Division champs Marshall, Buffalo meet in Camellia Bowl

Posted December 20, 2020 6:00 am

By The Associated Press

Buffalo wide receiver Antonio Nunn (41) is stopped by Ball State cornerback Antonio Phillips (21) during the first half of the Mid-American Conference championship NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) The Associated Press

Marshall (7-2, Conference USA) vs. Buffalo (5-1, Mid-American Conference), Friday, 2:30 p.m. EST

LOCATION: Montgomery, Alabama

TOP PLAYERS

Marshall: Freshman QB Grant Wells leads C-USA in passing yards (219.7 per game) and touchdown passes (18).

Buffalo: RB Jaret Patterson, 1,072 yards, 19 touchdowns in six games. Tied the NCAA record with eight rushing touchdowns against Kent State, also racking up 409 yards.

NOTABLE

Marshall: Won its first C-USA Eastern Division title since 2014. Had its seven-game bowl winning streak snapped with a 48-25 loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl. Started season with seven straight wins before sputtering offensively in losses to Rice (20-0) and UAB (22-13 in the league title game).

Buffalo: Captured the MAC Eastern Division championship and only loss came to Ball State, 38-28, in the MAC title game. Dropped from the Top 25 with that defeat. Seventh-year coach Lance Leipold was 110-6 in eight seasons at Wisconsin-Whitewater and won six Division III national championships, going 34-1 in the playoffs.

LAST TIME

Marshall won 48-14 on Oct. 23, 2004 and has won all eight meetings with Buffalo.

BOWL HISTORY

Marshall: Making its seventh bowl game in the past eight season. The Thundering Herd are 12-3 in bowl games, the highest winning percentage among teams with at least six bowl games.

Buffalo: Playing in its fifth bowl game after winning for the first time in last year's 31-9 victory over Charlotte in the Bahamas Bowl. Playing in a bowl game for the third straight season.

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Buffalo running back Ron Cook Jr. (2) is tackled by Ball State's Tye Evans during the second half of the Mid-American Conference championship NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) The Associated Press

Marshall quarterback Grant Wells (8) hands off to teammate Brenden Knox (20) during an NCAA college football game for the Conference USA Football Championship on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Huntington, W.Va. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP) The Associated Press

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