It’s bowl season, which means we have a lot of football to watch between Dec. 13 and Jan. 19! Ohio State, Utah, Georgia Southern, Army, Texas A&M — and just about everyone in between — will take part in a total of 47 games that will ultimately conclude with the 2026 CFP National Championship.
NESN has you covered with previews for each and every game — with our next contest set to renew a rivalry:
2025 JLAb Birmingham Bowl
Matchup: Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Appalachian State Mountaineers
Date: Monday, Dec. 29, 2025
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
Stadium: Protective Stadium – Birmingham, Ala.
TV: ESPN
Game Overview
The Birmingham Bowl renews one of the most underrated rivalries in college football, as Georgia Southern and Appalachian State will add an installment to the “Deeper Than Hate” rivalry for the second time in 2025.
The Mountaineers lead the all-time series 21-18-1. The Eagles grabbed the latest victory, however, coming away with a two-point victory in Nov.
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Who will add another victory to their total?
Team Overviews
Georgia Southern Eagles
Conference: Sun Belt
Head Coach: Clay Helton
Record: 6–6
Georgia Southern has been wildly inconsistent this season, splitting their conference and non-conference games this season.
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The Eagles continue to run the ball as often as anyone in the country (35.4 rushing attempts per game), though they haven’t been able to get the stops when needed (25.3 first downs allowed per game) to make that a worthwhile strategy.
Clay Helton will hope it is enough to improve his horrific bowl game record (2-6), however.
Appalachian State Mountaineers
Conference: Sun Belt
Head Coach: Dowell Loggains
Record: 5-7
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Appalachian State would be in a great position to avenge their loss — at least on paper — if not for their injury/opt-out situation entering this game.
The Mountaineers are expected to be without quarterbacks AJ Swann and JJ Kohl, wide receivers Davion Dozier and Jaden Barnes, and defensive backs DJ Burks and Elijah Mc-Cantos.
Dowell Loggains might not have the horses in order to exact revenge.
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Players to Watch
Georgia Southern
QB JC French
RB OJ Arnold
WR Camden Brown
WR Marcus Sanders Jr.
DL MJ Stroud
LB Brandon Tyson
DB Ayden Jackson
Appalachian State
QB Noah Gillon
QB Billy Wiles
RB Rashod Dubinion
RB Jaquari Lewis
DL Kevin Abrams-Verwayne
LB Colton Phares
DB Zyeir Gamble
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Key Notes
Appalachian State could be down to their third- or fourth-string quarterback in this one: freshman Noah Gillon or senior Billy Wiles.
Betting Lines
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DraftKings Sportsbook: Georgia Southern -7 | O/U 59.5
FanDuel Sportsbook: Georgia Southern -7.5 | O/U 59.5
BetMGM Sportsbook: N/A
The Pick: Under 59.5
Featured image via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images
