# 2021 Celebration Bowl

The 2021 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 18, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with television coverage on ABC. It was one of the highest attended and sixth edition of the Celebration Bowl, and was the only one of the 2021–22 bowl games to feature FCS teams. Sponsored by wireless service provider Cricket Wireless, the game was officially known as the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
Each year, the Celebration Bowl matches the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) against the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). These are the two prominent NCAA Division I conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

## Teams

The game was played between the South Carolina State Bulldogs, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and the Jackson State Tigers, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

### South Carolina State Bulldogs

The Bulldogs of the MEAC clinched a berth in the Celebration Bowl on November 13; they completed their regular season with a 5–0 record in conference play, 6–5 overall. This was the first Celebration Bowl appearance by the Bulldogs.

### Jackson State Tigers

The SWAC was represented by the winner of the SWAC Championship Game, the Jackson State Tigers, who defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers by a score of 27–10 on December 4.

## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| South Carolina State | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Jackson State | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
* Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: n/a (game played indoors)
* Game attendance: 48,653
* Referee: Tim Rich
* TV announcers (ABC): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Jay Walker (analyst), Tiffany Greene and Quint Kessenich (sidelines)
* Box score
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | SCSU | JSU |
| 1 | 7:24 | 9 | 66 | 4:58 | Jackson State | Keith Corbin 7-yard touchdown reception from Shedeur Sanders, Bailey Raborn kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 2:06 | 3 | 5 | 1:19 | South Carolina State | Shaquan Davis 6-yard touchdown reception from Corey Fields Jr., Gavyn Zimmerman kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | 0:08 | 10 | 36 | 0:57 | South Carolina State | 26-yard field goal by Gavyn Zimmerman | 10 | 7 |
| 3 | 12:36 | 2 | 16 | 0:54 | South Carolina State | Shaquan Davis 16-yard touchdown reception from Corey Fields Jr., Gavyn Zimmerman kick good | 17 | 7 |
| 3 | 8:43 | 6 | 19 | 2:47 | South Carolina State | Richard Bailey 15-yard touchdown reception from Corey Fields Jr., Gavyn Zimmerman kick good | 24 | 7 |
| 3 | 0:15 | 7 | 43 | 3:02 | Jackson State | 36-yard field goal by Bailey Raborn | 24 | 10 |
| 4 | 6:19 | 9 | 93 | 6:18 | South Carolina State | Shaquan Davis 16-yard touchdown reception from Corey Fields Jr., Gavyn Zimmerman kick good | 31 | 10 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 31 | 10 |

### Statistics

| Statistics | SCSU | JSU |
| First downs | 15 | 15 |
| Plays–yards | 68–268 | 65–194 |
| Rushes–yards | 37–102 | 29–19 |
| Passing yards | 166 | 175 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 12–31–1 | 16–36–2 |
| Time of possession | 31:37 | 28:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Carolina State | Passing | Corey Fields Jr. | 12/31, 166 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| South Carolina State | Rushing | Donte Anthony | 17 carries, 65 yards |
| South Carolina State | Receiving | Shaquan Davis | 5 receptions, 95 yards, 3 TD |
| Jackson State | Passing | Shedeur Sanders | 16/36, 175 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Jackson State | Rushing | Santee Marshall | 4 carries, 23 yards |
| Jackson State | Receiving | Malachi Wideman | 3 receptions, 42 yards |