2023 Celebration Bowl

The 2023 Celebration Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 16, 2023, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The eighth annual Celebration Bowl featured the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), the Howard Bison, and the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the Florida A&M Rattlers. The game began at approximately 12:00 p.m. EST and was aired on ABC.^[4][5] Sponsored by Cricket Wireless, the game was officially known as the Cricket Celebration Bowl.

2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl
8th Celebration Bowl
Howard Bison Florida A&M Rattlers (6–5) (11–1) MEAC SWAC 26 30 Head coach:  Larry Scott Head coach:  Willie Simmons Coaches STATS 5 10
1 2 3 4 Total Howard 14 2 0 10 26 Florida A&M 0 10 0 20 30
Date	December 16, 2023
Season	2023
Stadium	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
MVP	Kelvin Dean (RB, Florida A&M) & Isaiah Major (LB, Florida A&M)[1]
Favorite	Florida A&M by 6.5
Referee	Christian Watson (Mountain West)[2]
Halftime show	Howard "Showtime" Marching Band and Florida A&M Marching 100[3]
Attendance	41,108
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Tiffany Greene (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
International TV coverage
Network	Canada: TSN2 Brazil: ESPN Brazil
Announcers	Matheus Pinheiro (play-by-play) and Rafael Belattini (analyst)
Celebration Bowl  ← 2022  2024 →

The SWAC and MEAC are the two NCAA Division I conferences of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The Celebration Bowl thus serves as a de facto black college football national championship.

The Celebration Bowl was the only one of the 2023–24 bowl games involving teams from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The NCAA structured a 24-team bracket tournament to determine a champion for the 2023 FCS football season. The 2023 Celebration Bowl was the first time the SWAC champions defeated the MEAC champions since the 2016.

Teams

The game featured teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Howard Bison

Main article: 2023 Howard Bison football team

Howard entered the game with a 6–5 record, 4–1 in conference play and tied with North Carolina Central atop MEAC standings. Howard qualified for the Celebration Bowl due to their regular-season win over North Carolina Central.^[6][7]

Florida A&M Rattlers

Main article: 2023 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

Florida A&M completed their regular season with a 10–1 record, 8–0 in conference play; their only loss was to South Florida of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Rattlers then defeated Prairie View A&M in the 2023 SWAC Football Championship Game, contested on December 2, qualifying them for the Celebration Bowl.^[8]

Game summary

Howard held a 14–0 lead after the first quarter, and a 16–10 lead at halftime. After no scoring in the third quarter, Florida A&M scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while Howard was limited to a field goal and one touchdown, coming on a pick-six. Florida A&M's 30–26 victory marked only the second win by a SWAC team in the Celebration Bowl, the first having been by Grambling State in the 2016 edition.

2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Howard	14	2	0	10	26
No. 10 Florida A&M	0	10	0	20	30

at Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

• Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: N/A (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 41,108
• Referee: Christian Watson
• TV announcers (ABC): Tiffany Greene (play-by-play), Jay Walker (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
• Box score

Game information

First Quarter (13:29) HOW – Jarett Hunter 8-yard run (Dylan West kick). Drive: 4 plays, 27 yards, 1:31. Howard 7–0 (10:04) HOW – Kasey Hawthorne 3-yard run (Dylan West kick). Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards, 1:48. Howard 14–0 Second Quarter (13:30) FAMU – Terrell Jennings 3-yard run (Cameron Gillis kick). Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 5:13. Howard 14–7 (9:37) HOW – DL Darrian Brokenburr tackled QB Jeremy Moussa in end zone for a safety. Howard 16–7 (0:11) FAMU – Cameron Gillis 41-yard FG. Drive: 11 plays, 39 yards, 1:57. Howard 16–10 Third Quarter No scoring Fourth Quarter (13:45) FAMU – Kelvin Dean 21-yard pass from Jeremy Moussa (Cameron Gillis kick). Drive: 12 plays, 83 yards, 7:38. Florida A&M 17–16 (10:58) FAMU – Kelvin Dean 53-yard pass from Jeremy Moussa (Cameron Gillis kick). Drive: 3 plays, 70 yards, 1:35. Florida A&M 24–16 (7:55) HOW – Aaron Bickerton 40-yard FG. Drive: 6 plays, 43 yards, 3:03. Florida A&M 24–19 (7:14) HOW – Carson Hinton 27-yard pick-six interception return (Dylan West kick). Howard 26–24 (5:46) FAMU – Jah'Marae Sheread 38-yard pass from Jeremy Moussa (two-point conversion run failed). Drive: 4 plays, 66 yards, 1:28. Florida A&M 30–26

Statistics

Statistics	HOW	FAMU
First downs	11	19
Plays–yards	55–187	67–357
Rushes–yards	28–81	35–68
Passing yards	106	289
Passing: comp–att–int	14–27–3	19–32–2
Time of possession	27:12	32:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Howard	Passing	Quinton Williams	14–27, 106 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Eden James	12 carries, 55 yards
	Receiving	Nah'shawn Hezekiah	3 receptions, 46 yards
Florida A&M	Passing	Jeremy Moussa	19–32, 289 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Terrell Jennings	19 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Kelvin Dean	3 receptions, 87 yards, 2 TD