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 nine times this year, winning six of those games…