SC State sets sights on first Celebration Bowl against Deion Sanders, Jackson State

South Carolina State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough has never met Deion Sanders.

The two were in the same football stadium once, however.

“I’ve watched him from afar for many, many years,” Pough said. “I remember being on the sidelines of the Florida State-Clemson game years ago as a high school coach. He was out there having fun and running around.”

Prior to fielding a punt in the 1988 game won by the Seminoles, Sanders pointed and yelled at Clemson players, telling them he would return it for a touchdown. He did just that, taking it 76 yards to the endzone.

“I’ve been to a Braves game or two in my lifetime and seen him there,” said Pough. “He’s a guy I’ve been learning from, from afar for a long, long time both as a football and baseball guy.”

Pough hopes to become the teacher Saturday when his S.C. State Bulldogs face the Jackson State Tigers in the Cricket Celebration Bowl in Atlanta.

State enters the game with a 6-5 record, but they were undefeated in five games in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Quarterback Corey Fields Jr. led the offense, completing 169 of 333 passes for 2,144 yards and 14 touchdowns, to go with 12 interceptions. Will Vereen caught 44 passes for 567 yards and three touchdowns, while Shaq Davis had 38 receptions for a team-high 769 yards and five scores.

Kendrell Flowers was the Bulldogs’ top rusher with 637 yards and nine touchdowns.

The group will have to be at its best against Jackson State as Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, earned the Jerry Rice Award as the National Freshman of the Year after completing 256 of 377 passes for 3,056 yards and 29 touchdowns, with just six interceptions.

He is the first player from an HBCU school to win the award.

“I’m proud of the way he’s played,” Deion Sanders told reporters following the season. “The way he sees the field. The way he encourages his teammates. The way he approaches practice daily. The way he gets on their butts when they’re not doing what they need to do. I’m just proud of his maturity and who he is on and off the field.”

The annual Celebration Bowl — often referred to as the HBCU national championship — began in 2015 and features the champs of the Southwestern Athletic Conference against the winners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Pough is excited to take the Bulldogs to the bowl, although he was not always in favor of the event, thinking league teams should aspire to make the FCS playoffs.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Pough said. “I’ve been trying to get into this game for about (seven) years. I can tell you I fought for a good many years to keep this thing from happening.

“By the time I figured out this was something we really, really needed to buy into, I think I’ve been punished for not being able to be on board from the very beginning for not being able to come all those years.”

The Bulldogs came close to making the bowl in 2019 when they tied North Carolina A&T for first place in the MEAC. The Aggies earned the bid, however, because it defeated State.

“From the beginning it was obvious this was something that should have been,” Pough said. “We had a chance to see A&T play Alcorn (State) a time or two and the excitement derived from that particular time was something to behold.

“I had (legendary MEAC coach Rod) Broadway and his wife over to our house a couple of times and they got everybody in my household juiced up about how great the atmosphere is. You know for sure that this is something that’s going to be bigger and better as we continue to build.”

Whether it is the “coach Prime Time” effect or something else, the bowl is sold out for the first time meaning more than 71,000 people are expected to be in attendance.

Sanders had a message for his team, which finished the season 11-1.

“Let me tell y’all the dream,” said Sanders, who played for both the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Braves. “My goal is, you know we’re going to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (It) used to be the Georgia Dome. Used to be my house, I built that thing. My goal is to take one step. I want to take one step.”

Pough, who has been coaching at South Carolina State for 20 years, winning 142 games and eight MEAC titles, appears ready to take a step as well.

Celebration Bowl: What time, what channel

• What: 2021 Cricket Celebration Bowl
• Who: Jackson State (11-1) vs. S.C. State (6-5) ... Jackson State is located in Jackson, Mississippi, with S.C. State in Orangeburg, South Carolina
• Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
• When: Noon Saturday
• TV: ABC
• Line: Jackson State by 10

Celebration Bowl history

The MEAC leads the series 4-1

• 2019: N.C. A&T 64, Alcorn State 44
• 2018: N.C. A&T 24, Alcorn State 22
• 2017: N.C. A&T 21, Grambling State 14
• 2016: Grambling State 10, N.C. Central 9
• 2015: N.C. A&T 41, Alcorn State 34