nationally while among five SBC players with a kickoff return for a touchdown. He had four kickoff returns for 114 yards in the opener, his third career outing with 100-plus kick return yards. His 28.4 yards per return ranked fourth in program history for a single season while his career average of 24.7 ranks fourth.
Bowling Green Falcons Notes
OPENING KICK
SWEET HOME ALABAMA FOR THE HOLIDAYS
• Bowling Green State University flies south as the Falcons take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves in the 26th Annual 68 Ventures Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 26, in Mobile, Ala.
BOWL SEASON FOR THE ORANGE AND BROWN
• BGSU is playing in the 68 Ventures Bowl for the fourth time. The Falcons previously appeared in Mobile in 2004 and 2008 when it was the GMAC Bowl. Most recently, BGSU faced Georgia Southern in 2015 when it was the GoDaddy Bowl. • The 68 Ventures Bowl marks BGSU’s 16th all-time bowl appearance.
FIVE TOP STORYLINES
• BGSU head coach Scot Loeffler and Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones were on staff together at Central Michigan from 2000-01. • TE Harold Fannin Jr. is a consensus All-American and was a finalist for the John Mackey Award. Among all receivers entering Bowl Season, he is No. 2 in the nation in receiving yards with 1,342 and No. 2 in receptions with 100. He leads the nation’s tight ends in 21+ offensive categories, including receptions (100), yards after catch (750), first downs (64), broken tackles (31) and receiving touchdowns (9). Nationally, he is additionally ranked No. 1 in broken tackles, No. 3 in first downs and No. 2 in yards after catch. Fannin was the only tight end that was a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. • Fannin ranks second all-time in FBS history for single-season receiving yards by a tight end. He needs just 11 yards to surpass the FBS record of 1,352 yards set by Texas Tech’s Jace Amaro in 2013. With 100 receptions this season, Fannin is third all-time in single-season catches by a tight end. He needs 12 more receptions to break the record held by Rice’s James Casey, who totaled 111 in 2008. • Fannin’s 31 broken tackles are the most ever by a tight end since Pro Football Focus started tracking games 11 seasons ago. The closest tight end had 24. This year that number is 17. • QB Connor Bazelak is playing his final college game. He needs 41 yards to become the 49th player in FBS history to reach 12,000 career passing yards. He is currently No. 19 in FBS history with 1,119 career completions.
BOWLING GREEN VS. ARKANSAS STATE
• Bowling Green leads the all-time series against Arkansas State, 1-0, after a 17-0 win in 1974. Arkansas State was an NCAA DII team playing in the Southland Conference in 1974. • BGSU alum and College Football Hall of Fame coach Don Nehlen. • Heading into the game in 1974, it was a matchup of BGSU’s offense vs. Arkansas State’s defense. It was the ninth game of the 1974 season in which BGSU running back Dave Preston gained over 100 yards, finishing with 127 rushing yards on 33 carries. • Fittingly, the following week after beating Arkansas State at Doyt Perry Stadium, BGSU traveled to Mobile, Ala., to play Southern Miss at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The Southern Miss campus, located about 1.5 hours from Mobile, used Ladd-Peebles as an alternate site for home games from 1950-1974. The BGSU game was the last alternate home site game in Mobile for Southern Miss.
BOWLING GREEN VS. SUN BELT
• Bowling Green is 28-13 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt, with games against Arkansas State (1-0), Georgia Southern (0-1), Marshall (22-8), Old Dominion (0-1), South Alabama (1-1), Southern Miss (3-1), and Troy (1-1). • BGSU hosted Old Dominion on Sept. 28 and fell in the final minute, 30-27. • Bowling Green is scheduled to travel to ODU on Sept. 13, 2031. BGSU will also visit Marshall on Sept. 25, 2027, and return to Mobile to face South Alabama on Sept. 16, 2028.
BOWLING FOR ‘BAMA
• The 69 Ventures Bowl marks the fifth time BGSU will play a bowl game in the state of Alabama. • By playing a bowl game in Alabama in 2024, BGSU will break a three-way tie for the state that has hosted the most BGSU bowl games. BGSU has played in California four times and Michigan four times, including in the last two seasons.
