Camelia Bowl Betting Odds: Eagles Look to Soar in Bowl Game

Late-Season Wins Sets Up Bowl Matchup Between Buffalo and Georgia Southern

This game features a NCAAF matchup of teams that needed to win its final game in the regular season to become bowl eligible and now they will square off in the ninth edition of the Camellia Bowl with the Camellia Bowl betting odds favoring Georgia Southern.

Georgia Southern snapped a three-game losing streak with a wild 51-48 win over Appalachian State with Kyle Vantrease’ third touchdown pass of the game coming in double overtime to lift the Eagles to victory. Buffalo needed a touchdown pass from Cole Snyder to Quian Williams with 1:15 left to top Akron 23-22.

After a four-year run with no bowl appearances, Buffalo Bulls is playing in a bowl game for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Bulls have won two of the previous bowl games

Buffalo has lost its last three games to Sun Belt teams and that includes a 38-26 loss to Coastal Carolina as a 12-point road underdog on Sept. 17. Including a 34-23 win over Ball State on Sept. 23, Georgia Southern has won its last three games against teams from the Mid-American Conference.

When looking at the NCAA football betting lines, Georgia Southern is 7-5 against the spread this season with Buffalo 6-5-1.

After a 2021 Blowout, Could this Be Another Down to the Wire Camellia Bowl?

After the first seven Camellia Bowls were decided by eight points or less, the 2021 game was a 31-point win by Georgia State. That dropped Mid-American Conference teams to 2-4 in the game. One of the win’s was by Buffalo in 2020. The Camellia Bowl betting odds list the Bulls as the underdog in this one.

Running back Jalen White, who has run for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns to go with 22 receptions, is one of three Alabama natives on the Georgia Southern roster.

Georgia Southern has lost defensive lineman Latrell Bullard, receivers Derwin Burgess Jr., Amare Jones and Sam Kenerson and long snapper Mark Langston to season-ending injuries. Burgess is second on the team with 58 catches and 717 receiving yards while Jones had 35 receptions and six touchdowns in eight games.
For Buffalo, running back Ron Cook Jr. is questionable. He is second on the team with 600 rushing yards.

Georgia Southern was once known as a run-heavy college football offense team. However, the Eagles led the Sun Belt in passing yards and total offense this season.

Familiar Face

Buffalo won’t need to break down much film to come up with a scouting report on productive Georgia State quarterback Kyle Vantrease.

Vantrease spent five NCAAF seasons playing quarterback at Buffalo, He had 25 touchdown passes, 13 interceptions and 13 scoring runs in 35 career games at Buffalo. He ran for a touchdown and threw for 140 yards in the Bulls’ 17-10 win over Marshall in the 2020 Camellia Bowl. His presence is one of the reasons why the Eagles are favored according to the Camellia Bowl betting odds.

The move to Georgia Southern has worked out pretty well as he threw for almost as many yards in 12 games this season as he did during his time with Buffalo.

Vantrease is completing 61.4% of his passes for 3,901 yards with 25 TD passes and 15 interceptions. He went off for 578 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-38 win over James Madison and had seven 300-yard games.

One Bullish Ball Hawk

Buffalo safety Marcus Fuqua had one interception in his first three seasons at Buffalo. He saved his best for the 2022 NCAAF Season. Fuqua is the national leader with seven interceptions with six of them coming in Buffalo victories.

Fuqua had three interceptions in a 34-27 win over eventual MAC champion Toledo Rockets and two more in the victory against Akron Zips that made the Bulls bowl eligible. It was Fuqua’s interception on the final play of the game that clinched the victory.

With Fuqua leading the way, Buffalo is +7 in turnover margin in the six wins and has nine takeaways and nine giveaways in the six victories.

The seven interceptions are the most by a player from the MAC since Shawun Lurry had nine picks in 2015.

Bounce-Back Seasons

Who would have predicted this as a potential bowl matchup coming into the season after the teams were a combined 7-17 a season ago?

Georgia Southern is 4-3 in one-score games with Buffalo 3-3 in those contests, so a close game doesn’t figure to favor either side.

Something to consider when looking at the Georgia Southern vs Buffalo odds, the Eagles have won their last 10 games when listed as the favorite.

Georgia Southern has won four of its last five games against Mid-American Conference teams.

Buffalo has covered in just one of its last five games and are 2-11 over the last 13 games as the underdog.

There has been little movement in the betting line, but the total has gone from opening at 64 to its current number of 67. Don’t forget to check the latest college football odds and the updated NCAAF injury report before betting.

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