2022 Celebration Bowl

In their third season under head coach Deion Sanders, the Jackson State Tigers began the year with a dominant win over Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, played at Hard Rock Stadium.[11] Their second game was also a neutral site contest, as they defeated Tennessee State in the Southern Heritage Classic by thirteen points.[12] The Tigers played their home opener the following week, against Grambling State,[13] and defeated Mississippi Valley State at home to lead into a bye week.[14] Now ranked in the top 10 by the STATS FCS Poll, the Tigers continued their good form in a pair of road contests, first defeating Alabama State by fourteen points[15] and then beating Bethune–Cookman by forty.[16] Jackson State's homecoming game followed, as the Tigers hosted the Campbell Fighting Camels from the Big South Conference, and won by eight.[17] The following weekend, on October 29, Jackson State played host to College GameDay for the first time[18] as the Tigers defeated Southern in a shutout, 35–0.[19] That game was their final home contest of the season, as the followed it up with a road win at Texas Southern,[20] a neutral-site contest in Mobile, Alabama, against Alabama A&M,[21] and another road win over Alcorn State to cap their undefeated regular season.[22] This undefeated season also guaranteed them a bid to the SWAC Football Championship Game, where they defeated Southern for a second time to win their second consecutive SWAC championship.[23] The Tigers entered the game with a 12–0 record, and an 8–0 mark in conference play, and ranked No. 10 by the STATS Poll[24] and No. 5 by the Coaches' Poll.[25]

On December 3, 2022, following the conclusion of the SWAC championship game, it was announced that Sanders would accept the head coaching position at Colorado.[26] He arrived in Boulder to take the job the following day,[27] but clarified that he would remain with Jackson State through the end of the season,[28] making the Celebration Bowl his last game at Jackson State.[29]

In their third season under head coach Trei Oliver, the North Carolina Central (NCCU) Eagles began their 2022 campaign with a neutral site rivalry game against North Carolina A&T, which they won, marking their first win over the Aggies since 2016.[30] NCCU's home opener played to a shutout victory over Winston-Salem State, a NCAA Division II school which is also an HBCU.[31] NCCU pulled an upset the next week, defeating No. 25 New Hampshire on the road and taking their spot at No. 25 in the rankings the following week.[32] After a sound defeat of Virginia–Lynchburg the following week,[33] NCCU suffered their first defeat of the season at Campbell in their fifth game.[34] Following a bye week, they opened conference play with a 39-point defeat of Morgan State,[35] but were defeated on the road the following week by defending Celebration Bowl champions South Carolina State.[36] NCCU returned to winning ways with a victory over Delaware State,[37] and won their homecoming game against Howard.[38] The Eagles clinched the MEAC Championship and their bid to the Celebration Bowl on November 12, 2022, after defeating Norfolk State, 48–14.[39] They finished their regular season on with an away victory against Tennessee Tech by virtue of a field goal as time expired.[40] NCCU entered the game with an overall record of 9–2 and a MEAC record of 4–1.[40] They were ranked No. 21 in the Coaches' Poll[25] but were unranked in the STATS Poll prior to the game.[24]