College football top plays: Jackson State in battle in Deion Sanders' final game

It goes without saying that Deion Sanders is eager to win his last game with Jackson State.

The Tigers (12-0) aim to beat North Carolina Central (9-2) in the Celebration Bowl on Saturday and cap an unbeaten season. Sanders will then turn his focus to Colorado, the next stop on his coaching journey, where he will hit the recruiting trail as soon as time allows.

But at least for today, Sanders’ focus is solely on Jackson State, a program that coach “Prime,” as he likes to be called, built into a powerhouse among historically Black colleges and universities. The Tigers went 27-5 under his watch and Sanders was twice named the Southwest Athletic Conference coach of the year.

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The Celebration Bowl is not the only college football action on Saturday. In fact, it’s one of seven bowl games on the schedule, including the Las Vegas Bowl, which features the No. 14 team in the country — Oregon State — against Florida.

Here are the highlights from the top bowl games on Saturday.

Celebration Bowl: Jackson State vs. N. Carolina Central

Farewell, friends

Coach Prime got emotional when addressing his team before the game. And the love was mutual.

Eagles all business

Nonetheless, it was North Carolina Central that dominated the early part of the game, outgaining its opponent 127-21 through the first couple of series and taking a 10-0 lead when Davius Richard ran it in from 4 yards out.

Lightning strikes twice!

Jackson State struck on its next drive, however, pulling within 10-7 when Colorado-bound Shedeur Sanders hit DJ Stevens on a 24-yard touchdown pass. Sanders struck again early in the second quarter, connecting with a wide-open Kevin Coleman from 85 yards out.

Let’s get physical

The Eagles battled right back to take a 17-14 lead, as J’Mari Taylor shoved it in on a 10-yard bull run right up the middle.

Catch me if you can

The Tigers led 21-17 at the half, though, thanks to the magic feet of Sanders, who avoided what looked like a certain sack before dashing for a 7-yard TD.

Punt? Maybe not!

The Eagles pulled off a stunning fake punt in the third quarter, as Kyle Morgan dashed 43 yards for a first down.

That set up a gorgeous touchdown grab by Quentin McCall to give the Eagles the lead. The Eagles missed the PAT, but a field goal late in the third quarter gave them a 26-21 lead.

Sanders, again

The Tigers re-took the lead when Sanders connected with Travis Hunter on an 18-yard scoring strike to make it 27-26. It was Sanders’ third touchdown pass of the game.

Las Vegas Bowl: Florida vs. No. 14 Oregon State

Highlights to come.