Two long-lost rivals meet again on Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama, for the first FBS bowl game of the season. Troy and Jacksonville State kick off the bowl week in the Salute to Veterans Bowl.
Bowl History
You may remember this bowl game as the Camelia Bowl. That’s what it was from its inception in 2014 through the 2023 game. Over those years, it was sponsored by either Raycom Television or Tax Act.
In 2024, the Alabama-based military contractor, Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc. (IS4S), took over as the title sponsor of the game.
The bowl has conference tie-ins with the Sun Belt and the Mid-American.
The Teams
Troy and Jacksonville State are less than 200 miles apart from each other. In fact, throughout the 1900s, they were longstanding rivals, having met 63 times. But they have not played against each other in 24 years. Troy became an FBS program in 2001, thus ending the nearly annual matchup.
Jacksonville State started its upward move from FCS to FBS in 2021, becoming a full-fledged, bowl-eligible program. This is JSU’s third FBS bowl game, having won the 2023 New Orleans Bowl. The Gamecocks lost to Ohio in last year’s Cure Bowl.
The Match-ups
The Troy Trojans won the Sun Belt West Division with a 6-2 conference record. They lost the conference championship game to playoff-bound James Madison and finished the regular season at 8-5.
Jacksonville State 7-1 in the Conference USA, losing the conference championship game to Kennesaw State. The Gamecocks had beaten KSU earlier in the season as part of a five-game winning streak.
The Key Players
Troy quarterback “Goose” Crowder and his health will be a key storyline for the game. He was injured in the SBC title game, but has been practicing the last two weeks. On the season, he completed 59% of his passes for 1,314 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He was also injured earlier in the season and appeared in seven games total. If the fifth-year senior can’t go, the Trojans will go to Tucker Kilcrease, and the offense just did not flow as smoothly with him earlier in the season.
It matters greatly who is running the offense because Troy does not have much of a running game. The Trojans’ leading rusher, Tae Meadows, has 695 yards on the ground and only six touchdowns. He had only one game of 100 or yards in the season opener against Nicholls State. And he likely won’t be playing Tuesday. He has said he will be going into the portal on January 2nd. He is still eligible for the bowl game if head coach Gerad Parker so allows. If not, it will be Jordan Lovett. He has only 81 carries on the year for 317 yards and two touchdowns.
Crowder also figures to be under pressure by Jacksonville State’s defense. Troy has given up a nation-high 57 sacks on the season.
Jacksonville State has had a journey. Last year, the Gamecocks had Rich Rodriguez and a solid offense run by quarterback Tyler Huff. They are both gone, and there was an assumed drop-off in productivity.
Instead, the Gamecocks have the fourth-highest rushing offense in the entire country, averaging 258 yards on the ground per game. Junior Running back Cam Cook is the leading rusher in the country with 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s averaging just over five-and-a-half yards per carry.
It would be one thing if Cook were the only run threat, but quarterback Caden Creel is also a thousand-yard rusher. The sophomore is averaging more than six yards per carry for 1,085 total yards. He also has seven rushing touchdowns. He was the rusher among quarterbacks up until last weekend’s Army-Navy game (Navy quarterback Blake Horvath took over the top statistical spot). Creel is a more impactful runner than he is a passer. He has thrown for 1,341 yards but has an 8:4 touchdown to interception ratio.
How To Watch
Day/Date: Tuesday, December 16th
Time: 4pm Eastern
Location: Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama
TV: ESPN
The post Former Rivals Meet in Salute to Veterans Bowl appeared first on Last Word on College Football.