A game some predicted would be close was never in doubt, as was SWAC champion Jackson State MEAC winner South Carolina State won 28-7 Winning the 2024 edition of the Celebration Bowl and the first HBCU national championship since 1996.
The Tigers led wire-to-wire and were never seriously challenged, despite having to travel directly to Atlanta from the previous week’s SWAC title game to play a South Carolina State team that hadn’t played in more than two weeks.
That dedication, preparation and desire to stay on top of the game comes from the highest level, so it’s no surprise that this Jackson State team was shaped by program legend, current head coach TC Taylor.
A highly regarded quarterback coming out of high school, Taylor accepted his junior year at J-State. In his senior year in 2001, he was one of the top pass catchers in the country (84 receptions, 1,234 yards and 11 touchdowns). He earned training camp contracts with the New England Patriots and Detroit Lions before turning his attention to coaching.
Taylor rose through the ranks, serving as quarterbacks and receivers coach and offensive coordinator at schools from Coahoma Community College in Mississippi to North Carolina Central before returning to Jackson State five years ago.
He served as coordinator under John Hendrick and Deion Sanders before being named head coach in December 2022 after Sanders moved to Colorado. Taylor began building a roster ready to climb the Celebration Bowl mountain and represent the proud tradition of JSU football.
All of TC’s Tigers have compiled a 19-6 overall record in their first two seasons on the job, 13-3 in SWAC play, and topped off the 2024 season with a revenge event in dominating South Carolina State on Saturday.
It was Taylor’s fourth Celebration Bowl appearance (he was the offensive coordinator in NCCU’s 10-9 loss to Grambling in 2016), and with his players, who share an unwavering faith in each other, it turned out to be a charm. It is one of the biggest victories in the history of JDU.
“Don’t give that guy two weeks to prepare for a football game … you’ll never win”
After Jackson State takes down Florida A&M tonight at home, Isaiah Spencer talks about his head coach.@iamisaiahsence @GoJSUTigers pic.twitter.com/elQEXsuR5t
— Patrick Johnstone (@PJohnstone_) October 20, 2024
If you don’t believe in storybook endings, it might be hard to believe that the proud son of an HBCU powerhouse is coming home to lead his football team to the Promised Land.
But it actually happened.
And Taylor and the Jackson State football team wrote an ending to the 2024 HBCU football season that few will forget.
