North Carolina A&T: 2019 Black College Football National Champions

The North Carolina A&T Aggies extended their run of postseason success Saturday with a 64-44 victory over the Alcorn State Braves in the 2019 Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

N.C. A&T has now won the Celebration Bowl four times in the past five years, including three consecutive triumphs in the game featuring top teams from the FCS' MEAC and SWAC. The Aggies have defeated the Braves to take home the title in 2015, 2018 and now 2019.

Alcorn State overcame a sluggish 1-2 start to the season by winning eight of its next nine games, including a win over the Southern Jaguars in the SWAC Championship Game, to earn a berth in the Celebration Bowl.

           

Notable Game Stats

QB Kylil Carter (A&T): 18-of-30 passing, 364 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT; 96 rushing yards

QB Felix Harper (ASU): 25-of-42 passing, 341 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 2 rushing TD

RB Jah-Maine Martin (A&T): 110 rushing yards, 2 TD

RB De'Shawn Waller (ASU): 59 rushing yards, 1 TD

WR Korey Banks (A&T): 122 receiving yards, 2 TD

WR Elijah Bell (A&T): 73 receiving yards, 2 TD

WR Zachary Leslie (A&T): 81 receiving yards, 1 TD

WR Ron Hunt (A&T): 43 receiving yards, 1 TD

WR Chris Blair (ASU): 135 receiving yards, 1 TD

WR Raidarious Anderson (ASU): 85 receiving yards, 1 TD

TE Nigel Wood (ASU): 13 receiving yards, 1 TD

               

Big Plays, Atmosphere Making Celebration Bowl An Annual Must-See Event

Bowl fatigue is real. There are 41 games played in just over three weeks, and it can be difficult for even the most diehard of college football fans to remain engaged all the way from Friday's Bahamas Bowl to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 13.

That's why it's important for each bowl to stand out from the crowd.

The Celebration Bowl has done that since its debut in 2015. Although it doesn't have the history of its counterparts and features FCS schools rather than FBS, the atmosphere created by fans is on par with any game outside of the CFP contests.

A battle of the bands at halftime added to that ambiance Saturday with the N.C. A&T band, which The Undefeated ranked as the No. 1 band from historically black colleges and universities this season, stealing the show with a terrific performance.

Meanwhile, the level of play remains high with top teams from a pair of FCS conferences. It's a better storyline than a couple of middling 6-6 squads from the FBS.

Each of the first four Celebration Bowl games were decided by a single score, and while the Aggies' margin of victory was a little bigger Saturday, there were still plenty of highlights for both sides.

The game featured 1,034 combined yards, 108 points and 45 first downs. There were seven touchdowns of at least 35 yards, including a 75-yard scoring dash by Jah-Maine Martin to open the third quarter for A&T.

Things really popped off in the third quarter, when the first seven drives of the second half went for touchdowns.

Perhaps the Celebration Bowl isn't for those fixated on low-scoring defensive battles, though the Grambling State Tigers did beat the North Carolina Central Eagles 10-9 in the 2016 edition of the game. But everything about the game, both on the field and off, screams fun.

And there's no doubt bowl season needs more of that.

North Carolina A&T: 2018 Celebration Bowl/HBCU National Champions

ATLANTA -- Lamar Raynard passed for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Malik Wilson returned a kickoff for the game-sealing touchdown Saturday as North Carolina A&T held off Alcorn State to win the Celebration Bowl 24-22, and the Aggies captured their second straight HBCU national championship and third in four years.

The Celebration Bowl kicks off the bowl season by matching up the champions of two historically black leagues, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Raynard, a senior who finished his career with a 35-2 record as a starter, did most of his damage in the first half with touchdown passes of 17 yards to Zachary Leslie and 27 yards to Elijah Bell as North Carolina A&T (10-2) built a 17-3 lead in the second quarter.

Alcorn State (9-4) stormed back in the third quarter. De'Shawn Waller tallied 116 of his 167 rushing yards on just four carries in the period while playing about six miles east of where he grew up.

The Braves pulled within 17-16 on a 30-yard touchdown run by quarterback Noah Johnson, the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, and a 29-yard field goal with 51 seconds left in the quarter. Johnson rushed for 120 yards and passed for 128.

Wilson countered immediately, fielding the short kickoff on the left side of the field. He took off diagonally toward the middle and then cut up the right sideline for a 79-yard score.

It was the senior's school-record fourth kickoff return for a touchdown this season alongside scores of 98, 99 and 100 yards.

Johnson scored on a 59-yard option keeper early in the fourth quarter to pull the Braves within 24-22.

Johnson rolled out on the ensuing two-point conversion try, and his pass to a sliding Chris Harris was ruled incomplete. Alcorn State punted on its next possession with 5:55 remaining and didn't get the ball back as North Carolina A&T put together a game-ending 11-play drive.

TAKEAWAYS

North Carolina A&T: Other than the clock-eating final drive, the Aggies were stymied on offense in the second half, with Wilson's kickoff return bailing them out. The Aggies entered the game ranked No. 1 in the HBCU poll and No. 11 in FCS.

Alcorn State: The Braves bullied North Carolina A&T in the second half, with 258 of their 328 total rushing yards on 20 carries. They flipped the script from when these teams met in the first Celebration Bowl in 2015. In that one, they lost 41-34 when North Carolina A&T running back Tarik Cohen, now with the Chicago Bears, rushed for 295 yards.

MISSING MAN

Alcorn State played without starting wide receiver Dayall Harris, who did not make the trip to Atlanta for disciplinary reasons. The senior was the Braves' fourth-leading receiver during the regular season with 28 catches in 11 games, with four touchdowns and a team-leading 15.8-yard average per reception.

UP NEXT

North Carolina A&T: The Aggies will replace at least seven starters on defense and at least eight on offense, including Raynard, the entire line, tight end Leroy Hill and running back Marquell Cartwright before opening the 2019 season at home against Elon and then traveling 50 miles to play at Duke.

Alcorn State: The Braves will lose at least four defensive and three offensive starters ahead of their season-opening trip to Southern Mississippi, which will be followed by a game at McNeese State.

North Carolina A&T: 2017 Celebration Bowl Champions

The 2017 Celebration Bowl must have felt like deja vu all over again for North Carolina A&T quarterback Lamar Raynard and running back Marquell Cartwright. Four years ago, when Cartwright and Raynard were at High Point Andrews, this same situation played out.

Raynard, who threw a 38-yard touchdown pass with 1:02 remaining for his high school’s North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2-AA title game, ran the ball in from 1 yard out to give the Aggies a 21-14 win over Grambling State on Saturday.

While Cartwright, who was awarded MVP honors in that state title game, won the Celebration Bowl’s Offensive Player of the Game award thanks to one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown and 110 yards on the ground.

“We started together playing together in ninth grade,” Raynard said. “We decided to come to college together because we thought that we could do really great together. I just want to tip my hat to this guy, because they really tried to take the game away from my boy, and he came back and fought even harder. People who doubted him they said after Tariq left, we weren’t going to have a running game. … This guy right here, that’s my brother. We stay right down the street from each other. It’s a lot I could say. I’m going to keep it short, but I love him.”

It’s official. North Carolina A&T is no longer up-and-coming. The Aggies are a certified college football name brand. And they’re not taking a back seat to anybody. Anymore. Ever.

They came into Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium looking for respect as they prepared to battle the perennial historically black college football powerhouse Grambling. Now N.C. A&T will be heading back to Greensboro, North Carolina, as the Celebration Bowl champion for the second time in three years.

Raynard, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Offensive Player of the Year, was responsible for two more touchdowns in the Celebration Bowl, bringing his season total to 31 with multiple touchdowns in 10 of 12 games this season.

In winning the third annual Celebration Bowl and historically black college and university (HBCU) national championship, the Aggies also became the first MEAC football team to finish its season undefeated at 12-0. N.C. A&T did it twice before, but that was before the creation of the MEAC.

While Raynard scored the points that would ultimately put the team over the hump in a game they led from start to finish, it was Cartwright who carried N.C. A&T for much of the game. His receiving touchdown opened up the scoring and his touchdown on the ground were the only two scores the team had until 38 seconds remained in the game and Raynard found the end zone.

Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs must not have known how wise and insightful his answer was when he explained that the Tigers and N.C. A&T are essentially mirrors of each other’s program.

“I really didn’t [have any doubts.] I didn’t get very nervous today,” N.C. A&T coach Rod Broadway said. “I knew we was playing an outstanding football team, but I also knew we had an outstanding football team. We could’ve separated a little bit, if we had been a little bit better in the kicking game.”

Anything the Aggies did, Grambling State did almost the same thing and vice versa. The Tigers bench erupted when N.C. A&T’s Raynard threw an interception to Grambling’s De’Andre Hogues as the Aggies began to sniff Grambling’s red zone.

That euphoria lasted maybe a minute at most, as Tigers running back Martez Carter coughed up the ball following an eight-yard reception and N.C. A&T went right back into business from the Grambling 25. Five plays later and with 4:58 left in the half, fans at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium finally saw their first score of the game.

Three minutes and 15 seconds later, Fobbs’ team finally got itself on the board thanks to Kincade finding Jordan Jones for a two-yard touchdown pass to tie it up just before the half.

The Aggies worked themselves down the field with 2 seconds to spare for a field goal attempt, but the Grambling front blocked the kick. Similarly, the Tigers made their way into the Aggies red zone on their first drive of the second half, but a poorly placed Kincade pass was intercepted by Franklin McCain III in spectacular, one-hand, one-toe inbounds fashion.

The one thing both teams stressed was that the team who made the fewest mistakes was going to win the game. While Grambling finished with three turnovers, N.C. A&T ended the game with two, and a pair of missed field goals.

What this game truly came down to was who was going to make the most of the opportunities afforded to them, and without question that was the Aggies. One doesn’t have to love the Aggies. They don’t even care if y’all like them.

However, after this Celebration Bowl victory, y’all will respect them.

N.C. A&T had more success running between the tackles Saturday, averaging 2.3 yards before contact per rush. The Aggies’ Cartwright had more yards between the tackles (57) than Grambling had as a team.

Designed rushes inside tackles

GRAMBLING … N.C. A&T

Rushes 13 … 25

Yards 44 … 87

YBC per rush 0.9 … 2.3

Touchdowns 0 … 2

Grambling committed three turnovers Saturday, allowing 14 points off those turnovers. The Tigers entered the game having committed 10 turnovers all season, tied for third-fewest in the FCS.
Turnover comparison

GRAMBLING N.C. A&T

Turnovers 3 … 2

Opp Pts off TOs 14 … 0

N.C. A&T averages 10.6 points a game off turnovers

North Carolina A&T: 2015 Celebration Bowl/HBCU National Champions

North Carolina A&T defeated Alcorn State 41-34 in a wild debut for the Celebration Bowl.

Wait.

If you're wondering what exactly the Celebration Bowl is, you're not alone. Rather than participate in the FCS Playoffs, the SWAC and MEAC champions are meeting in the Celebration Bowl, with the winner claiming the crown of historically black college and university (HBCU) national champion. It's the first matchup of this type for HBCUs since 1999, which the Heritage Bowl ceased operations. The Heritage Bowl ran from 1991-1999, and previously, the Pelican Bowl was held in 1972, 1974, and 1975.

Aside from the fun plays on the field, there's lots of reasons this game is a good thing.

It's great exposure.

And with the national TV coverage and early time slot, it's great exposure for schools and conferences that don't normally get much. The FCS Playoffs have gotten more coverage in recent years, but those games don't start appearing on cable until fairly late in the tournament. The Celebration Bowl kicks off on the first Saturday of bowl season on a major network, before any other bowls are there to soak up the attention.

The schools make more money.

Each conference will bank a $1 million payout, which means this game is much more lucrative than a Playoff appearance. That's $100,000 for each SWAC team, and nearly $91,000 for each MEAC team. If a team wants to host a first round FCS Playoff game, they need to submit a minimum bid to the NCAA of at least $30,000.

It's a competitive matchup.

Unlike most HBCU's past forays into the FCS Playoffs, this game should actually be pretty close. The last HBCU team to win the FCS title was in 1978, and they haven't gotten particularly close since. To play in this game, the MEAC gave up its automatic bid just to play in this game, and the SWAC didn't have an automatic bid into the Playoffs anyway.

And this year's game was great from the first whistle. There were four touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the game, and the shortest of them was 74 yards. Each team had a long punt return for a touchdown in the first half. North Carolina A&T running back Tarik Cohen ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. And then there was the case of Alcorn State's Marquis Watford, who took out some frustrations by punching clean through a dang whiteboard.

The second half wasn't quite so explosive, but Alcorn State made up a two touchdown deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter, with the game-tying touchdown pass coming from wide receiver Tollette George to quarterback Lenorris Footman. They would tie the game again later in the quarter on a fake field goal that went for a touchdown.

But despite all that craziness, it wasn't enough. Tarik Cohen scored the game-clinching touchdown on a 73-yard run right up the gut that was only his third-longest run of the game. Alcorn State drove all the way to the A&T nine yard line with 13 seconds left, but their final chance to tie the game fell incomplete in the end zone.

Cohen was absolutely sensational for the Aggies, and finished with 295 yards and three touchdowns on only 22 carries. Before this game, Cohen was probably best known for catching footballs while doing backflips. He was also their leading receiver in the game with 53 yards. A&T more than doubled Alcorn State's total yardage figure, 544 to 260, and it was the repeated big plays that made the difference for the Aggies.

North Carolina A&T: 2012-13 MEAC Champions

Adrian Powell made two free throws with 16 seconds to go, and the North Carolina A&T Aggies beat the Morgan State Bears, 57-54, on Saturday to earn the MEAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The win qualified the Aggies, which were 19-16 and the No. 7 seed in the MEAC tournament, for their first NCAA Tournament since back-to-back appearances in 1994 and 1995. The team also qualified for seven NCAA Tournaments in a row from 1982-87. In nine NCAA Tournament appearances, they have never won a game.

Neither team ever pulled away in Saturday's title game. Morgan State led, 13-6, with more than 13 minutes to play in the first half, and that was its largest lead of the game. North Carolina A&T's lead never swelled beyond six, which came at 53-47 with about five minutes to play.

Morgan State quickly erased that deficit and got to within one point, at 55-54 with 1:31 to play, after a Blake Bozeman three-pointer. But the Bears, the tournament's No. 5 seed, couldn't get over the hump.