The Georgia Southern Eagles and Sam Houston Bearkats will play in the 2024 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, it was announced Friday.
Georgia Southern and Sam Houston will square off on Thursday, December 19, 2024 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. The game, the 24th edition of the bowl, will kickoff at 7:00pm ET / 6:00pm CT and it will be televised nationally by ESPN2.
The game will mark the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between Georgia Southern of the Sun Belt Conference and Sam Houston of Conference USA. Georgia Southern has played in the New Orleans Bowl once previously, while Sam Houston will be making its first appearance.
“I think I speak for all of Eagle Nation when I say that we are extremely excited to be selected for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl,” said Georgia Southern head coach Clay Helton. “We would like to thank Billy Ferrante and the entire New Orleans Bowl committee for this wonderful invitation and we look forward to a great game with Sam Houston on December 19th in the Caesars Superdome. This game is played in a great city and an elite venue and we can’t wait to begin preparations. Hail Southern!”
Georgia Southern will be making their third consecutive appearance in a bowl game and seventh overall (3-3 record). Last season, the Eagles played the Ohio Bobcats in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, but lost 41-21.
Georgia Southern heads into the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl after closing its regular-season with back-to-back wins over Coastal Carolina on the road and Appalachian State at home. The Eagles finished the 2024 regular-season 8-4 overall and 6-2 in Sun Belt play.
“We are thrilled to be invited back to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl this year,” said GS director of athletics Chris Davis. “I want to thank Billy Ferrante and his entire bowl team for bringing the Eagles back to New Orleans. They did an incredible job of pulling off the 2020 New Orleans Bowl in the midst of COVID and we couldn’t be more excited that everyone in our travel party will get the full New Orleans experience this time. I can’t wait to see all of Eagle Nation take over New Orleans and the Caesars Superdome on December 19th!”
Sam Houston enters the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl with a 9-3 overall record (6-2 CUSA) and are coming off of a 20-18 victory in its regular-season finale at home against the Liberty Flames.
The Bearkats have played in four post-season bowl games in their history, and all four were when the Bearkats were at the NAIA level. Sam Houston most recently played in the 1964 Championship Bowl, where they tied Concordia College, 7-7.
The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl is the fifth confirmed bowl matchup this season. Other matchups officially announced include Buffalo vs. Liberty in the Bahamas Bowl, Memphis vs. West Virginia in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, South Alabama vs. Western Michigan in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl, and San Jose State vs. South Florida in the Hawai’i Bowl.
The 2024 season marks the debut of the 12-team College Football Playoff. The complete field is set to be announced on Selection Day on Sunday, Dec. 8 on ESPN beginning at noon ET.
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