Snyder, Buffalo top Georgia Southern 23-21 in Camellia Bowl

Associated PressDec 27, 2022, 10:38 PM EST

Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Buffalo built a lead with Cole Snyder‘s passing and Alex McNulty’s kicking.

The Bulls put the Camellia Bowl away with an unrelenting barrage of fourth-quarter runs by Tajay Ahmed for a 23-21 victory over Georgia Southern on Tuesday.

Snyder passed for 265 yards and Ahmed took over the final quarter with 14 carries.

“This was kind of a small episode of kind of who we’ve been and what our season looked like,” Buffalo coach Maurice Linguist said. “Just tough yards, grind out play after play. And kind of throw a blanket over the scoreboard and just pound the rock, is what we say.”

The Bulls (7-6) chewed up the clock with runs from Ahmed on 11 consecutive plays and one pile-pushing final first down. The former walk-on, who was awarded a scholarship in the spring, finished with 27 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown.

That last first down meant quarterback Kyle Vantrease and Georgia Southern (6-7) couldn’t get the ball back for a final chance against Vantrease’s former team, with whom he spent five years and started 26 games before transferring.

“I’ve always believed great quarterbacks provide hope and every game we walked into he provides hope,” first-year Eagles coach Clay Helton said. “If we got that ball back one more time, you just knew that that hope was there.”

Snyder, a Rutgers transfer, completed 21 of 38 passes, including a 32-yard touchdown to game MVP Justin Marshall to outduel his predecessor.

Quian Williams gained 100 yards on five catches, and Marshall caught 11 passes for 127 yards in what the graduate transfer from Louisville called his best college game. The last catch was Marshall’s biggest, and a replay upheld the on-field call that Marshall’s right foot stayed in bounds.

“We all were talking amongst the offense,” he said. “We looked at it one time and I saw it and said that’s definitely a catch. They’re wasting time reviewing it.”

Vantrease completed 28 of 45 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Beau Johnson had five catches for 118 yards.

It was Buffalo’s third straight bowl win after going 0-3 in bowls. And the victory came after an 0-3 start this season.

“They wrote us off. They questioned,” Linguist said. “They weren’t sure if we were going to finish, and then here we are at the end. We got a ring. We’re (bowl) champions.”

Buffalo had a cushion thanks to Dylan Powell‘s interception and return across midfield in the fourth quarter. Ahmed then carried nine straight times but was stopped on three runs starting from the 2.

The Bulls had to settle for a 23-14 lead with McNulty’s third field goal of the second half with 8:38 left. That FG was a school record, No. 49 of his career.

Vantrease and Georgia Southern stayed alive with a 13-play, 90-yard drive. On fourth-and-7 from his own territory, Vantrease hit Johnson for a 42-yard gain. Then Jjay McAfee made a grab in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown with 3:38 left.

Georgia Southern needed only 26 seconds in the second half to wipe out a 14-6 deficit, thanks to a fumble, Vantrease’s 79-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Thompson and a two-point conversion.

“It has been a wonderful ride this season, and I can’t thank our seniors enough for the foundation that they’ve led and laid for this team,” Helton said. “In my opinion, the best is yet to be. Sometimes you fight your guts out and it just doesn’t go your way at the end, and that’s what this team did.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Georgia Southern: Once known for the triple option and loads of runs, Helton implemented a pass-oriented offense. Vantrease broke the Eagles’ bowl record with his 11th completion – on the opening drive of the second quarter.

Buffalo: Held onto the ball for more than 38 minutes in the game, and converted 12 of 19 third-down plays, largely on Snyder passes. The last was a 9-yarder to Marshall on the sideline to keep the final drive going.

SNOWED IN

Buffalo’s band, cheerleaders, and radio crew weren’t able to make the bowl game because flights were canceled out of their city, which saw a massive winter storm and at least 27 storm-related deaths.

Linguist said the team flew out 12 hours earlier than expected.

“If we did not do that, I’m not sure we would have even made it down here in time to play the game,” he said.

UP NEXT

Georgia Southern: Must replace Vantrease and most of the offensive and defensive line starters before opening the 2023 season at home against The Citadel.

Buffalo: Opens the 2023 season at Wisconsin on Sept. 2 with Snyder, safety Marcus Fuqua and tailback Mike Washington expected back.

Georgia extends contract for AD Josh Brooks, plans two new football practice fields

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:14 PM EDT

Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

ATHENS, Ga. – On the heels of a second straight national football championship, Georgia has rewarded athletic director Josh Brooks a contract extension that ties him to the Bulldogs through at least 2029.

The athletic association board, wrapping up its annual spring meeting Friday at a resort on Lake Oconee, also announced plans for a new track and field facility that will free up space for two more football practice fields.

Brooks’ new contract will increase his salary to $1.025 million a year, with annual raises of $100,000.

The 42-year-old Brooks, who took over the athletic department in 2021 after Greg McGarity retired, called the Georgia job “a dream for me” and said he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Athens.

“I am extremely grateful,” Brooks said. “I got into this business 20-plus years ago as a student equipment manager. My first job at Louisiana-Monroe was making $20,000 a year in football operations.”

The Georgia board approved a fiscal 2024 budget of $175.2 million, a nearly 8% increase from the most recent budget of $162.2 million and the sign of a prosperous program that is flush with money after its success on the gridiron.

The school received approval to move forward with its preliminary plans for a new track and field facility, which will be built across the street from the complex hosting the soccer and and softball teams.

The current track stadium is located adjacent to the Butts-Mehre athletic facility, which hosts the practice fields and training facilities for the football program.

Georgia lost a chunk of its outdoor fields when it built a new indoor practice facility. After the new track and field stadium is completed, the current space will be converted to two full-length, grass football practice fields at the request of coach Kirby Smart.

“He wants to find efficient ways to practice, and there is a lot of truth to the issues we’ve had with our current practice fields,” Brooks said. “There is a lot of strain on our turf facilities staff to keep that field in great shape when half the day it is getting shade, so that has been a challenge as well. For our football program, it is better to practice on grass fields than (artificial) turf, so to be able to have two side-by-side grass fields is huge. It makes for a much more efficient practice.”

The new track and field complex, which will continue to be named Spec Towns Track, will also include an indoor facility, the first of its kind in the state of Georgia.

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement after 17 years at Big Ten school

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:11 PM EDT

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will retire on August 1 after 17 years at the university, the school announced Friday.

Barta, 59, is one of the longest-tenured athletic directors in a Power Five conference. He was hired by Iowa in 2006 after being the AD at Wyoming.

An interim director will be announced next week, Iowa said.

In September, Iowa hired former Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz to be deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, putting her in position to possibly succeed Barta.

“It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve in this role the past 17 years,” Barta said in a statement. “This decision didn’t come suddenly, nor did it come without significant thought, discussion, and prayer.”

“That said, I’m confident this is the right time for me and for my family.”

Iowa won four NCAA national team titles and 27 Big Ten team titles during Barta’s tenure. The women’s basketball team is coming off an appearance in the national championship game and the wrestling team is coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA championships.

Barta served as the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee in 2020 and 2021.

He faced heavy criticism over more than $11 million in settlements for lawsuits in recent years alleging racial and sexual discrimination within the athletic department.

Lawsuits filed by former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum and associate athletics director Jane Meyer led to a $6.5 million payout.

Iowa had to pay $400,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit brought by athletes after it cut four sports in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the agreement, Iowa reinstated the women’s swimming and diving program and add another women’s sport.

Iowa added women’s wrestling, the first among Power Five schools to compete this year.

A lawsuit brought by former football players alleging racial discrimination within the program was settled for $4.2 million last March, which prompted state auditor Rob Sand to call for Barta’s ouster.

“Gary Barta’s departure is a long time coming given the four different lawsuits for discrimination that cost Iowa more than $11 million,” Sand posted on Twitter.

The university did not allow taxpayer money to be used for the settlement with the former players.

Barta led Iowa through $380 million of facility upgrades, including renovation of Kinnick Stadium, the construction of a new football facility, a basketball practice facility and a training center for the wrestling teams.

Under Barta, Iowa has had just one head football coach (Kirk Ferentz), women’s basketball coach (Lisa Bluder) and wrestling coach (Tom Brands). All were in place when he arrived.

Barta has also come under scrutiny for allowing Ferentz to employee his son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator. To comply with the university’s nepotism policy, Brian Ferentz reports to Barta.