The Jackson State Tigers fulfilled their destiny, winning for the first time in history with a 28-7 victory over the South Carolina State Bulldogs. Celebration Bowl championship.
After claiming its third SWAC championship in four years in a 41-13 victory over Southern last weekend, Jackson State completes a quick turnaround and gives the SWAC its second straight victory in the Celebration Bowl.
Jackson State tied the school record for wins in a season by winning its last 10 games to finish with a 12-2 overall record.
Here are 5 takeaways from the 2024 Celebration Bowl.
Jackson State dominates in every way
Jackson State defied all expectations In a game many thought would be close, he dominated from the offset en route to victory.
The Tigers’ defense, in particular, held a South Carolina State offense that entered this game in relative check, averaging 35.4 points per game and 426.4 yards per game.
Through three quarters, Jackson State held South Carolina to just 59 rushing yards, including just 15 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
In addition, the Bulldogs did not convert a third down in eight attempts and had just four first downs in that stretch.
It was also the first time in Celebration Bowl history that a team went scoreless through the first three quarters.
It could have been worse for the state of South Carolina
It resulted in a wide margin of victory, which could have been even greater had it not been for a penalty that wiped out two touchdowns.
The first came in the first quarter when an unnecessary roughness penalty cleared SWAC Freshman of the Year Travis Terrell Jr.’s punt return.
The other was a holding penalty that negated Anthony Petty’s 38-yard pick-six late in the first half.
So much for the rest of the advantage
Much of the discussion coming into this game revolved around Jackson State’s quick turnaround after playing in the SWAC championship game last weekend.
Due to the expansion of the College Football Playoff, the game was moved up a week earlier than usual, meaning Jackson State would have less preparation than South Carolina State, which had not played in three weeks.
However, when it came time to play the game, Jackson State looked like the fresher and more prepared team.
Not only did South Carolina State come out extremely sluggish, but many of its top players went down with injuries, including All-MEAC defensive lineman Ashaad Hall and third-leading wide receiver Einaj Carter.
Eric Phoenix, the MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, has been particularly sluggish since his last game against Morgan State on Nov. 16 with a foot injury.
After the Bulldogs fell behind, their body language and seemingly poor conditioning caught up with them and they ultimately lost the contest.
Good attendance… but a little low
A reported 36,823 attended this year’s Celebration Bowl, down slightly from previous years.
That breaks a three-year streak of more than 40,000 attendees, including a 10% drop from last year’s 41,108.
Despite a slight decline, the Celebration Bowl continued to draw large crowds after moving from the Georgia Dome to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.
The Celebration Bowl has drawn more than 30,000 fans in each of the last six years, including more than 35,000 in the last four years.
SWAC reaches the uncharted territory of the Celebration Bowl
This year’s Celebration Bowl result made history as the first time the SWAC had won in back-to-back years.
Most notably, the win snapped a five-game losing streak for Mississippi HBCUs after Alcorn State lost its previous three outings (2015, 2018, 2019) and Jackson State lost its first two (2021, 2022).
For the largest margin of victory in Celebration Bowl history, Jackson State’s 21-point margin of victory is tied with South Carolina State’s 31-10 victory over the Tigers in 2021.
Along with Florida A&M’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge win over Norfolk State, this marks the first time the SWAC has won both the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and the Celebration Bowl in the same season.
