The college football bowl season continues on Tuesday with an all-Alabama affair when the Troy Trojans of the Sun Belt meet the Jacksonville State Jaguars of Conference USA in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl (formerly known as the Camellia Bowl) at 9:00pm ET in Birmingham. Both of these teams were runners up in their respective conferences, as the Trojans lost to James Madison 31-14 while Jacksonville State lost to Kennesaw State 19-15. This will be Troy’s third bowl game since 2022 after not making the cut last year, as well as Jax State’s third consecutive bowl since making the jump to the FBS.
As Tuesday’s only bowl matchup, all eyes will be on the Trojans and the Gamecocks when this game kicks off. To prepare you for the Salute to Veterans Bowl, I put together a Troy vs. Jacksonville State Same Game Parlay with odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Let’s get into the picks, and don’t forget to check out all of our NCAAF predictions for every bowl and College Football Playoff game this postseason.
Troy ML (-126)
Rara Thomas (TROY) Anytime TD (+220)
Troy vs. Jacksonville State Same Game Parlay odds: +361
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Troy Trojans ML over Jacksonville State Gamecocks (-126)
Troy’s player availability is a common talking point when it comes to assessing this matchup, and rightfully so. The Trojans have struggled with injuries to their offensive line pretty much all year, and they expect to be in the same position in this bowl game with multiple opt-outs and/or injuries across the line. On top of that, starting RB Tae Meadows opted out, while QB Goose Crowder is questionable after being knocked out of the Sun Belt Championship. However, oddsmakers know all of this information and still listed Troy as a -3.5 favorite at open. There’s been a heavy influx of Jax State money since then, pushing this number down to -2 or -2.5.
Per one of Troy’s beat reporters, Crowder has been practicing and the team seems optimistic he will play. If he can’t, then the Trojans should feel confidence in backup QB Tucker Kilcrease – who threw for just about 1,400 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions along with 5 rushing touchdowns in 7 appearances with at least 20 pass attempts. No matter who is under center, expect WR RaRa Thomas to be an integral part of the passing attack while Jordan Lovett gets a bulk of the carries in place of Meadows. Lovett showed he can be effective with a full workload after a 113-yard, 2-touchdown performance against Louisiana – a game Meadows missed.
Troy’s primary defensive objective is stopping Jax State RB Cam Cook. The Gamecocks deploy a heavy rushing attack and Cook is the primary beneficiary, leading the country in attempts, rushing yards, missed tackles forced, and yards after contact. While Troy is not the best tackling team, the Trojans have been solid against the run of late, sitting top-45 in PPA per rush allowed, top-40 in stuff rate and top-30 in rush explosiveness allowed since Week 9.
Troy is also top-40 in standard downs PPA since the end of October, which means the Trojans should see some success in limiting Jax State’s early downs efficiency while forcing the Gamecocks into obvious passing situations on third down – where they have not been very good this year. In fact, the Gamecocks have converted fewer than 30% of their third downs in their last 3 games. In scoring situations, I trust Troy’s defense a little bit more than Jax State’s. The Trojans are top-10 nationally in opposing red-zone touchdown rate, surrendering a touchdown on about 45% of opposing trips inside the 20-yard line.
Jax State looks to be a very popular underdog in the Salute to Veterans Bowl, which is an angle I typically like to fade in bowl season.
RaRa Thomas (Troy) Anytime TD (+220)
As I previously alluded to, I’m expecting Thomas to be heavily involved in this game, even if fellow WR DJ Epps has been Troy’s leader in targets recently. Being an SEC transfer, Thomas should have a talent edge against a Jacksonville State secondary – which ranks outside the top 100 in total passing yards and passing yards per game allowed this season. Thomas’ 5 receiving touchdowns are tied with Epps for the team lead, but his 6’2, 210-pound frame makes him a great end zone target against a below-average Jax State red zone defense.
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