GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES NOTES:
NO BOWL NOTES AVAILABLE
BUFFALO BULLS NOTES:
STORYLINES
• This is the first ever meeting between Buffalo and Georgia Southern.
• Buffalo is looking for its third straight bowl win. The Bulls defeated Charlotte in the 2019 Bahamas Bowl and Marshall in the 2020 Camellia Bowl.
• The Bulls are looking to become just the second program in Camellia Bowl history to win the game twice. Appalachian State won the bowl in 2015 and 2016.
• Linebacker Shaun Dolac leads the nation in solo tackles with 90, 14 more than any other player. His 90 solo stops are a single-season school record.
• Quarterback Cole Snyder is 235 yards shy of becoming just the third quarterback in program history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. He’d join Drew Willy (3,304 yards in 2008) and Tyree Jackson (3,131 yards in 2018).
• Shaun Dolac and James Patterson both rank in the top 20 in the nation in tackles. Dolac ranks fourth with 11.2 tackles per game while Patterson ranks 20th with 9.3 tackles per game.
• Kicker Alex McNulty is two field goals shy of the program record for career field goals. Adam Mitcheson (2015-18) holds the record with 48.
• 16 players on Buffalo’s current roster played in the 2020 Camellia Bowl, including linebacker James Patterson, defensive end Max Michel, defensive tackle George Wolo, wide receiver Jovany Ruiz-Navarro and kicker Alex McNulty who all started in the 2020 game.
• UB defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey is a 2016 graduate of Georgia Southern and is a native of Statesboro, GA.
• Defensive tackle Jaylon Bass is a native of Ashland, AL – 76 miles from Montgomery
Bulls to Face Georgia Southern in the 2022 Camellia Bowl
The University at Buffalo football team will play Georgia Southern in the 2022 Camellia Bowl on Dec. 27 in Montgomery, AL. Buffalo is 6-6 overall and 5-3 in the MAC and is coming off a 23-22 win over Akron on Dec. 2. Quian Williams caught the game-winning touchdown with just 1:15 left to help the Bulls become bowl eligible. Georgia Southern finished the regular season 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Eagles are led by quarterback Kyle Vantrease who has thrown for 3,901 yards, 25 touchdowns and 15 interceptions on the season. This will be the first meeting between the schools.
Bowling Bulls
When the Bulls take the field against Georgia Southern in the Camellia Bowl they will be playing in their sixth bowl game in program history and fourth in the last five years.
Buffalo’s Bowl History
Bowl Opponent Result
2008 International UConn L, 38-20
2013 Potato SD State L, 49-24
2018 Dollar General Troy L, 42-32
2019 Bahamas Charlotte W, 31-9
2020 Camellia Marshall W, 17-10
Bulls vs. the Sun Belt
The Camellia Bowl will mark just the fourth time in program history Buffalo will face a team from the Sun Belt Conference. The Bulls lost at Coastal Carolina, 38- 26, earlier this season and dropped a home contest to the Chanticleers, 28- 25, a season ago. UB lost to Troy, 42-32, in the 2018 Dollar General Bowl.
Fuqua Named All-American
Safety Marcus Fuqua was named to the Associated Press All-America Third Team. An All-MAC First Team selection, Fuqua is having a breakout season for the Bulls. He has seven interceptions on the year which is tops in the nation. His seven interceptions are also the most by a UB player in the program’s FBS era. He has added 60 tackles, five pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
Following his three-interception performance against Toledo, he was named the Bronko Nagurski National Player of the Week.
Fuqua is just the third UB player to be named an AP All-American in the Bulls’ FBS era. Linebacker Khalil Mack (2013) and running back Jaret Patterson (2020) were both named to the second team.
Dolac Dominance
Junior linebacker Shaun Dolac has put on a tackling clinic this season. He leads the MAC and ranks fourth in the nation in tackles per game, averaging 11.2. He leads the nation in solo tackles with 90 which is a single-season program record.
Against Bowling Green, all of his 14 tackles were solo and in the previous game against Miami (OH), 12 of his 14 tackles were solo. He currently leads the nation in solo tackles with 90 and leads the MAC in total tackles with 134.
Originally a walk-on, Dolac entered the starting lineup late last season. In his 14 total games as a starter, he has averaged 11 tackles per game and totaled 16.5 tackles for loss.
Dolac was named a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, an award given annually to the best player in the country who started his career as a walk-on.
Solid Debut Season for Snyder
Quarterback Cole Snyder has settled in nicely in his first season as the Bulls’ starting quarterback since transferring from Rutgers in the offseason. The junior signal-caller has thrown for 2,765 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season and is ascending the school’s single-season record book.
His 2,765 passing yards rank sixth in program history for a single season and he ranks fourth in completions with 250 and third in attempts with 423. In addition, his 2,905 yards of total offense rank fifth in program history for a single season.
Snyder threw for a season-high 305 yards and three touchdowns against Holy Cross, becoming the first UB quarterback to throw for 300 yards Since Kyle Vantrease threw for 365 yards against Ball State in the 2020 MAC Championship game.
He has thrown for a three touchdowns in a game three times this season, becoming the first UB quarterback to do that since Tyree Jackson threw three or more TDs in a game five times in 2018.
Been There, Done That
This is the second time in three years the Bulls are playing in the Camellia Bowl and a number of UB players are once again playing in the bowl they won in 2020.
16 players on the current Buffalo roster played in the game in 2020, including five who were in the starting lineup. The five current players who started in the 2020 Camellia Bowl are linebacker James Patterson, defensive end Max Michel, defensive tackle George Wolo, wide receiver Jovany Ruiz-Novarro and kicker Alex McNulty.
11 other players on the current roster saw action in 2020, including Marcus Fuqua, Caleb Tate, Ron Cook, Jalen McNair, Evan Davis, Shaun Dolac, Kyler Laing, Jake Zimmer, Dom Polizzi, Gabe Wallace and Caelan Shepard.
Fresh Kicks
Three games into the season, the Bulls turned to true freshman walk-on punter Anthony Venneri and the youngster as been quite impressive. The Hamilton, Ontario native ranks third in the MAC in punting, averaging 42.6 yards per punt. He has 10 punts over 50 yards with a season long of 64 and has had nine punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
His 42.6-yard-per-punt average is a single-season school record. The previous record of 41.7 was set by Evan Finegan in 2018.
