Troy Trojans vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks Prediction, Odds and Picks for Tuesday, 12/16/25

Tuesday night will feature the Troy Trojans taking on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks as these two teams compete in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. Troy finished their season with a record of 8-5, and they ended on the top of the Sun Belt West with a conference record of 6-2. They earned the right to play in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, but they fell to eventual College Football-bound James Madison 31-14. Quarterback Goose Crowder finished the season as the Trojans’ starting quarterback, throwing for 1314 yards and 11 touchdowns in 7 games played. Their top rusher this season was Tae Meadows who finished the season with 695 yards and 6 touchdowns. Jacksonville State finished their season with a record of 8-5. And they had a conference record of 7-1 in Conference USA. The Gamecocks played Kennesaw State in the conference championship, but they came up short 19-15. Quarterback Caden Creel finished the season as the Gamecocks top passer with 1341 yards and 8 touchdowns. Jacksonville State finished the year with two 1000 yard rushers. Running back Cam Cook finished the season with 1659 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Creel ran for 1085 yards and 7 touchdowns. 

Bowl games are beginning to lose their feeling of importance in recent years in college football with players sitting out and some teams declining the option to compete. But this matchup between in-state rivals Troy and Jacksonville State will not fit that narrative. This game will be played in Montgomery, Alabama, which sits right in the middle of these two campuses. Motivation for in-state bragging rights will be on the line, making this one of the better bowl game matchups. My key matchup for this game is Jacksonville State’s running game versus Troy’s defense. Troy has struggled against the run this season, allowing 192 rushing yards per game. That number has them ranked 115th in the nation in that category. Against James Madison, Troy allowed their opponent to run for 318 yards on 42 attempts. That came out to 7.6 yards per attempt. With both their running back and quarterback rushing for over 1000 yards this season, Jacksonville State thrives running the football. If Troy cannot stop the run again this Tuesday, this could be a game we see Jacksonville State win as the underdog. 

Jacksonville State +2.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at the moneyline.