The 2023 Camellia Bowl was a game with two different halves. The first half saw a combined 34 points and only one punt. The second half, however, only had six points scored and there were a combined seven punts. Plus, there was some controversy at the end with the onside kick. With all that said, Northern Illinois won the Camellia Bowl 21-19 in a battle of 6-6 teams. Huskies quarterback Rocky Lombardi was named the Bart Starr MVP after the game. Lombardi ends his college career going 18 of 29 for 200 yards and one touchdown. He also had 21 yards rushing and a touchdown. All-MAC running back Antario Brown rushed for 132 yards, and Grayson Barnes caught five passes for 105 yards and one touchdown.
For Arkansas State, quarterback Jaylen Raynor was 16 of 30 for 250 yards and two touchdowns. His go-t0 receiver Corey Rucker had five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns. The Red Wolves had two players with 11 tackles Dane Motley and Samy Johnson. Jaden Dolphin and DaRon Gilbert led the way with six tackles each for the Huskies. It was another successful bowl game for the city of Montgomery, Alabama.
Northern Illinois Wins the Camellia Bowl 21-19
Back and Forth First Quarter
Northern Illinois opened the game with a 10-play, 75-yard drive to take a 6-0 lead. Lombardi went five of six on the drive for 79 yards. He connected with Barnes three times, and an 18-yard touchdown. It was an incredible catch by Barnes in the back of the endzone keeping one foot inbound. The Huskies would attempt a two-point conversion by attempting a direct snap to Gavin Williams that was unsuccessful.
The Arkansas State offense looked like they were going to respond by moving the ball quickly down the field after starting at their own 37. On the third play, Raynor found Courtney Jackson for 33 yards to the Huskies 33. For the next play, Rucker made a reception of 17 yards to get into the red zone. On the next play though, Raynor threw an inaccurate pass and was intercepted by Javaughn Byrd at the four-yard line.
The Red Wolves responded with an interception of their own three plays later. Lombardi rolled out looking for Barnes again, but Trevian Thomas made a play. The turnover gave Arkansas State the ball at the 42. On the following play, Raynor found Rucker for a 42-yard touchdown. With 5:59 in the first quarter, Arkansas State held a 7-6 lead.
The back-and-forth first quarter continued, and the Huskies responded to retake the lead 13-7 with 1:24 left. Lombardi scored on a designed quarterback run that went for six yards. Consecutive unnecessary roughness penalties set up the Huskies at the six.
Run the Kicker
The second quarter started with another missed opportunity for Arkansas State. With 13:49 in the quarter, the Red Wolves went for a fourth and one. Raynor was stopped with a no gain at the Huskies 13. Perhaps not kicking a field goal in that position cost the Red Wolves later in the game.
On the next possession, Northern Illinois had their kicker extend the lead but not how it is usually done. After moving the ball to the Red Wolves 32-yard line, kicker Kanon Woodill was brought onto the field. Holder Tom Foley tossed the ball to Woodill who went 32 yards for a touchdown. Lombardi then found Trayvon Rudolph for the two-point conversion to put the Huskies up 21-7 with 9:42 left in the second.
Raynor and the Red Wolves offense would again move down the field on the next possession. They were not able to find the endzone after two missed passes and a drop by Corey Rucker in the endzone. Arkansas State settled for a Dominic Zvada field goal of 28 yards to make it 21-10. After an interception of Lombardi by Johnson, they were able to cut into the lead. Raynor connected with Reagan Ealy for 16 yards to get to the Huskies 28. Zvada added three by kicking a 45-yard field goal to make it 21-13 as time expired.
Punt Fest
The Camellia Bowl was a complete game in the second half. The two teams combined for five punts on the first five possessions of the half after only one punt in the first. With 3:55 remaining in the third, the offense was rediscovered by Northern Illinois. On third and three, Lombardi would find his go-to target in Barnes for 35 yards to get to the Arkansas State 12. That would lead to a 23-yard field goal attempt that was missed right by Woodill. After scoring the touchdown on the fake, the kicker missed two inside of 30 yards.
Northern Illinois Holds On
Both teams would have long drives that resulted in more punts. On the next possession, the Red Wolves made it into Huskies territory to the 37. On third and four, Raynor would be sacked by Raishein Thomas and Jalonnie Williams for a six-yard loss to take them out of field goal range. Northern Illinois followed that by going on a 10-play drive that chewed up 7:32 off the clock. Arkansas State got the ball back at 3:52 with a chance to tie the game.
The drive started with Raynor completing a pass to Rucker for 32 yards to their own 46. Raynor then called his own number and rushed up the middle for 23 yards. The Red Wolves were now at the Huskies 31-yard line. A few players later Raynor would find Rucker once again for a 13-yard touchdown. Rucker would break two tackles to make the score 21-19 with 1:14 left. On the two-point attempt, Raynor overthrew Ealy and the Huskies lead remained at two.
The last chance for the Red Wolves was to go for an onside kick. The Red Wolves would recover the kick, but an offside was called the play. Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones was very upset about the penalty, and the replays did show it was very close. On the next attempt, the Huskies would field the kick safely to get the ball back. They would then proceed to run out the clock. Northern Illinois wins the Camellia Bowl 21-19 to end the season at 7-6
