Overview
- Bowls officials confirmed Georgia Southern will face Appalachian State at Protective Stadium on Dec. 29 with a 2 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN.
- App State accepted a late invitation after all 81 other bowl slots were filled, following Georgia Southern’s earlier acceptance.
- Multiple teams declined Birmingham Bowl bids, including Auburn, Florida State, UCF, Baylor, Rutgers, Temple and Kansas, while Mississippi State chose the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Rice the Armed Forces Bowl.
- Notre Dame turned down a bowl bid after missing the College Football Playoff, contributing to the selection shuffle that opened the Birmingham slot.
- The matchup is a rematch of Georgia Southern’s 25-23 win on Nov. 6, and App State enters at 5-7 under first-year head coach Dowell Loggains.