The Celebration Bowl has served as the de facto HBCU national championship for the last couple seasons and this year’s edition might be the most highly anticipated ever. Rather than send their conference winners across the country during the FCS Playoffs, the MEAC and the SWAC decided to have their historic conferences establish an HBCU national championship and it has been a hotly contested affair. The North Carolina A&T Aggies won the first Celebration Bowl in 2015, but the Grambling Tigers won this game last season. Now, these two will square off with a lot on the line in the third Celebration Bowl.
Watch the Celebration Bowl live on Saturday, December 16, 2017, at 12 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This game will be broadcast on ABC.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
North Carolina A&T has been dominant all year long. The Aggies were one of two FCS teams to finish the regular season undefeated and likely would have been one of the top four seeds in the FCS playoffs this year. They notched an FBS win over Charlotte and they beat every FCS team but one by at least 11 points.
Grambling has yet to drop an FCS game this season. The Tigers lost their opener against Tulane, but cruised through SWAC play and knocked off Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship Game for the second straight season.
This should be the best Celebration Bowl so far as the Aggies are 11-0 and the Tigers are 11-1. I expect North Carolina A&T to be favored by around 10 in this one though as it has looked unstoppable all season long.
Player to Watch
If the Tigers are going to win their second straight Celebration Bowl, they are going to need a great performance from Devante Kincade. Kincade is an Ole Miss transfer who has shined since coming down to the FCS and has made Grambling one of the most explosive offenses in the FCS.
Although he hasn’t put up the gaudy numbers that he did in 2016, Kincade still has this offense playing at a high level. He has completed 59.6 percent of his passes this season and has thrown for nearly 2,700 yards. His most impressive quality might be his ability to avoid turnovers, as he has thrown just three interceptions this year.
Kincade is someone you must watch on the ground too. He made some big plays with his legs and ran for six touchdowns on the year.
Matchup to Watch
Only a handful of defenses have been better than North Carolina A&T this season. The Aggies have shut down their foes all season long and have ridden their defense to an undefeated campaign.
This defense was stingy on the ground, holding foes to just 2.7 yards per carry. Most teams in the MEAC like to run as much as possible and this was a key to their success. The pass defense was solid too, allowing opponents to average just 5.8 yards per throw on the year.
However, the Aggies haven’t seen a quarterback with the skill set of Kincade. He is by far the best quarterback North Carolina A&T has seen all season and has the accuracy to test their secondary.
Free ATS Pick
Grambling’s defense is going to have a hard time stopping the Aggies. Although the Tigers’ numbers look good on paper, the SWAC was very weak this season and only a couple teams had good offenses.
The Aggies boast Lamar Raynard, who was the MEAC’s Offensive Player of the Year as their quarterback. He was an extremely efficient passer and averaged 9.5 yards per throw this season. Raynard isn’t much of a runner, but is good enough to beat your defensive backs, and that will give NC A&T the win here.
College Football Odds: North Carolina A&T 37, Grambling 24
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