2019 Celebration Bowl

The 2019 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 21, 2019, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST on ABC.^[5] It was the 5th edition of the Celebration Bowl, and the only one of the 2019–20 bowl games to feature FCS teams.

2019 Celebration Bowl
5th Celebration Bowl
Alcorn State Braves North Carolina A&T Aggies (9–3) (8–3) SWAC MEAC 44 64 Head coach:  Fred McNair Head coach:  Sam Washington STATS 23
1 2 3 4 Total Alcorn State 3 7 21 13 44 North Carolina A&T 0 24 28 12 64
Date	December 21, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
MVP	Kylil Carter (QB, NC A&T) & Jacob Roberts (LB, NC A&T)[1]
Favorite	North Carolina A&T by 3[2]
Referee	Hubert Owens (SEC)[3][4]
Attendance	32,968
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek and Jay Walker (analysts), Roddy Jones and Tiffany Greene (sidline)
Celebration Bowl  < 2018  2021 >

Teams

For the second consecutive year, the bowl was played between the Alcorn State Braves and the North Carolina A&T Aggies.

Alcorn State

Main article: 2019 Alcorn State Braves football team

Alcorn State earned their berth in the Celebration Bowl via a win over the Southern Jaguars in the SWAC Championship Game on December 7.^[6] The Braves entered the Celebration Bowl with a 9–3 overall record (6–1 in conference). This was their third appearance in the Celebration Bowl, having lost their prior two appearances (2015 and 2018); both losses were to North Carolina A&T.

North Carolina A&T

Main article: 2019 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

North Carolina A&T, led by second-year head coach Sam Washington, clinched their spot in the Celebration bowl on November 23 with their win over North Carolina Central.^[7] The Aggies entered the game with an overall 8–3 record (6–2 in conference). They finished runner-up in the MEAC behind Florida A&M, who were ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.^[8] This was the Aggies' fourth appearance in the Celebration Bowl, having won each of their previous three (2015, 2017, 2018).

Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Alcorn State	3	7	21	13	44
North Carolina A&T	0	24	28	12	64

Game information

First Quarter (3:17) ALCN – Corey McCullough 28 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 23 yards, 3:48; Alcorn State 3–0) Second Quarter (13:03) NCAT – Kylil Carter 53 yard pass to Elijah Bell, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 1:06; North Carolina A&T 7–3) (10:16) ALCN – Felix Harper 36 yard pass to Chris Blair, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 6 plays, 74 yards, 2:47; Alcorn State 10–7) (7:55) NCAT – Kylil Carter 59 yard pass to Zachary Leslie, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 2:21; North Carolina A&T 14–10) (5:05) NCAT – Noel Ruiz 26 yard field goal (Drive: 3 plays, −4 yards, 2:03; North Carolina A&T 17–10) (0:41) NCAT – Kylil Carter 4 yard pass to Korey Banks, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 2:54; North Carolina A&T 24–10) Third Quarter (14:47) NCAT – Jah-Maine Martin 75 yard rush, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:13; North Carolina A&T 31–10) (11:37) ALCN – Felix Harper 6 yard rush, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:10; North Carolina A&T 31–17) (10:06) NCAT – Kylil Carter 43 yard pass to Ron Hunt, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:31; North Carolina A&T 38–17) (9:09) ALCN – De'Shawn Waller 23 yard rush, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:57; North Carolina A&T 38–24) (4:56) NCAT – Kylil Carter 20 yard pass to Elijah Bell, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 4:13; North Carolina A&T 45–24) (3:49) ALCN – Felix Harper 35 yard pass to Raidarious Anderson, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:07; North Carolina A&T 45–31) (2:50) NCAT – Kylil Carter 73 yard pass to Korey Banks, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 2 plays, 67 yards, 0:59; North Carolina A&T 52–31) Fourth Quarter (13:14) ALCN – Felix Harper 13 yard pass to Nigel Wood, Corey McCullough kick (Drive: 1 play, 13 yards, 0:03; North Carolina A&T 52–38) (7:00) NCAT – Noel Ruiz 38 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 30 yards, 6:14; North Carolina A&T 55–38) (4:36) ALCN – Felix Harper 1 yard rush, kick blocked (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 2:24; North Carolina A&T 55–44) (4:36) NCAT – Amir McNeill blocked PAT return for defensive 2-point conversion (North Carolina A&T 57–44) (3:37) NCAT – Jah-Maine Martin 4 yard rush, Noel Ruiz kick (Drive: 2 plays, 59 yards, 0:59; North Carolina 64–44)

2019 Celebration Bowl

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: Saturday, December 21, 2019
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: n/a (retractable roof closed)
• Game attendance: 32,968
• Referee: Hubert Owens
• TV announcers (ABC): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek and Jay Walker (analysts), Roddy Jones and Tiffany Greene (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

Statistics

Statistics	ALCN	NCAT
First downs	24	21
Plays–yards	74–460	64–574
Rushes–yards	32–119	34–210
Passing yards	341	364
Passing: comp–att–int	25–42–1	18–30–0
Time of possession	29:36	30:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alcorn State	Passing	Felix Harper	25/42, 341 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	De'Shawn Waller	13 carries, 59 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Chris Blair	7 receptions, 150 yards, 1 TD
North Carolina A&T	Passing	Kylil Carter	18/30, 364 yards, 6 TD
	Rushing	Jah-Maine Martin	16 carries, 110 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Korey Banks	6 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TD