| Game Name: | Dollar General Bowl |
| Subheader: | 20th Dollar General Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 22 |
| Year Game Played: | 2018 |
| Football Season: | 2018 |
| Stadium: | Ladd–Peebles Stadium |
| City: | Mobile, Alabama |
| Visitor School: | State University of New York at Buffalo |
| Visitor Name Short: | Buffalo |
| Visitor Nickname: | Bulls |
| Visitor Record: | 10–3 |
| Visitor Conference: | MAC |
| Visitor Coach: | Lance Leipold |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 8 |
| Home School: | Troy University |
| Home Name Short: | Troy |
| Home Nickname: | Trojans |
| Home Record: | 9–3 |
| Home Conference: | Sun Belt |
| Home Coach: | Neal Brown |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 21 |
| Mvp: | Sawyer Smith (QB, Troy)[1] |
| Odds: | Buffalo by 2.5[2] |
| Referee: | Jeff Flanagan (ACC) |
| Attendance: | 31,818 |
| Payout: | 1,500,000 [3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks and Roddy Jones |
| Intl Network: | ESPN Deportes |
| Different Next: | 2020 (Jan.) |
The 2018 Dollar General Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 22, 2018.[4] It was the 20th edition of the Dollar General Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by the Dollar General chain of variety stores.
The game was played between teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and the Sun Belt Conference.
See main article: article and 2018 Troy Trojans football team. On November 29, college football news organizations reported that Troy would play in the Dollar General Bowl,[5] which was confirmed via an official announcement on December 2.[6] The Trojans entered the bowl with a 10–3 record (7–1 in conference). This was Troy's third consecutive bowl appearance, following victories in the 2016 Dollar General Bowl and 2017 New Orleans Bowl.
See main article: 2018 Buffalo Bulls football team. Buffalo received and accepted a bid to the Dollar General Bowl on December 2.[6] The Bulls had a 10–3 record on the year (7–1 in conference), losing to Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game.[7] This was Buffalo's third bowl appearance, after losses in the 2009 International Bowl and 2013 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
| Statistics | UB | TROY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 21 | |
| Plays–yards | 68–376 | 75–433 | |
| Rushes–yards | 33–102 | 31–113 | |
| Passing yards | 274 | 320 | |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 20–35–1 | 31–44–0 | |
| Time of possession | 26:37 | 33:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | Passing | 20/35, 274 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT | |
| Rushing | 15 car, 67 yds, 1 TD | ||
| Receiving | Antonio Nunn | 4 rec, 87 yds | |
| Troy | Passing | Sawyer Smith | 31/44, 320 yds, 4 TD |
| Rushing | B.J. Smith | 20 car, 93 yds, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | 13 rec, 101 yds, 2 TD |