South Carolina State storms back from 28 down, wins 10th-anniversary Cricket Celebration Bowl in four-overtime thriller, 40–38

HBCU Original | On the Ground – Atlanta

ATLANTA — Ten years into the Cricket Celebration Bowl, HBCU football delivered a moment built for history.

South Carolina State erased a stunning 28-0 deficit, survived a late Prairie View A&M haymaker, and outlasted the Panthers through four overtimes to claim a 40–38 victory in the 10th-anniversary Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

For nearly three quarters, Prairie View looked ready to turn the championship stage into a statement. Quarterback Cameron Peters was in full command early, spreading the ball and using his legs to keep the Bulldogs off balance. His opening-quarter touchdown pass to Ethan John set the tone, and by halftime Prairie View had built a commanding 21-0 lead.

The Panthers pushed it to 28-0 early in the third quarter when Peters found Andre Dennis, and the Celebration Bowl crowd braced for a runaway.

Then everything changed.

South Carolina State flipped the game with urgency and belief, leaning heavily on quarterback Ryan Stubblefield, who refused to let the Bulldogs fade. Stubblefield cracked the scoreboard with a short touchdown run, then sparked a rapid surge that included a Jordan Smith rushing score and a Stubblefield-to-Smith touchdown through the air. What once felt insurmountable suddenly became a one-score game.

Early in the fourth quarter, Stubblefield powered in from a yard out, completing the comeback and tying the game at 28–28.

Prairie View still had one more punch. Peters delivered a 78-yard strike to Cameron Bonner to retake the lead, igniting the Panthers’ sideline and threatening to slam the door shut. But Stubblefield answered yet again, engineering a late drive and finding Jordan Smith for the tying touchdown with under two minutes remaining.

Overtime followed — and so did drama.

The teams exchanged field goals in the first extra period. The second overtime passed scoreless. Under the two-point shootout format in the third overtime, both teams came up empty. In the fourth, South Carolina State finally broke through when Tyler Smith converted the Bulldogs’ attempt. Prairie View’s final answer fell short.

The comeback was complete.

South Carolina State had just authored the largest comeback in Celebration Bowl history.

Scoring Summary

1Q (1:02) — PV: Cameron Peters 16-yard TD pass to Ethan John (PV 7-0)
2Q (10:30) — PV: Peters 27-yard TD run (PV 14-0)
2Q (1:05) — PV: Peters 14-yard TD pass to Jyzaiah Rockwell (PV 21-0)
3Q (12:41) — PV: Peters 13-yard TD pass to Andre Dennis (PV 28-0)
3Q (11:19) — SCS: Ryan Stubblefield 5-yard TD run (PV 28-7)
3Q (8:34) — SCS: Jordan Smith 10-yard TD run (PV 28-14)
3Q (5:05) — SCS: Stubblefield 19-yard TD pass to Jordan Smith (PV 28-21)
4Q (10:44) — SCS: Stubblefield 1-yard TD run (28-28)
4Q (9:53) — PV: Peters 78-yard TD pass to Cameron Bonner (PV 35-28)
4Q (1:54) — SCS: Stubblefield 10-yard TD pass to Jordan Smith (35-35)

OT1: Prairie View FG; South Carolina State FG (38-38)
OT2: No scoring
OT3: Two-point tries — both teams fail
OT4: SCS converts (Tyler Smith); PV fails — Final: SCS 40, PV 38

Team Stats

• Total Yards: PV 491 | SCS 357

• Passing: PV 436 | SCS 279

• Rushing: PV 55 | SCS 78

• Time of Possession: PV 25:45 | SCS 34:15

• Turnovers: PV 2 | SCS 1

Game Leaders

South Carolina State

• Ryan Stubblefield: 15-29, 234 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 11 rushes, 11 yards, 3 TD

• Jordan Smith: 9 catches, 152 yards, 2 TD; 1 rushing TD

• Brenyen Scott: 9 tackles (Defensive MVP)

Prairie View A&M

• Cameron Peters: 24-36, 412 yards, 4 TD; 35 rushing yards, TD

• Andre Dennis: 7 catches, 131 yards, TD

• Sterling Roberts: 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks

Records Broken

• Largest comeback in Celebration Bowl history (28 points)

• Most passing yards (team): Prairie View A&M (436)

• Most passing yards (player): Cameron Peters (412)

• Most receptions: Jordan Smith (9)

• Most receiving yards: Jordan Smith (152)

• Attendance: 26,703

Final Word

The four-overtime epic surpassed the two-overtime thriller of 2022, once again raising the bar for the Celebration Bowl stage.

Prairie View A&M lit up the night with record-setting offense. But South Carolina State delivered the lasting image — resilience, belief, and a quarterback who simply refused to let his team fade.

Ten years in, the Cricket Celebration Bowl didn’t just celebrate HBCU football.
It etched another unforgettable chapter in its history.