2017 Celebration Bowl - wikipedia 2017 Celebration Bowl 2017 Celebration Bowl Grambling State Tigers North Carolina A&T Aggies ( 11 -- 1 ) ( 11 -- 0 ) 14 21 Head coach : Broderick Fobbs Head coach : Rod Broadway Total Grambling State 0 7 0 7 14 North Carolina A&T 0 7 7 7 21 Date December 16, 2017 Season 2017 Stadium Mercedes - Benz Stadium Location Atlanta, Georgia MVP Offense : # 22 RB Marquell Cartwright, NC A&T Defense : # 29 CB Franklin `` Mac '' McCain III, NC A&T Favorite North Carolina A&T ( by 9.5 pts ) National anthem Jekalyn Carr Referee Jay Edwards ( C - USA ) Halftime show Blue and Gold Marching Machine GSU Tiger Marching Band Attendance 25,873 Payout US $ 1,000,000 ( Per Conference ) United States TV coverage Network ABC RedVoice, LLC Announcers Mark Neely, Jay Walker, & Tiffany Greene ( ABC ) Sam Crenshaw, Randy McMichael, & Lericia Harris ( RedVoice ) Nielsen ratings 1.59 ( Viewers ) Celebration Bowl < 2016 2018 > The 2017 Celebration Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game that was played on December 16, 2017 at the Mercedes - Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This third Celebration Bowl game matched the champion of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, against the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the two historically black division I conferences. The event was the finale of the 2017 FCS football season for both conferences as neither had teams earn an at large selections into the NCAA Division I FCS football playoffs and their champions abstain from the tournament. The game kicked off at 12 : 00 PM ( EST ) and was televised live on ABC, as the kickoff game to the 2017 Bowl season. ESPN Events was the organizer of the game, while the 100 Black Men of Atlanta managed the game 's ancillary events. The # 7th ranked North Carolina A&T Aggies won the game, beating # 13th ranked Grambling State Tigers by the score of 21 -- 14, claiming the 2017 Black college football national championship Contents 1 Teams 1.1 North Carolina A&T Aggies 1.2 Grambling State Tigers 2 Pregame buildup 3 Game summary 3.1 Scoring summary 3.2 Statistics 4 Related events 5 References Teams The participants for the game are based upon the final regular season standings which determine the MEAC football champion and the SWAC football championship Game determining the SWAC representative. The MEAC representative was announced on November 13, 2017, after the North Carolina A&T Aggies clenched the MEAC Championship after defeating the Savannah State Tigers. The SWAC representative will be announced at the conclusion of the SWAC Football Championship Game which matched the top teams from the conferences ' eastern and western divisions. North Carolina A&T Aggies See also : 2017 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team The North Carolina A&T Aggies officially accepted their Celebration Bowl invitation after defeating their arch - rival North Carolina Central at the conclusion of their 2017 regular season. A&T earned their bowl invitation by going on an 11 -- 0 undefeated regular season campaign, with key victories over in - state FBS Charlotte ; perennial conference contenders Bethune -- Cookman and arch rival North Carolina Central. This will be the second Celebration Bowl for North Carolina A&T, following the Aggies victory over the Alcorn State Braves in the 2015 Celebration Bowl 41 -- 34. Grambling State Tigers See also : 2017 Grambling State Tigers football team The Grambling State Tigers accepted their Celebration Bowl invitation at the conclusion of the 2017 SWAC Championship game, where they defeated Alcorn State 40 -- 32. The Tigers went 11 -- 1 and 8 -- 0 in conference with key victories over in - state FCS opponent Northwestern State and arch rival Southern in the 2017 Bayou Classic. Grambling 's lone regular season loss came at the hands of In - state FBS Tulane. This will be the second Celebration Bowl for Grambling, following their victory over the North Carolina Central in the 2016 Celebration Bowl. Pregame buildup Pregame media coverage of the game focused the similarities between Grambling and North Carolina A&T, and the shared history between the two programs. Both the A&T and Grambling are previous Celebration Bowl champions and the last two HBCU national champions, with A&T winning the inaugural game in 2015 and Grambling winning in 2016. Head Coach Broadway left Grambling for A&T in 2011 after coaching the Tigers to a 35 -- 12 record with 3 division titles and a SWAC championship over the course of 4 seasons. Fobbs ' ties to A&T are through his father Lee Fobbs, who coached the Aggies from 2006 -- 2008. During Lee Fobbs ' tenure, the team endured a 2 -- 28 record, including a 27 - game losing streak. Before the arrival of both Broadway and Fobbs to their respective teams, both programs experienced poor performances. Before Rod Broadway became the head coach of North Carolina A&T, the Aggies has come off of a 1 -- 10 2010 Season. Since his first season, A&T have won 57 games including owning at least a share of 3 MEAC championships. Brodrick Fobbs became the head coach of Grambling following a 1 -- 11 2013 which saw a players boycott that garnered national media attention. In the last 4 seasons, Fobbs has coached the Tigers to 39 victories, including 2 SWAC championships and 3 SWAC western division titles. Media outlets also noted how statistically similar both teams are. Both the Aggies and Tigers are led by quarterbacks who won their conference 's Offensive Player of the Year awards. A&T 's Lamar Raynard has recorded a season total 2,875 yards with 29 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, while Grambling 's DeVante Kincade has similar statistics with 2,697 total yards with 23 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. On offense, the Aggies average 36.4 points and 429 yards per game, while the Tigers record 32.7 points and 374 yards per game. Defensively, A&T is 4th in Division I FCS only giving up an average of 251.4 yards a game, while Grambling gives up 331 yards per game. Grambling ranks at the top of the FCS with 47 team sacks and are 2nd in FCS with a plus 21 turnover margin. A&T 's stats are similar with 35 team sacks and are immediately following Grambling with a plus - 16 turnover margin. In regards to defensive touchdowns, Grambling have a total 4 on the season, with A&T recording 5. The two teams most significant difference is in the number of offensive touchdowns allowed by their opponents. A&T 's defensive corp, which is ranked 3rd in all of FCS, gives up an average 12.3 points per game, and only given up 15 touchdowns in the 11 games played this season. For Grambling, they have allowed 20.4 points per game and 30 offensive touchdowns this season. Game Summary Scoring Summary Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Grambling NCAT 4 : 58 5 25 2 : 24 NCAT Marquell Cartwright 11 - yard touchdown reception from Lamar Raynard, Noel Ruiz kick good 0 7 0 : 43 8 70 2 : 22 Grambling Jordan Jones 2 - yard touchdown reception from Devante Kincaide, Marc Orozco kick good 7 7 7 : 36 7 80 3 : 50 NCAT Marquell Cartwright 29 - yard touchdown run, Noel Ruiz kick good 7 14 14 : 16 7 80 2 : 19 Grambling Martez Carter 29 - yard touchdown reception from Devante Kincaide, Marc Orozco kick good 14 14 0 : 38 7 56 1 : 04 NCAT Lamar Raynard 1 - yard touchdown run, Noel Ruiz kick good 14 21 `` TOP '' = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 21 Statistics Statistics Grambling NCAT First Downs 17 23 Total offense, plays -- yards 63 -- 336 80 -- 397 Rushes - yards ( net ) 27 -- 111 ( 4.1 ) 360 -- 160 ( 4.4 ) Passing yards ( net ) 225 237 Passes, Comp - Att - Int 19 -- 36 -- 1 24 -- 44 -- 2 Time of Possession 24 : 37 35 : 23 A&T 's Running Back Marquell Cartwright and Cornerback Franklin `` Mac '' McCain III were named offensive and defensive most valuable players. Cartwright recorded 110 yards rushing on 20 attempts and 54 receiving yards on 3 catches. Cartwright 's efforts resulted in 2 Touchdowns for the Aggies. McCain recorded 4 tackles and a second - half interception at the Grambling goal line. Related events Source : ESPN Team Introduction Press Conference, December 7, 2017 College Football Awards Show presented by Home Depot, December 7, 2017 MEAC Women in Athletics Professional Workshop, December 11 -- 12, 2017 NFL Breakfast & Career Panel, December 14, 2017 Champions Circle, December 14, 2017 NFL Career Forum, December 15, 2017 The Celebration Bowl Trophy Tour, December 16. 2017 Celebration Bowl Fan Fest, December 16, 2017 Celebration Bowl 5th Quarter, December 16, 2017 References Jump up ^ `` Grambling vs. North Carolina A&T - Game Summary - December 16, 2017 - ESPN ''. ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 20 December 2017. Jump up ^ Marshall, Kendrick ( 19 December 2017 ). `` 2017 Celebration Bowl : Television rating down from last season 's matchup ''. HBCU Sports. Retrieved 20 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` 2017 Celebration Bowl to Open Bowl Season on ABC -- Celebration Bowl ''. www.thecelebrationbowl.com. Retrieved November 14, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Aggies Celebrate Bowl Berth ''. NCATAggies.com. NCAT Sports Information. Retrieved November 14, 2017. Jump up ^ `` NC A&T headed to Celebration Bowl -- The North State Journal ''. nsjonline.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Back - and - forth Bayou Classic ends with third straight Grambling win ''. The Advocate. Retrieved November 27, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Diaz, Cory. `` Differences hard to find between Grambling State, N. Carolina A&T ''. thenewsstar.com. Retrieved December 8, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Mills, Jeff. `` Celebration Bowl opponents A&T and Grambling understand each other ''. Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved December 8, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` 2017 Celebration Bowl Game Stats ''. Stat Broadcast. Stat Broadcast. Retrieved 16 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Marquell Cartwright Profile ''. ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Franklin McCain III profile ''. ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Grambling vs. North Carolina A&T - Game Recap ''. ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 17 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Events -- Celebration Bowl ''. Celebration Bowl. ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2017. Celebration Bowl History Georgia Dome Mercedes - Benz Stadium Broadcasters Tie - Ins Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southwestern Athletic Conference Games 2015 2016 2017 Grambling State Tigers bowl games 1946 Flower Bowl 1946 Lions Bowl 1947 Lions Bowl 1948 Vulcan Bowl 1949 Lions Bowl 1950 Lions Bowl 1951 Lions Bowl 1952 Lions Bowl 1955 Orange Blossom Classic 1964 Sugar Cup Classic 1964 Orange Blossom Classic 1965 Sugar Cup Classic 1965 Pecan Bowl 1967 Orange Blossom Classic 1968 Pasadena Bowl 1969 Orange Blossom Classic 1972 Pelican Bowl 1973 Boardwalk Bowl 1973 Grantland Rice Bowl 1974 Pelican Bowl 1976 Mirage Bowl 1977 Mirage Bowl 1978 Orange Blossom Classic 1993 Heritage Bowl 1994 Heritage Bowl 2016 Celebration Bowl # 2017 Celebration Bowl # Pound sign ( # ) denotes national championship game. North Carolina A&T Aggies bowl games 1943 Flower Bowl 1945 Flower Bowl 1949 Vulcan Bowl 1949 Orange Blossom Classic 1978 Gold Bowl 1980 Gold Bowl 1991 Heritage Bowl 2015 Celebration Bowl # 2017 Celebration Bowl # Pound sign ( # ) denotes national championship game. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2017_Celebration_Bowl&oldid=831201328 '' Categories : 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season Celebration Bowl Grambling State Tigers football bowl games North Carolina A&T Aggies football bowl games 2017 in sports in Georgia ( U.S. state ) December 2017 sports events in the United States Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from December 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 19 March 2018, at 09 : 59. About Wikipedia

Question: who won the grambling state north carolina game
Answer: The #7th ranked North Carolina A&T Aggies