| 2018 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 4th Celebration Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
 Coach
Sam Washington receiving the 2018 Celebration Bowl trophy from
Richard W. Scobee | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 15, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Lamar Raynard (QB, NC A&T) & Richie Kittle (DB, NC A&T) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | North Carolina A&T by 7.5 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Justin Elliot (Conference USA) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 31,672 (tickets sold)
[2] 20,069 (head count) [3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC & Gameday Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers |
Mark Jones,
Dusty Dvoracek,
Jay Walker,
Molly McGrath, and
Roddy Jones (ABC) Andy Demetra, Randy McMichael, and Lericia Harris (Gameday Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Roger Valdivieso and Alex Pambo | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 15, 2018, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST. It was the first game of the 2018–19 bowl season, [4] and the only bowl to feature FCS teams. It was the fourth edition of the Celebration Bowl and the final game of the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season for the participating teams. The Air Force Reserve resumed its role as the title sponsor [5] after a one-year absence. [6]
In the game, the North Carolina A&T Aggies, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, defeated the Alcorn State Braves, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, 24–22.
Teams
The participants for the game are based upon the final regular season standings which determine the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) football champion, and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) football championship game that determines the representative from that conference.
North Carolina A&T Aggies
The North Carolina A&T Aggies (NC A&T) were announced as the MEAC representative on November 17, following the conclusion of games involving itself and Florida A&M (FAMU), the conference front-runners. As outlined in the conference tiebreaker rules, due to defeating NC A&T earlier in the season, a FAMU victory at the Florida Classic would have given the Rattlers the Celebration Bowl bid and at least a share of the MEAC championship regardless of the outcome of NC A&T's game. [7] However, FAMU lost the Florida Classic to arch-rival Bethune-Cookman, 33–19, while NC A&T defeated North Carolina Central, 45–0, giving them the conference championship and Celebration Bowl bid. [8] [9]
NC A&T, led by first-year head coach Sam Washington, entered the season ranked number 14 in the AFCA preseason poll, number 13 in the STATS FCS top 25 poll, and number one in the BoxtoRow polls as the defending HBCU National Champions. [10] [11] The Aggies were also unanimously picked as the favorites to repeat as MEAC champions. [12] The Aggies finished their 2018 regular season at 9–2 (6–1 in MEAC)—with key victories over Ohio Valley Conference champion Jacksonville State and in-state FBS foe East Carolina—and entered the Celebration Bowl ranked number 11 by STATS. This was the third Celebration Bowl appearance for NC A&T, following their victory over the Grambling Tigers in the 2017 Celebration Bowl, 21–14.
Alcorn State Braves
Alcorn State defeated Southern in the SWAC Championship Game on December 1 to secure their berth in the Celebration Bowl. [13] Led by third-year head coach Fred McNair, the Braves were ranked third in the BoxtoRow HBCU preseason poll, voted to win the SWAC East division. [14] The Braves enter the bowl with a 9–3 record (6–1 in conference regular season play).
Game summary
Scoring summary
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Statistics
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggies | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Braves | 3 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 22 |
| Statistics | NCAT | ALCN |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 20 |
| Plays–yards | 62–324 | 68–451 |
| Rushes–yards | 31–38 | 39–328 |
| Passing yards | 286 | 123 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 19–31–1 | 12–29–1 |
| Time of possession | 32:02 | 27:58 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina A&T | Passing | Lamar Raynard | 18/30, 292 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Jah-Maine Martin | 10 car, 31 yds | |
| Receiving | Zachary Leslie | 6 rec, 119 yds, 1 TD | |
| Alcorn State | Passing | Noah Johnson | 11/27, 128 yds, 1 INT |
| Rushing | De'Shawn Waller | 19 car, 167 yds | |
| Receiving | Juan Anthony | 5 rec, 75 yds |
References
- ^ Fawkes, Ben (December 3, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- ^ "North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State - Team Statistics - December 15, 2018 - ESPN".
- ^ Tucker, Tim (February 25, 2019). "Falcons, other events at Mercedes-Benz draw smaller crowds than announced". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ Moore, Grayson (May 2, 2018). "Celebration Bowl Set for December 15, Will Open 2018 Bowl Season on ABC". thecelebrationbowl.com.
- ^ Anna Negron (October 9, 2018). "Air Force Reserve Renews Its Title Sponsorship of the Celebration Bowl". espnmediazone.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Mark W. Wright (July 19, 2017). "SWAC bets big on the Celebration Bowl: League drops its own championship to focus on the money and TV exposure of the HBCU title contest". Andscape. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Sports, HBCU (November 14, 2018). "Road to Celebration Bowl: MEAC releases football tiebreaker scenarios". HBCU Sports. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ Sharrock, Rory. "Late turnover results in heartbreaking loss for FAMU". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ Wilkerson, Brant. "A fitting celebration as Aggies learn their Celebration Bowl fate". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "A&T football team ranked 14th in preseason coaches poll". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "BOXTOROW Coaches Poll: North Carolina A&T no stranger to the top spot in preseason poll". BOXTOROW. August 7, 2018. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "North Carolina A&T State Picked To Win 2018 MEAC Championship". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. July 27, 2018.
- ^ "Alcorn State beats Southern 37-28 in SWAC championship". ESPN. December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
- ^ "SWAC FOOTBALL ALL-CONFERENCE PRESEASON TEAMS RELEASED". www.swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 2, 2018.