Celebration Bowl Picks and Odds | Jackson State vs SC State
Celebration Bowl Bowl Betting Preview
WagerTalk college football handicapper Tony Finn offers his Jackson State vs South Carolina State Celebration Bowl betting preview. At the time of posting, Deion Sanders’ Jackson State squad is a 10.5-point favorite over the MEAC champs, with the total sitting at 42.5 points.
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| Celebration Bowl | Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Jackson State -10.5 vs South Carolina State |
| Total: | 42.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT on Saturday, December 18 |
| Stadium: | Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta |
| TV: | ABC |
Celebration Bowl Analysis
The Jackson State Tigers (11-1) and South Carolina State (6-5) Bulldogs meet in the Cricket Celebration Bowl on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for noon Eastern Time. The bowl action from Mercedes-Benz Stadium figures to have a little bit of everything for football fans of different stripes.
In their last game, South Carolina State earned a win over Norfolk State to push their record to 6-5, giving them the qualifying number of wins to receive an invitation. As for the Tigers, they were one win away from being perfect this season and entered this holiday event with a stellar 11-1 mark. The Tigers were last seen gaining a victory over Prarie View.
Jackson State Tigers
- Jackson State (11-1) is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference
- Head coach Deion Sanders took a good Jackson State football program and made it better.
- The Tigers’ SWAC championship was the 18th in the program’s history. The 2021 conference title was the school’s first since 2007.
- The Tigers have played in three bowl games, but none since the 1971 Azalea Bowl, where they beat Alabama A&M 40-21.
- This year, Jackson State’s only loss was in Week 3 when the Tigers fell to Louisiana Monroe. The Tigers followed the loss with victories over Delta State, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, MS Valley State, TX Southern, Southern U, Alcorn State, and the finale of the 2021 season was a win against Prairie View.
- Jackson State has a more than capable passing offense led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
- The Tigers make hay with big plays from the team’s defensive.
- Jackson State is much more capable when Sanders is throwing quick hitters to his group of receivers, and the running game is doing just enough to keep defenses honest.
- James Houston leads the Tigers’ defense. The All-Conference linebacker registered 14.5 sacks with seven forced fumbles.
South Carolina State
- South Carolina State (6-5) is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
- South Carolina State began their year with a 1-4 record over the first five games of the schedule. The Bulldogs’ losses came against Alabama A&M, Clemson, New Mexico State, and Florida A&M.
- The Bulldogs closed the 2021 season on a 5-1 run. South Carolina wins included victories over Morgan State, Delaware State, NC Central, Howard, and closed the campaign with a sixth win over Norfolk State.
- The South Carolina State offense is under the direction of quarterback Corey Fields.
- Fields have the experienced and understanding of the offense to make big plays. Unfortunately, the senior’s accuracy has always been his Achilles, and his reputation as a gunslinger results in far too many untimely interceptions.
- South Carolina State’s season was a disappointment. However, the close to the campaign that saw the program win five of their final six are the momentum that led to a MEAC title and this bowl bid.
Celebration Bowl Predictions
The Bulldogs depend on the defense to create favorable opportunities for the offense. Signal caller Corey Fields has been advised that trying to squeeze a big football into the small windows that the Tigers defense allow would be a mistake. An interception waiting to happen.
Like the Tigers, the Bulldogs are much more apt to be effective offensively and efficient as a whole when the defense is creating chaos.
The Bulldogs don’t have the dynamic passing attack that the Tigers have, nor are they as talented on the defensive side of the ball. This is a savvy Bulldogs troupe, and they will do all they can to be a part of the game in the final stanza. South Carolina State is not a team with an offense that will mount a late-game comeback against a terrific Jackson State defense.
South Carolina State will need something special to steal a victory in this Saturday bowl game. Be it a big special teams play or a takeaway in the red zone – to put Jackson State on their heels.
If coach Sanders’ players are going to be magical, then the Tigers’ offensive line will have to be better than average. Jackson State can win this game alone, but that won’t be good enough for coach Deion.
In the end, Jackson State takes a defensive dogfight and turns it into a victory by margin due to Bulldogs’ QB Fields and the offense playing catchup. When the Tigers know that the opposing quarterback has to throw the football, they have been at their best, allowing enemy quarterbacks to connect on just 49% of their throws.
The pick to click in this Celebration Bowl contest is a play on the Jackson State Tigers minus the wood.
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College Football Daily
Join Joe Raineri, Dave Cokin, Bryan Leonard and Tony Mejia for College Football Daily as we preview the opening weekend of college football bowl season, plus an early look toward the two College Football Playoff games. In Friday’s episode, we’ll break down UCF vs Florida (Gasparilla Bowl); Miami (Oh) vs North Texas (Frisco Football Classic); Georgia vs Michigan (Orange Bowl); and Cincinnati vs Alabama (Cotton Bowl).
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WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the college football bowl games, including this Celebration Bowl showdown between Jackson State and South Carolina State, from your desktop or phone.
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