# 2021 Camellia Bowl

The 2021 Camellia Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 25, 2021, at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The eighth edition of the Camellia Bowl, the game featured the Georgia State Panthers of the Sun Belt Conference and the Ball State Cardinals of the Mid-American Conference. The game began at 1:30 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by tax preparation software company TaxAct, the game was known as the TaxAct Camellia Bowl.

## Teams

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game was played between teams from the Sun Belt Conference and Mid-American Conference (MAC).
This was the third meeting between Georgia State and Ball State; entering the game, the all-time series was tied at 1–1.

### Ball State Cardinals
## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Georgia State | 14 | 6 | 28 | 3 | 51 |
| Ball State | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
at Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Alabama
* Date: Saturday, December 25, 2021
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST (1:30 p.m. local CST)
* Game weather: Partly cloudy • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: SW 13 mph
* Referee: Kevin Vicknair
* TV announcers (ESPN): Roy Philpott (play-by-play), Hutson Mason (analyst), and Abby Labar (sideline)
* Box score
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | GSU | BSU |
| 1 | 8:59 | 2 | 61 | 0:38 | Ball State | Jayshon Jackson 56-yard touchdown reception from Drew Plitt, Jake Chanove kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | 4:55 | 10 | 75 | 4:04 | Georgia State | Aubry Payne 18-yard touchdown reception from Darren Grainger, Noel Ruiz kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 1 | 2:02 | | | | Georgia State | Fumble recovery returned 37 yards for touchdown by Javon Denis, Noel Ruiz kick good | 14 | 7 |
| 2 | 14:11 | 7 | 24 | 1:48 | Georgia State | 27-yard field goal by Noel Ruiz | 17 | 7 |
| 2 | 9:20 | 7 | 30 | 2:06 | Ball State | 34-yard field goal by Jacob Lewis | 17 | 10 |
| 2 | 6:01 | 8 | 65 | 3:19 | Georgia State | 28-yard field goal by Noel Ruiz | 20 | 10 |
| 2 | 0:18 | 13 | 53 | 5:43 | Ball State | 43-yard field goal by Jacob Lewis | 20 | 13 |
| 3 | 12:05 | 8 | 75 | 2:55 | Georgia State | Robert Lewis 10-yard touchdown reception from Darren Grainger, Noel Ruiz kick good | 27 | 13 |
| 3 | 7:08 | 7 | 68 | 3:29 | Georgia State | Darren Grainger 34-yard touchdown run, Noel Ruiz kick good | 34 | 13 |
| 3 | 1:33 | 5 | 71 | 1:37 | Georgia State | Aubry Payne 16-yard touchdown reception from Darren Grainger, Noel Ruiz kick good | 41 | 13 |
| 3 | 0:00 | | | | Georgia State | Interception returned 55 yards for touchdown by Antavious Lane, Noel Ruiz kick good | 48 | 13 |
| 4 | 9:03 | 8 | 38 | 3:27 | Georgia State | 45-yard field goal by Noel Ruiz | 51 | 13 |
| 4 | 3:13 | 15 | 75 | 5:50 | Ball State | Drew Plitt 1-yard touchdown run, Jake Chanove kick good | 51 | 20 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 51 | 20 |

## Statistics
### Team statistics

Team statistical comparison :
| Statistic | GSU | BSU |
| First downs | 21 | 22 |
| First downs rushing | 13 | 4 |
| First downs passing | 7 | 14 |
| First downs penalty | 1 | 4 |
| Third down efficiency | 6–11 | 8–18 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Total plays–net yards | 62–464 | 81–367 |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 41–259 | 35–74 |
| Yards per rush | 6.3 | 2.1 |
| Yards passing | 205 | 293 |
| Pass completions–attempts | 17–21 | 27–46 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
| Punt returns–total yards | 0–0 | 1–(−3) |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 0–0 | 6–137 |
| Punts–average yardage | 2–37.5 | 3–40.0 |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Penalties–yards | 7–85 | 3–32 |
| Time of possession | 26:46 | 33:14 |

### Individual statistics

Georgia State statistics :
| Panthers passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Darren Grainger | 15–19 | 203 | 3–0 |
| Mikele Colasurdo | 2–2 | 2 | 0–0 |
| Panthers rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Darren Grainger | 11 | 122 | 1 |
| Tucker Gregg | 16 | 54 | 0 |
| Jaymest Williams | 8 | 49 | 0 |
| Antoine Lane | 3 | 24 | 0 |
| Jamari Thrash | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Marcus Carroll | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Cornelius McCoy | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Panthers receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Aubry Payne | 8 | 109 | 2 |
| Robert Lewis | 2 | 30 | 1 |
| Terrance Dixon | 1 | 24 | 0 |
| Cornelius McCoy | 1 | 19 | 0 |
| Ja'Cyais Credle | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Sam Pinckney | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Jamari Thrash | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Donavon Grier | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Ball State statistics :
| Cardinals passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Drew Plitt | 27–46 | 293 | 1–1 |
| Cardinals rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Carson Steele | 15 | 62 | 0 |
| Jayshon Jackson | 4 | 12 | 0 |
| Rico Barfield | 3 | 12 | 0 |
| Will Jones | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Donny Marcus | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Drew Plitt | 9 | −19 | 1 |
| Cardinals receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Jayshon Jackson | 12 | 146 | 1 |
| Yo'Heinz Tyler | 5 | 52 | 0 |
| Carson Steele | 3 | 40 | 0 |
| Trevor Hohlt | 4 | 37 | 0 |
| Hassan Littles | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Will Jones | 2 | 7 | 0 |