Troy vs. Jacksonville State returns to center stage Tuesday night, reviving the Ol’ School Bell rivalry after nearly a quarter-century off the calendar. Both the Troy Trojans and Jacksonville State Gamecocks flirted with conference title contention this season, and the Salute to Veterans Bowl now serves as a high-stakes finale that can redefine how each program remembers its 2025 campaign.
Our Troy vs. Jacksonville State prediction explores the series history and context, incorporates PFSN’s team and player grades to spotlight key edges on both sides of the ball, walks through how and where fans can watch, and closes with a detailed breakdown and a score forecast for the Salute to Veterans Bowl.
Troy vs. Jacksonville State Details
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025
- Game time: 9 p.m. ET
- Location: Cramton Bowl | Montgomery, AL
- Predicted weather at kick: 38 degrees, mostly clear, 5 mph winds
- How to watch: ESPN
Troy vs. Jacksonville State Head-to-Head Record
Troy vs. Jacksonville State is renewing a rivalry so old that the Trojans were competing under a different nickname the last time these programs met, but the stakes around the Ol’ School Bell and the setting in the Salute to Veterans Bowl keep the intensity intact.
Across 63 previous meetings, Jacksonville State holds a 33-28-2 edge, giving the Gamecocks the historical upper hand even as the series resumes on a bigger stage.
MORE: Top Players Not Playing in Troy vs. Jacksonville State: Will Goose Crowder Return for the Trojans?
Recent series momentum, however, sits firmly with Troy vs. Jacksonville State on the Trojans’ side. Troy has taken the last seven matchups, including a 21-3 win in 2001, and owns a 12-3 record in the rivalry since 1983, a run that spans time at the Division II and FCS levels.
Now, with both programs competing as FBS members for the first time in this series, the latest chapter arrives with new context but the same regional familiarity that has long defined the matchup.
Troy vs. Jacksonville State Grades
PFSN College OFFi
- Troy: 69.9 (D+)
- Jacksonville State: 69.8 (D+)
PFSN College DEFi
- Troy: 75.4 (C)
- Jacksonville State: 69.8 (D+)
PFSN College OLi
- Troy: 60.9 (D-)
- Jacksonville State: 71.5 (C-)
PFSN College QBi
- Goose Crowder, Troy: 74.0 (C)
- Caden Creel, Jacksonville State: 76.5 (C)
PFSN College RBi
- Jordan Lovett, Troy: 58.7 (F)
- Cam Cook, Jacksonville State: 88.0 (B+)
PFSN College WRi
- Tray Taylor, Troy: 79.5 (C+)
- Brock Rechsteiner, Jacksonville State: 71.2 (C-)
PFSN College TEi
- Ethan Conner, Troy: 76.6 (C)
- Pearson Baldwin, Jacksonville State: 77.3 (C+)
PFSN College EDGEi
- Donnie Smith, Troy: 72.4 (C-)
- Isaac Walker, Jacksonville State: 65.1 (C)
PFSN College DTi
- Taleeq Robbins, Troy: 70.9 (C-)
- Emmanuel Oyebadejo, Jacksonville State: 78.6 (C+)
PFSN College LBi
- Jordan Stringer, Troy: 73.4 (C)
- Walker O’Steen, Jacksonville State: 69.3 (D+)
PFSN College CBi
- Jaquez White, Troy: 81.1 (B-)
- Tre’Quon Fegans, Jacksonville State: 81.7 (B-)
PFSN College SAFi
- Devin Lafayette, Troy: 79.9 (C+)
- Caleb Nix, Jacksonville State: 80.3 (B-)
Troy vs. Jacksonville State Prediction
Although there were two games on Saturday to open bowl season, the action really gets underway on Tuesday, and you couldn’t ask for a better matchup to showcase why the postseason schedule remains alive in the overwhelming evidence that bowl games as we know them are officially dead. Troy vs. Jacksonville State means plenty, and should be a scorcher.
Troy enters the Salute to Veterans Bowl off the back of a Sun Belt Championship Game appearance, where the Trojans played the College Football Playoff-bound James Madison Dukes much more closely than anyone gave them credit for ahead of the matchup. Gerard Parker’s 8-5 team held an early lead and was within a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter.
As we’ve come to expect from the Trojans, they have some dangerous playmakers on defense that could cause the Jacksonville State offense trouble on Tuesday night. Jordan Stringer and Devin Lafayette both surpassed 100 tackles this fall, while Stringer and Donnie Smith both racked up double-digit tackles for loss. Smith led the Sun Belt in sacks in 2025.
In addition to Lafayette, who added two interceptions and two forced fumbles to his tackling prowess, the Trojans have multiple dangerous playmakers in the secondary. Jacquez White snagged three interceptions this season while leading the team with 11 passes defended. Meanwhile, three players took an interception back for a score for a team with a positive turnover margin.
MORE: 5 Transfer Portal Landing Spots for Former Florida QB DJ Lagway
The defense will be without two key components as Kaleno Levine and DJ Jackson Jr. have opted out of the Salute to Veterans Bowl. Furthermore, the weakness against the ground game exposed against James Madison plays directly into the offensive strength of the Gamecocks, shipping over 200 yards to running back Wayne Knight in the Sun Belt Championship Game.
Enter Cam Cook. The Jacksonville State star has been electric in CUSA play after transferring from the TCU Horned Frogs, leading the nation with 1,659 rushing yards and topping his conference with 16 touchdowns. His combination of physicality and elusiveness has been untameable in 2025, and that is set to be the difference maker between the two teams on Tuesday night.
Like most bowl games, Troy vs. Jacksonville State will be impacted by opt-outs. In addition to the defensive losses for the Trojans, offensive lineman Patrick Bowling and leading rusher Tae Meadows won’t suit up, hamstringing an offense that could be forced into using both Goose Crowder and Tucker Kilcrease as the former returns from injury for one last game.
Although the Jacksonville State defense hasn’t matched the ferocity of the 2023 unit in either of the last two seasons, playmakers like Tre’Quon Fegans, Caleb Nix, Emmanuel Oyebadejo, Walker O’Steen, and Mac Sanders should be built to withstand an offense that averaged just 24.3 points per game during the 2025 college football season.
Between that advantage and the devastating impact of running back Cook, Jacksonville State should reclaim the ‘Ol School Bell’ for the first time since 1990; if Troy can find the bell, that is.
Prediction: Troy 21, Jacksonville State 27
