Troy Trojans vs Jacksonville State Gamecocks Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/16/2025

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Venue:  Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Troy -3, JSU +3; Over/Under:  51.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Troy -3, JSU +3; Over/Under:  51 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Troy -3, JSU +3; Over/Under:  51.5 points

Troy Trojans:  8-5 (6-2) (1st place, Sun Belt West)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  8-5 (7-1) (2nd place, C-USA)

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Troy Trojans:  lost their last game on the road against the James Madison Dukes 31-14.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  lost their last game at home against the Kennesaw State Owls 19-15.

Troy is entering this game with an 8-5 record overall and they have a 6-2 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 4-3 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, and they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against James Madison 31-14. Will Crowder was the starting QB and he completed 15/34 passes for 196 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Tae Meadows led the team in rushing yards with 10 and 1 TD. Rara Thomas led the receivers with 82 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Justin Powe led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Jamel Fils-Aime and Donnie Smith each led the defense in sacks with 1. Jaquez White came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Jacksonville State is entering this game with an 8-5 record overall and they have a 7-1 record in their conference games too. They are 5-1 in their home games, 3-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Kennesaw State 19-15. Caden Creel was the starting QB and he completed 12/21 passes for 96 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Caden Creel led the team in rushing yards with 112 and 1 TD. Deondre Johnson led the receivers with 59 receiving yards on 4 receptions. Walker O'Steen led the defense in that game with 9 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Mac Sanders led the defense in sacks with 1.5. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Troy listed as a 3 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Troy has looked good in their games this season with their 8-5 record overall and their 6-2 conference record which had them right at the top of their division in the Sun Belt. They haven't played a game at a neutral site this season so this will be their first, playing in the Salute to Veterans Bowl. Meanwhile, Jacksonville State has looked good in their games this season with their 8-5 record overall and their 7-1 conference record which had them right at the top of the Conference USA. They haven't played a game at a neutral site this season either. Both of these teams are entering this game off losses in their Conference Championships. Troy is off a 31-14 loss to James Madison, but they didn't look terrible in that loss. They let the game get away from them near the end, but they looked really competitive in the 1st half as they were putting up a really good fight and giving JMU a lot of trouble. Troy was also on the road in a hostile environment and playing against a ranked team that made the CFP. Jacksonville State is also off a loss in the Conference USA Championship, but their loss is much worse. They lost the championship game 19-15 as the home team and they also play in a much weaker conference, losing to a team that was in FCS 2 years ago, in a conference that is made up mostly from FCS teams making the jump to FBS. Troy played in a much stronger conference all year which is going to help them out a lot against a weaker opponent like this, and they did go toe-to-toe with a playoff team, so they will be looking to bounce back from that good effort and end the season on a positive note. The best way to place a bet here is on Troy to cover the spread in this game. 

Troy Jacksonville State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Tuesday, December 16, 2025 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Troy 31 Jax State 21.

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Troy Trojans: 23-16 ATS in all lined games. 14-4 ATS after playing their last game on the road. 11-5 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record. 14-5 UNDER when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 11-5 UNDER when playing against a team with a winning record.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: 1-5 ATS against Sun Belt conference opponents. 3-6 ATS at home in non-conference games. 0-4 ATS at home after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses. 12-6 UNDER after playing a game at home. 9-4 UNDER when playing against a team with a winning record.

Troy Trojans:  G. Crowder (QB) Questionable - Lower Body. G. Langlo (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Fua'au (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. E. Prather (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks:  T. Taylor (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Likely (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Campbell (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Small (OG) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Wallace (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Mayowa (LB) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Bride (S) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Thompson (LB) Out - Undisclosed.

"You have to humble yourself and say what a great job by James Madison. Coach Chesney, staff, players, certainly played championship-level football, especially in the second half to finish the job to win 11 straight and the Sun Belt. Tip of the hat to them; they outplayed us tonight.” - Gerad Parker after his team’s loss against JMU in the Sun Belt Championship.

"We're disappointed in the results tonight but I'm not disappointed in the way these guys competed and the way they've competed all year. I'm very proud of them. We had opportunities and we didn't take advantage of those opportunities." - Charles Kelly after his team’s loss against Kennesaw State in the Conference USA Championship.

WR Thomas, RaRa

WR Epps, DJ

WR Higgins, Peyton

TE Conner, Ethan

QB Crowder, Goose

RB Meadows, Tae

WR Johnson, Deondre

WR Rechsteiner, Brock

WR Coombs, Caleb

TE Baldwin, Pearson

QB Creel, Caden

RB Cook, Cam

Passing: Tucker Kilcrease (1,421)

Rushing: Tae Meadows (695)

Receiving: RaRa Thomas (577)

Touchdowns: Tae Meadows (6)

Passing: Caden Creel (1,341)

Rushing: Cam Cook (1,659)

Receiving: Deondre Johnson (623)

Touchdowns: Cam Cook (16)

Coaches:

Troy Trojans: Gerad Parker (2nd season)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks: Charles Kelly (1st season)