Third time was the charm. After coming up short in 2021 and 2022, Jackson State
captured a celebration bowl victory, making them HBCU National Champions! So many
emotions flooded out of Tiger Nation after this victory. Head Coach T.C. Taylor, a former
player, comes home and in two years as the head coach, leads his school to win the
National Championship! The first one since 1996 when James “Big Daddy” Carson was
the head coach. Amazing how victory coats the pain of previous defeats.
The Celebration Bowl began in 2015. ESPN in conjunction with the MEAC and the SWAC
created the bowl game to crown the HBCU National champion. The game was canceled
in 2020 due to Covid.
The MEAC has dominated the series winning 6 of the 9 bowl games. However, the
SWAC has captured the last two. FAMU was able to bring the trophy back to the SWAC
last season. JSU kept the trophy in SWAC this season. Grambling State University
was the first SWAC school to capture the HBCU National Championship in 2017.
December 14, 2024, the Jackson State University Tigers cemented their place in school
history, becoming the first JSU team to win the Celebration Bowl. The smiles, the tears,
the cheers, and the sounds will live on forever.
Jackson State started the game pumped and ready. However, penalties nullified two
Tiger touchdowns in the first half. Travis Terrell, Jr returned a punt 66 yards for a
touchdown, but it was called back. Heading into halftime, literally, the last play of the
half, JSU’s Anthony Petty, intercepted a pass, raced 90 yards to score a touchdown.
Tiger Nation goes wild! But it was called back. Jackson State lead 14 to 0 at halftime.
The lead should have easily been 28 to 0.
JSU was the more dominant team. They were in sync. The tigers defense was
ferocious. South Carolina State University had not played a game in three weeks.
Naturally, they were a little rusty. Several players throughout the game, kept catching
cramps, or needed oxygen. But their quarterback, Eric Phoenix, won Urban Edge
Network’s inaugural HBCU+ National Player of the Year Award. The award goes to the
top HBCU football player. Jackson State’s Irv Mulligan finished second in the voting for
the award. So armed with the Phoenix at the helm, winning 8 straight games, the
SCSU faithful was still confident their guys would pull out the victory. Problem with that
is, the Darkside Defense of JSU has completely destroyed opponents in the second
half. And in the biggest game of the season, with the national championship on the line,
they did it again. South Carolina State could only score 7 points for the game. The
lowest amount scored by a team in Celebration Bowl History. The 8 th straight game that
Jackson State’s defense has allowed 7 points or less in the second half. The Darkside
Defense registered 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, countless quarterback pressures, and two
interceptions. Sharmar Hawkins paced the tigers with 6 tackles and interception.
Jeremiah Williams, won Defensive MVP. Wiilliams had 3 tackles and. 1 sack. SCSU
got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter on a 3 yard run by quarterback Eric
Phoenix. Phoenix finished the day completing 13 of 31 passes for 143 yards and 1
interception. He was also the leading rusher wth 27 yards. Jackson State breezed to a
28 to 7 Celebration Bowl Victory. Quarterback Jacobian Morgan, won Offensive MVP
completing 15 of 21 passes for 233 yards with 2 touchdowns. Irv Mulligan carried the ball
25 times for 71 yards with two touchdowns.
Joanes Fortilien caught 6 passes for 43 yards. Two of those passes were for
touchdowns. Isiah Spencer, broke the game open with a 67 yard catch. Spencer
finished the game with 3 receptions for 123 yards. As the confetti rained down, the
Sonic Boom playing, and head coach T.C. Taylor being doused with the water, the
season was complete. The team picked in the preseason to finish 3 rd in the East went
undefeated, became SWAC champions, and finally captured a celebration bowl victory,
making them HBCU National champions. JSU ended the season on a 10 game winning
streak. Chants of “T.C.” echoed through the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Jackson State finished the season, 12 and 2.