The Jackson State Tigers have fulfilled their destiny, coming away with a 28-7 win over the South Carolina State Bulldogs, claiming their first-ever Celebration Bowl championship.
After claiming their third SWAC championship in four years last weekend in a 41-13 win over Southern, Jackson State completes the quick turnaround, giving the SWAC its second straight win in the Celebration Bowl.
Jackson State ends winning its last ten games, concluding with an overall record of 12-2 to equal its school record for wins in a season.
Here are the 5 Takeaways from the 2024 Celebration Bowl.
Jackson State dominates in every way
Jackson State defied all expectations in a game that many thought would be close, dominating from the offset on its way 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 State to a total of 59 offensive yards, including just 15 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
In addition, the Bulldogs did not convert a single third down in eight attempts and had just four first downs in that period.
This also marked the first time in Celebration Bowl history that a team was held scoreless through the first three quarters.
It could have been worse for South Carolina State
As wide of a winning margin this ended up being, it could have been even bigger if not for two touchdown-erasing penalties.
The first came when an unnecessary roughness penalty wiped away a punt return touchdown by SWAC Freshman of the Year Travis Terrell Jr. in the first quarter.
The other was a holding penalty that eliminated Anthony Petty’s 38-yard pick-six before the end of the first half.
So much for the rest advantage
Much of the discussion coming into this game revolved around Jackson State’s quick turnaround after just playing in the SWAC championship game last weekend.
Due to the College Football Playoff’s expansion, the game was moved up a week earlier than usual, meaning Jackson State would have less time to prepare than a South Carolina State team that 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 their top players, including All-MEAC defensive lineman Ashaad Hall and third-leading wide receiver Einaj Carter, went down with injuries.
MEAC Offensive Player of the Year Eric Phoenix was especially sluggish after last playing in a November 16th matchup against Morgan State, in which he went down with a leg injury.
Once the Bulldogs fell behind, their body language and seemingly poor conditioning caught up to them, resulting in their defeat in this contest.
Good attendance … but slightly down
It is reported that 36,823 attended this year’s Celebration Bowl, a slight decrease from previous years.
This breaks a three-year streak of over 40,000 attendees, including a 10% decrease from last year’s total of 41,108.
Despite the slight drop, the Celebration Bowl has continued to draw big crowds since moving from the Georgia Dome to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017.
The Celebration Bowl has drawn over 30,000 fans in each of the past six years, including over 35,000 in the past four years.
SWAC reaches Celebration Bowl uncharted territory
This year’s Celebration Bowl result made history beyond being the first time the SWAC has won it in consecutive years.
Most notably, the win snapped a five-game losing streak for Mississippi HBCUs after Alcorn State lost in all three of its prior appearances (2015, 2018, 2019) and Jackson State lost its first two (2021, 2022).
Jackson State’s 21-point winning margin is tied with South Carolina State’s 31-10 win over the Tigers in 2021 for the largest margin of victory in Celebration Bowl history.
Combined with Florida A&M’s win over Norfolk State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, this marks the second straight year the SWAC has won both the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Celebration Bowl in the same season.
