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The Jackson State Tigers and the South Carolina State Bulldogs will face off in the 2021 Cricket Celebration Bowl, per Brett McMurphy. The game will take place at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on December 18th, 2021. The game will air on ABC and will be available via live stream at WatchESPN.
This game will culminate a momentous week for Jackson State (11-1), who stole all of the headlines on Wednesday after they successfully flipped and signed No. 1 Class of 2022 prospect Travis Hunter from Florida State. That recruiting coup has been attributed to none other than head coach Deion Sanders, who has successfully drawn mainstream attention a historic HBCU power like Jackson State.
Primetime’s showmanship has drawn in major headlines but he has assembled an extremely talented Tiger team. JSU ran through the SWAC this season on its way to a conference title and came just short of knocking off FBS Louisiana-Monroe that would’ve secured them a perfect season. Sanders’ son Shedeur won the Jerry Rice Award for FCS’ top freshman, throwing for 3,056 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Defensive end James Houston was named SWAC Newcomer of the Year, totaling 59 tackles and 14.5 sacks.
Not trying to be overshadowed is South Carolina State (6-5), who went undefeated in the MEAC to claim the conference title. It marked the eighth league title for longtime head coach Buddy Pough and he took home his second straight MEAC Coach of the Year honor.