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Jacksonville State and Troy square off in the Salute to Veterans Bowl

Troy (8-5) vs. Jacksonville State (8-5), Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. EST.

BetMGM College Football Odds Opening Line: Jacksonville State by 1.5. Against the spread: Jacksonville State 6-7, Troy 9-4.

How to watch: ESPN

Key stats

Jacksonville State Offense

Overall: 419.3 yards per game (35th in FBS)

Passing: 161.2 yards per game (121st)

Rushing: 258.2 yards per game (4th)

Scoring: 29 points per game (59th)

Jacksonville State Defense

Overall: 391.2 yards per game (86th in FBS)

Passing: 242.6 yards per game (108th)

Rushing: 148.6 yards per game (66th)

Scoring: 26.2 points per game (76th)

Troy Offense

Overall: 314.2 yards per game (123rd in FBS)

Passing: 215.4 yards per game (84th)

Rushing: 98.8 yards per game (130th)

Scoring: 24.3 points per game (91st)

Troy Defense

Overall: 380.3 yards per game (74th in FBS)

Passing: 198.3 yards per game (37th)

Rushing: 182 yards per game (112th)

Scoring: 24.5 points per game (67th)

Troy is 68th in the FBS with a +1 turnover margin, compared to Jacksonville State’s 12th-ranked +9 margin.

Jacksonville State is 68th in FBS in red zone offense, scoring on 84.5% of trips. Troy’s red zone defense ranks 17th at 75.6%.

Team leaders

Jacksonville State

Passing: Caden Creel, 1,341 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs, 60.7 completion percentage

Rushing: Cam Cook, 1,666 yards on 296 carries, 16 TDs

Receiving: Deondre Johnson, 623 yards on 24 catches, 6 TDs

Troy

Passing: Tucker Kilcrease, 1,421 yards, 9 TDs, 4 INTs, 59.3 completion percentage

Rushing: Tae Meadows, 695 yards on 159 carries, 6 TDs

Receiving: Rara Thomas, 577 yards on 34 catches, 5 TDs

Last game

Jacksonville State was beaten by Kennesaw State 19-15 on Friday, Dec. 5. Creel passed for 96 yards on 12-of-21 attempts (57.1%) with no touchdowns and one interception. He also carried the ball 18 times for 112 yards and one rushing touchdown. Cook carried the ball 19 times for 78 yards and scored one touchdown, adding four receptions for 23 yards. Johnson had four receptions for 59 yards.

Troy lost 31-14 to James Madison on Friday, Dec. 5. Will Crowder passed for 196 yards on 15-of-34 attempts (44.1%) with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He also carried the ball eight times for -27 yards and one rushing touchdown. Meadows had 10 rushing yards on seven carries and one touchdown, adding one reception for five yards. Thomas put up 82 yards on three catches.

The Cactus Bowl is back, returning to Arizona State’s campus in December

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Cactus Bowl is back and it's returning to Arizona State's campus. Fiesta Sports Foundation, which operates the Fiesta and Cactus bowls, announced the return on Wednesday, ending a nine-year run at Chase Field, home of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. The game will be played Dec. 26 at Arizona State's Mountain America Stadium. The bowl moved to Chase Field while Arizona State's stadium underwent renovations and had numerous title sponsors, most recently being known as the Rate Bowl from 2024-25.
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