FAMU football team trailed early in the fourth quarter, but a Ryan Stanley 17-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Smith capped the rally as the Rattlers defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) foe Southern, 27-21, in front of a packed house of 27,191 at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The Rattlers (2-1) led 19-7 at the half, but watched Southern (1-3) score two second-half touchdowns to pull ahead, 21-19, with 14:53 remaining.
After both teams traded punts, Florida A&M took over at their own 19-yard line with 8:03 remaining. The Rattlers marched 81 yards as FAMU completed a 3rd-and-5 from the Southern 36 as Stanely connected with Kaleob Parker for five yards.
Three plays later, Smith caught the 17-yard strike from Stanley to give the Rattlers a 25-21 lead with 3:32 left. Instead of kicking the extra point, FAMU head coach Willie Simmons elected to go for the two-point conversions. Azende Rey found a diving Kamari Young in the endzone to give the Rattlers a 27-21 advantage.