Date: Saturday December 6, 2025Time: 3:00 PM (ET)TV: ESPN2The Quick HitsIt’s time for the SWAC to crown its champion and, once again, Jackson State is right in the thick of things. After winning their first Celebration Bowl last season, the Tigers are one victory away from making a return trip to Atlanta. It’s been another terrific season in Mississippi as JSU has compiled a 9-2 record and, once again, run the table in their own building. That’s where they’ll find themselves one more time this weekend, welcoming in a Prairie View A&M team they haven’t seen since the 2021 iteration of this game. The Panthers look a whole lot different now than they did back then. Under a new coach, the team strung together its first nine-win season since 2009 and now eyes its first conference championship since that same year. Doing so will be no easy task against the perennial favorites but this Prairie View squad has a little something extra that it hasn’t in quite a while. It should be an exciting one in Jackson this weekend. The CoachesWhen T.C. Taylor took over for Deion Sanders after the 2022 season, he hardly missed a beat. Since his promotion to head coach, Jackson State has gone 28-8 with a SWAC title and an HBCU national championship, the school’s fifth all time. Taylor had stints at Texas Southern and NC Central before eventually winding up on the JSU staff in 2019. Since then he’s worked his way up to the head coaching gig and has established himself as one of the more successful FCS coaches now three years into his tenure. A win on Saturday would give Taylor his second conference championship. Prairie View A&M is led by first-year head coach Tremaine Jackson who came in from Division II Valdosta State over the offseason. Jackson’s three years with Blazers saw him compile 30-9 overall record and reach the DII national championship game last year. Now in his inaugural run with the Panthers, he’s led his team to their third SWAC Championship game appearance in the last five seasons. Jackson took home the conference’s Coach of the Year accolades for his efforts in 2025 and now he can really put a stamp on what has been a fantastic season if his Panthers can win and reach their first ever Celebration Bowl. Jackson State Offense vs. Prairie View A&M DefenseThe biggest question hovering over Jackson State right now is whether or not quarterback Jacobian Morgan can play this weekend. Morgan suffered a foot injury against Grambling State back in late October and hasn’t played since. Without him, the offense has still be productive in the hands of backup Jared Lockhart. In his six games, Lockhart has thrown for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns while running for another three. Of course, JSU would feel even better if Morgan could return this week as he was averaging nearly 200 pass yards per game before he went down. Whoever it is under center, though, the offense should function largely the same. Taylor told reporters earlier this week that he is “leaving it up to the trainers and doctors.” Regardless of who starts, one thing that Jackson State will not change about the game plan is feeding the ball to running back Ahmad Miller. Miller led the SWAC with 1,027 yards this year and found the end zone five times. He is the conference’s only 1,000-yard rusher and is a huge part of what the Tigers like to do on offense. If he and fellow back Donerio Davenport can both get going on Saturday it will go a long ways in relieving pressure off of whoever is in at QB. The Prairie View defense, though, is really good at stopping the run so something will have to give. The Panthers have one of the best run stuffers in the country on their defense in senior linebacker Parker Kennedy. Kennedy has been terrific this season for A&M’s defense, authoring 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He has 65 total stops and a forced fumble as well. He and defensive lineman Malik Gucake will be key in slowing down Jackson State’s rushing attack. Gucake has 35 tackles and three forced fumbles this season as well. Both are also excellent at getting to the quarterback. If they can wreak havoc in the JSU backfield then this game gets a lot more interesting. Forcing the Tigers to throw, though, is by no means a guarantee for success either. Receivers Ja’Naylon Dupree and Nate Rambert are playmakers on the outside that can turn a game quickly. Rambert has a team-high 670 yards and seven touchdowns this year while Dupree averages 16.3 yards per reception and has five TDs of his own. Both will be outlets for either Morgan or Lockhart and both know how to get behind a defense with their route running and speed. The Prairie View A&M secondary will look to counter Dupree and Rambert with their sensational sophomore DB Eric Zachery. Zachery has been lights out this year, knocking away 11 passes and intercepting two more. He and grad senior safety Trevor Randle know how dial it up on the back end and are a big reason why the Panthers defense is only allowing 126.1 pass yards per game. They have also only given up seven total passing scores in 2025. Prairie View A&M Offense vs. Jackson State DefenseCameron Peters will lead the Prairie View offense as he has for two seasons now. Peters has had another productive year, throwing for over 2,000 yards and accounting for 21 total touchdowns. He is not afraid to run the ball when need be either, rushing for another 390 yards this fall. Peters has a lot of experience at quarterback and his veteran presence will be important for the Panthers offense as they try to navigate a tough Jackson State unit on the other side. Also key for Prairie View in that department will be the play of star receiver Jyzaiah Rockwell. Rockwell, a first-team All-SWAC selection this year, is Peters’ top target with 64 catches and 988 yards. He also has seven touchdowns this fall. Rockwell is instrumental to the success of the offense and, specifically as of late, has been going off. Three of the last five games have seen Rockwell hit the century mark and seeing as he’s the hot hand right now, odds are he’ll get plenty of looks again in this one. Defensive backs B.J. Washington and Kam Sallis will need to have an answer for Rockwell. The tandem has combined for 85 tackles, three picks and eight pass breakups this year. They hit hard and fly to the ball but have not seen many receivers like #11. Their job might end up bein the biggest one this weekend. If they can shut down Rockwell and Peters, JSU’s odds get a whole lot better.The Tigers won’t just lean on their secondary talent, though, as they have one of the best pass rushers out there, too, in defensive lineman Quincy Ivory. Ivory is a game wrecker in the trenches and when he gets into the backfield, it is a nightmare for opposing QBs. The standout senior has piled up 13.5 tackles for loss and six sacks this year but he’s also intercepted a pass, forced two fumbles and recovered another. Prairie View will need its O line, which is led by first-team All-Conference big man Calvin McMillian, to be at its very best against Ivory. Redshirt freshman running back Chase Bingmon will pave the way on the ground for the Panthers. Bingmon has 143 carries this year for 857 yards and eight scores. He has found the end zone twice in each of the last two games and should again see the bulk of the carries. Again, though, he will also have to contend with Ivory and a stout Jackson State defense that doesn’t surrender a whole lot on the ground. In fact, JSU is giving up just 110 yards per game in that area. PredictionPrairie View A&M might be the most built they’ve been in a while to keep it close with Jackson State and, as Grambling State showed earlier this year, the Tigers are not untouchable. That being said, beating JSU at Memorial Stadium is no easy feat and, even if Morgan can’t go, Lockhart has proven himself capable. The Panthers defense will make some big plays in this game and keep it close for a while. Peters and Rockwell will connect for at least one TD and stay within reach. Jackson State, however, will have the lead in the fourth quarter and that’s when Miller will really come into play. The Tigers should be able to grind out the first downs in the closing stages when they need to and put Prairie View away. It will be a hard-hitting game on both sides but Taylor’s team will head back to Atlanta when the dust settles. Score Prediction: Prairie View A&M: 19 – Jackson State: 28