STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern football team will make its seventh bowl appearance in 10 years when it takes on the Sam Houston Bearkats in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl at Caesars Superdome as both teams wrap up their seasons. Kickoff is set for 7:02 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The game will also be available via radio on the Georgia Southern Sports Network and on ESPN Bowl Radio. Here's all you need to know about the game:
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 • 7:02 PM (ET)
Location: New Orleans, La. (Caesars Superdome; 74,295)
Records:
Sam Houston: 9-3, 6-2 C-USA
Georgia Southern: 8-4, 6-2 SBC
Broadcast Information
Broadcast: ESPN2
PBP: Jorde Sedano; Analyst: Orlando Franklin; Sidelines: Morgan Uber
Radio: Georgia Southern Sports Network
PBP: Danny Reed (@GSEaglesVoice); Analyst: Terry Harvin (@TerryHarvin); Sidelines: Frank Sulkowski and Anthony Beck II
Radio: Bowl Season Radio
PBP: Dave Neal; Analyst: Aaron Murray
Radio Affiliates (PDF)
GS: GAME NOTES
SHSU: GAME NOTES
Inside The Series
Overall Series Record: First Meeting
Cornelsen vs. GS: Never Met
Helton vs. SHSU: Never Met
Helton vs. Cornelsen: Never Met
GS vs. current C-USA Members: 26-10
GS vs. teams from Texas: 7-2
GS in state of Louisiana: 5-7
GS at Caesars Superdome: 1-0
The Ties That Bind
- Eagle senior Sam Kenerson and Bearkat junior Da'Veawn Armstead both went to Central High in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- Former Georgia Southern (and now Houston) head coach Willie Fritz left Sam Houston to come to Statesboro in 2014. He went 40-15 in four seasons at SHSU and 17-7 in two seasons at Georgia Southern.
- Reid Dedman and Jalen White both played in the 2020 New Orleans Bowl and will suit up again for the 2024 version. Eight players total were on the Eagles' roster for that 2020 season, but due to COVID restrictions, only the travel squad went to New Orleans.
Of Note:
- This will be the first football meeting between Georgia Southern and the Sam Houston Bearkats. It's the second GS/Conference USA matchup in a bowl game (GS is 1-0).
- Southern will be making its seventh bowl appearance when it participates in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The Eagles are 3-3 in five previous bowl games, knocking off Bowling Green (2015 GoDaddy Bowl), Eastern Michigan (2018 Camellia Bowl) and Louisiana Tech (2020 New Orleans Bowl). The Eagles lost to Liberty in the 2019 Cure Bowl, to Buffalo in the 2022 Camellia Bowl and to Ohio last year in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
- Georgia Southern is 11-7 all-time when the roof is over its head as it will be in the Caesars Superdome.
- Georgia Dome (2-0): def. MTSU ('95); def. Georgia St. ('14)
- Tacoma Dome (2-0): def. Furman ('85); def. Ark St. ('86)
- Superdome (1-0): def. Louisiana Tech ('20)
- Kibbie Dome (1-0): def. Idaho ('15)
- UNI-Dome (1-0): def. Northern Iowa ('85)
- Mini-Dome (4-4): went 4-4 against ETSU
- Holt Arena (0-1): lost to Furman ('88)
- Fargo Dome (0-2): went 0-2 against NDSU
Countdown to Kickoff
10: Jalen White already has a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns this season, but two more in the bowl game will give him 37 for his career and move him into a tie for 10th place all-time at Southern with Matt Breida (2013-16).
9: The Eagles have won the coin toss ninetimes this year, winning six of those games.
8: Georgia Southern has eight players on this year's roster who were on the roster in 2020 when the Eagles played in the COVID-affected New Orleans Bowl. Only two of those eight—Reid Dedman and Jalen White—played in the game.
7: This will be Georgia Southern's seventh bowl game and third in a row.
6: Linebacker Marques Watson-Trent has sixgames with 10 or more tackles this season and 16 for his career. He is second all-time at Southern with 355 career tackles.
5: Led by Josh Dallas's five scores, five different players have two or more receiving touchdowns this season.
4: The Eagles recorded four interceptions of Louisiana Tech quarterbacks when they played in the 2020 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl en route to a 38-3 victory.
3: After going 1-7 in the month of November under Clay Helton in 2022 and 2023, the Eagles won three of four games this year in the final month to finish with eight wins.
2: With four catches against App State, Derwin Burgess Jr. became just the second player in program history to pass 200 career receptions. He enters the bowl game with 202 catches. Khaleb Hood holds the school record with 245 catches.
1: Reid Dedman is ranked first in program history with 67 career games played in six seasons at Georgia Southern.
Up Next:
Season Complete