Celebration Bowl, More than the Money

Jackson State or South Carolina State will walk away with $1,000,000 Saturday afternoon. The bowl winnings are only a portion, albeit a nice portion, of what the two teams will battle for at noon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Since the Celebration Bowl was established as the national title game for Historically Black College and University (HBCU) football in 2015, it has put all the mythical talk to rest. Pitting the conference champion from the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) against the Mideastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion made the National Black College Football champion as crystal clear as the Celebration Bowl trophy. 

A lot has changed for both conferences since then. Hampton departed the MEAC for the Big South Conference in 2018. Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T, and Bethune Cookman followed suit three years later.  North Carolina A&T, winners of three of the first five Celebration Bowls, followed Hampton’s lead and joined the Big South while the Rattlers and Wildcats joined the SWAC.

Despite the defections, the MEAC continued its three-game streak over the SWAC behind SC State’s and NC Central’s 2021 and 2022 championship wins over Deion Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers.  

Turning of the Tide

Grambling State was the first SWAC representative to win the title game. A controversial call in the end zone helped the Tigers defeat the Eagles of NC Central 10-9 in 2016. The win followed a season-opening suspension of the Alcorn State – Bethune Cookman MEAC-SWAC Challenge game due to inclement weather.

Before that year, the MEAC held a commanding 9-2 advantage in the series. Since then, the SWAC has won five of the next seven matchups including the last three. In the middle of that trio was Jackson State’s 37-7 thumping of SC State in Jackson State’s Head Coach T.C. Taylor’s debut.

Florida A&M followed up the season-opening win for the conference winning the season’s finale by defeating Howard 30-26. It was the first time the SWAC won both games. The SWAC has an opportunity to do it again this year. The defending Black College National Champions edged out Norfolk State in the 2024 MEAC-SWAC Challenge.  

New Leadership in Orangeburg

A new sheriff made the trip from Columbia to Orangeburg in the off-season when the Bulldogs hired Chenis Berry away from Benedict College. Berry stepped in some big shoes replacing legendary SC State coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough who retired at the end of the 2023 season as the winningest coach in Bulldogs history.

The seasoned coach is no stranger to building winning teams. Berry made the rounds interning in the NFL and coaching stops at both SWAC and MEAC teams. The Savannah State alumnus posted a 27-7 record at Benedict College while leading the Tigers to consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) titles and post-season berths in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

“I know the SWAC and kind of know the style of play,” said Berry at the Celebration Bowl press conference. “But at the end of the day, whether it’s the MEAC, the SWAC, the SEC. the Big 10, Conference USA., man it’s going to come down to blocking and tackling. Man, it’s a physical game.”

Berry also has a living breathing legend to talk to in Pough who’s squad dominated Jackson State while Coach Taylor was on the staff. “Although we still have members of that team (2021), it’s a totally different team than this ‘24 team,” said Coach Berry. “But I trust and believe if I have a question to coach Pugh, he’s going to be right there for me.”

The 2024 version of the Bulldogs finished 9-2 including a 22-20 win over Big South-OVC Co-Champion Tennessee Tech. SC State is on a tear having won eight straight games with a +20 point margin in the last three.

A Resurgence in the ‘Sip

After a year at the helm, Taylor has J-State fans back in stride. To say there was some concern after Sanders left for Colorado would be an understatement. The Tigers lost to the Rattlers in Miami on Labor Day and then lost to Alabama State on Homecoming a year after Hornets Head Coach Eddie Robinson, Jr. stated his team would be looking forward to the day. To make matters worse for the first-year head coach he hit the “oh shit trifecta” closing out the season losing the Soul Bowl to in-state rival Alcorn State.

This season hasn’t been super smooth for the Tigers. They opened the season with a loss to Louisiana Monroe and then dropped a 41-20 stinker to Grambling State in Eddie G. Robinson Stadium (no relation to Eddie Robinson, Jr.). They too have been on a winning streak wrecking Alcorn State 48-10 in the Soul Bowl and Southern 41-13 in the SWAC Championship. Jackson State defeated Southern twice () by a combined score of 74-28. 

“I learned a lot about my football team in that Monroe game,” said Taylor of the early season loss. “I knew we had an opportunity to be playing here in December. So it’s been a long road. It’s been a physical year for us, you know. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. You know that Monroe game. Then coming back, you know, with the loss to Grambling. But you know this team knows how to, you know, just bounce back from those types of things.”

The Basics  

Jackson State enters the game after a tough SWAC Championship that forced Coach Taylor to play three quarterbacks. “We prepare all those guys like that, you know,” said Coach Taylor about his QB depth. “I tell them all the time you got to prepare as a starter, no matter if you’re number one, number two or three.”

The Tigers’ defense ranks fifth in the nation three spots ahead of their opponent on Saturday. When it comes to defensive scores the Bulldogs get the nod as they are tied for fifth nationally with four TDs (1 fumble, 3 interceptions). SC State also tops the nation in team sacks with 36.0 (3.27 per game)  in 11 games. Jackson State isn’t far behind with 34 (2.62 per game) in 13 games.

Expect the team that dominates the trenches to dictate the ball game. This game may truly come down to one or two plays.  The winner gets the bread and bragging rights for 365 days and that goes a long way.