Jacksonville State holds off Troy to win Salute to Veterans Bowl

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Caden Creel threw a touchdown pass, Deondre Johnson had six receptions for 101 yards, and Jacksonville State beat Troy, 17-13, on Tuesday night to win the Salute to Veterans Bowl.

Andrew Paul’s 1-yard run off a direct snap gave the Gamecocks a 17-13 lead with 5:44 remaining. With about a minute left, Tucker Kilcrease drove Troy past midfield but his Hail Mary pass-attempt to DJ Epps on the final play was knocked down in the end zone.

Creel completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards that included a 22-yard touchdown pass to Brock Rechsteiner in the first quarter. Garrison Rippa added a 51-yard field goal in the third for Jacksonville State (9-5).

Kilcrease was 12-of-23 passing for 116 yards and threw two interceptions for Troy (8-6), which ended a 79-game win streak when leading heading into the fourth quarter.

Late in the first quarter, Troy scored its only touchdown on the Gamecocks’ botched flea flicker. Luis Medina recovered a fumble in the end zone after TJ Thompson strip-sacked Creel. Scott Taylor Renfroe kicked field goals from 38 and 30 yards in the second quarter and the Trojans led 13-7 at halftime.

Troy had won the last seven games between the teams but it was the first meeting since 2001 for the schools located just 162 miles apart. The Trojans are 33-29-2 in the series that dates to 1924.

Jacksonville State has played in a bowl game in each of its three seasons at the FBS level. Marshall is the only other team (1997-99) to appear in bowl games in each of its first three eligible seasons.