The Jackson State Tigers and the North Carolina Central Eagles meet Saturday, December 17 in college football Celebration Bowl action from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Jackson State comes into this one at 12-0 overall. The Tigers took out Southern U in their last matchup. As for North Carolina Central, they’re 9-2 following a win over Tennessee Tech. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Jackson State had a pretty epic run this year with their undefeated regular season. The Tigers rolled past Florida A&M, Tennessee State, Grambling State, MS Valley, Alabama State, Bethune-Cookman, Campbell, Southern U, TX Southern, Alabama A&M, Alcorn State and Southern U again on the way to 12 straight wins.
On December 3 versus Southern U, the Tigers scored 26 points in the first quarter on the way to a dominant 43-24 victory. QB Shedeur Sanders put up 320 yards with four scores, and Shane Hooks caught five balls for 104 yards and two TDs.
Over on the NC Central side, they went 5-1 over their first six games with wins over NC A&T, Winston-Salem State, New Hampshire, VA Lynchburg and Morgan State. After a loss to SC State, the Eagles took out Delaware State, Howard, Norfolk State and Tennessee Tech.
In the Tennessee Tech game back on November 19, the Eagles were down 14-13 going into the final quarter. NC Central eventually emerged with a 22-20 comeback win. QB Davius Richard put up 143 yards and a pick, while Latrell Collier had 130 rush yards and a TD.
PICK: I’ll probably stick with Jackson State in this one. The Tigers have been a force to be reckoned with so far this season, and there aren’t too many comparable teams who could challenge them. Jackson State has scored 35 or more points in three of their last five games and should do well offensively here as well.
As for NC Central, they’re quite the underdog in this one following a tough win over a struggling Tennessee Tech game in their last outing. The Eagles can post points when they’re playing well, however; they hit a combined 98 in the Howard and Norfolk State games. That said, I don’t think they’ll keep pace with Jackson State.