2019 Celebration Bowl

2019 Celebration Bowl
5th Celebration Bowl
Alcorn State Braves North Carolina A&T Aggies
(9–3) (8–3)
SWAC MEAC
44 64
Head coach: 
Fred McNair		 Head coach: 
Sam Washington
STATS
23
1234 Total
Alcorn State 372113 44
North Carolina A&T 0242812 64
DateDecember 21, 2019
Season2019
StadiumMercedes-Benz Stadium
LocationAtlanta, Georgia
MVPKylil Carter (QB, NC A&T) & Jacob Roberts (LB, NC A&T)[1]
FavoriteNorth Carolina A&T by 3[2]
RefereeHubert Owens (SEC)[3][4]
Attendance32,968
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersMark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek and Jay Walker (analysts), Roddy Jones and Tiffany Greene (sidline)
Celebration Bowl
 < 2018  2021 > 

The 2019 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 21, 2019, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST on ABC.[5] It was the 5th edition of the Celebration Bowl, and the only one of the 2019–20 bowl games to feature FCS teams.

Teams

For the second consecutive year, the bowl was played between the Alcorn State Braves and the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

Alcorn State

Main article: 2019 Alcorn State Braves football team

Alcorn State earned their berth in the Celebration Bowl via a win over the Southern Jaguars in the SWAC Championship Game on December 7.[6] The Braves entered the Celebration Bowl with a 9–3 overall record (6–1 in conference). This was their third appearance in the Celebration Bowl, having lost their prior two appearances (2015 and 2018); both losses were to North Carolina A&T.

North Carolina A&T

Main article: 2019 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

North Carolina A&T, led by second-year head coach Sam Washington, clinched their spot in the Celebration bowl on November 23 with their win over North Carolina Central.[7] The Aggies entered the game with an overall 8–3 record (6–2 in conference). They finished runner-up in the MEAC behind Florida A&M, who were ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.[8] This was the Aggies' fourth appearance in the Celebration Bowl, having won each of their previous three (2015, 2017, 2018).

Game summary

2019 Celebration Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Alcorn State 3 7 211344
North Carolina A&T 0 24 281264

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Game information
First Quarter
  • (3:17) ALCN – Corey McCullough 28 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 23 yards, 3:48; Alcorn State 3–0)
Second Quarter
  • (13:03) NCAT – Kylil Carter 53 yard pass to Elijah Bell, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:06; North Carolina A&T 7–3)
  • (10:16) ALCN – Felix Harper 36 yard pass to Chris Blair, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 6 plays, 74 yards, 2:47; Alcorn State 10–7)
  • (7:55) NCAT – Kylil Carter 59 yard pass to Zachary Leslie, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 2:21; North Carolina A&T 14–10)
  • (5:05) NCAT – Noel Ruiz 26 yard field goal (Drive: 3 plays, −4 yards, 2:03; North Carolina A&T 17–10)
  • (0:41) NCAT – Kylil Carter 4 yard pass to Korey Banks, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 2:54; North Carolina A&T 24–10)
Third Quarter
  • (14:47) NCAT – Jah-Maine Martin 75 yard rush, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:13; North Carolina A&T 31–10)
  • (11:37) ALCN – Felix Harper 6 yard rush, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:10; North Carolina A&T 31–17)
  • (10:06) NCAT – Kylil Carter 43 yard pass to Ron Hunt, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:31; North Carolina A&T 38–17)
  • (9:09) ALCN – De'Shawn Waller 23 yard rush, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:57; North Carolina A&T 38–24)
  • (4:56) NCAT – Kylil Carter 20 yard pass to Elijah Bell, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 4:13; North Carolina A&T 45–24)
  • (3:49) ALCN – Felix Harper 35 yard pass to Raidarious Anderson, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:07; North Carolina A&T 45–31)
  • (2:50) NCAT – Kylil Carter 73 yard pass to Korey Banks, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 2 plays, 67 yards, 0:59; North Carolina A&T 52–31)
Fourth Quarter
  • (13:14) ALCN – Felix Harper 13 yard pass to Nigel Wood, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 1 play, 13 yards, 0:03; North Carolina A&T 52–38)
  • (7:00) NCAT – Noel Ruiz 38 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 30 yards, 6:14; North Carolina A&T 55–38)
  • (4:36) ALCN – Felix Harper 1 yard rush, kick blocked (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:24; North Carolina A&T 55–44)
  • (4:36) NCAT – Amir McNeill blocked PAT return for defensive 2-point conversion (North Carolina A&T 57–44)
  • (3:37) NCAT – Jah-Maine Martin 4 yard rush, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 2 plays, 59 yards, 0:59; North Carolina 64–44)

Statistics

Statistics ALCN NCAT
First downs 24 21
Plays–yards 74–460 64–574
Rushes–yards 32–119 34–210
Passing yards 341 364
Passing: comp–att–int 25–42–1 18–30–0
Time of possession 29:36 30:24
Team Category Player Statistics
Alcorn State Passing Felix Harper 25/42, 341 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing De'Shawn Waller 13 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Chris Blair 7 receptions, 150 yards, 1 TD
North Carolina A&T Passing Kylil Carter 18/30, 364 yards, 6 TD
Rushing Jah-Maine Martin 16 carries, 110 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Korey Banks 6 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TD

References

  1. ^ @AWainwrightTV (December 21, 2019). "Highlights:" (Tweet). Retrieved December 21, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T - Game Summary - December 21, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "2019–20 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  4. ^ Cleveland, Rick (October 21, 2020). "Trailblazing SEC football ref Hubert Owens wore the referee's white cap, and it fit him perfectly". ourtupelo.com. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  5. ^ "2019–20 College Football bowl schedule". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "Alcorn State stops Southern 39–24, wins SWAC title". dailyjournal.net. AP. December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ "NCAT destroys NCCU, headed back to Celebration Bowl". HBCU Gameday. November 23, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  8. ^ "NCAA Hits FAMU Athletics With Penalties Over Ineligible Student Athletes". wfsu.org. May 22, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.