The ninth annual Celebration Bowl will feature two of the better teams in FCS with the SWAC Champion Jackson State Tigers taking on the MEAC Champion South Carolina State Bulldogs.
Here are my favorite Jackson State vs. South Carolina State player props and college football picks for Saturday, December 14.
For more Celebration Bowl coverage, check out Douglas Farmer's Jackson State vs. South Carolina State predictions!
Jackson State vs South Carolina State props for Celebration Bowl
Joanes Fortilien anytime TD (+175 at bet365)
Caden High anytime TD (+130 at bet365)- Irv Mulligan first-half TD (+175 at bet365)
Picks made on 12-13.
Read full analysis of each pick.
Jackson State vs South Carolina State college football player props
Prop bet #1: Joanes Fortilien anytime TD
The Tigers passing offense is not the most explosive and the Bulldogs have a very good pass defense. However, this is not about yards, this is about finding the endzone. And that is something that Joanes Fortilien is very good at doing.
Fortilien has nine of the 19 receiving touchdowns on the season for Jackson State. In last week’s game against Southern, he had a receiving touchdown despite getting only two catches for 23 yards. The Tigers have 33 touchdowns on 49 redzone attempts and Fortilien is the main target in that area.
The Bulldogs have a solid passing defense in terms of yardage, but they have allowed 18 passing touchdowns this season. That is the most of any of the rest of the top 30 passing defenses in FCS. There is a good chance they give one up here to Jackson State’s favorite target in the endzone.
Prop bet #2: Caden High anytime TD
On the other side, South Carolina State has an excellent passing offense. Quarterback Eric Phoenix has 2,460 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air this season. His favorite target is wideout Caden High, who has seven touchdowns on the season.
While High did not score in his last game, he did score in each of the previous four games before that. High also gets involved in the run game with 117 yards rushing on the season, so that opens another option for him to find the endzone. The Bulldogs have 32 touchdowns on 47 red zone attempts this season, so they are also solid at converting their opportunities for six.
The Tigers have a mediocre redzone defense allowing 21 touchdowns on 36 attempts. They have also allowed 14 touchdowns through the air despite having the ninth-best pass defense in the FCS. This is a great opportunity for High to finish his season with another touchdown.
Prop bet #3: Irv Mulligan first-half TD
The most likely player in this game to score a touchdown is Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan. He has 11 touchdowns on the season and the Tigers are a very run heavy offense. He has 180 carries on the season and will see a lot of work in this game.
However, his anytime touchdown odds are not so great, which is why we are pivoting to a first-half touchdown instead. While last week was not the best first half for Jackson State, they scored 27 points in the first half in the previous game and Mulligan scored twice. Six of his 11 touchdowns have been scored in the first half of games.
The South Carolina State defense has allowed 11 rushing touchdowns this season. If you feel good about Mulligan scoring a touchdown here, which we do, then it is smarter to take his first half touchdown at much better odds than his anytime touchdown when more than half of his touchdowns have occurred in the first half.
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