From Grambling State University Sports Communications:
Grambling State Seeks Road Win Against FAMU
GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University football team will look to string together back-to-back wins as the Tigers visit Florida A&M in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game. Kickoff against the Rattlers is set for 3 p.m. (central)from Bragg Memorial Stadium.
Grambling State (3-4 overall, 2-2 SWAC) enters the contest off a bye week and last played on Oct. 16. The Tigers got a pair of defensive touchdowns in pulling away from Texas Southern to celebrate a 34-20 Homecoming victory on Oct. 16.
Florida A&M (5-2, 3-1) have won four straight after a 38-17 non-conference road loss to South Florida on Sept. 18. The Rattlers jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the third quarter at Mississippi Valley State last weekend and survived a last rally attempt by the Delta Devils to earn a 31-28 win.
Saturday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+ as Butch Alsandor and Jorge Vargas will have the call. In addition, Grambling State will broadcast and stream the game on the Grambling State Sports Radio Network. The game can be heard in Ruston (KRUS – Hitz 96.3) and in Monroe (KNNW – 103.1 FM). The Tigers’ broadcast crew of Ossie Clark and Nick Harrison will call all of the action.
“It was good to relax a bit last week and get some rest,” Grambling State head coach Broderick Fobbs said. “We were able to get away from this thing for a little bit and try to get ready for the long haul. I thought we did a really good job of trying to get everybody healthy and remain healthy, but also continue to get better at the same time. We’re excited about what we are doing and was very, very pleased with practice last week. The team had a lot of energy and everybody was ready to go.
“We are playing against a Florida A&M team, who was one point away from perhaps winning their division. They are a very tough opponent at home, and extremely talented on all three phases. Coach Willie Simmons does a really good job and the staff does a really good of putting together a really good football team. We’re excited about the opportunity to play in this game and we’ll be on Florida soil, which has been good to us recruiting wise.”
ABOUT THE GAME
– Grambling State and Florida A&M will be meeting for the 16th time in the series, but the first time as members of the SWAC
– It’s been 21 years since the two teams met, with Grambling State picking up a 12-10 victory in 2000
– The Tigers played the spring season, while the Rattlers elected to forgo their final season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
– Both teams are incredibly rich in tradition with a combined 30 Black College Football National Championships
– Florida A&M will be celebrating Homecoming and this will be the second time Grambling State has visited an opponent on Homecoming (Alcorn State)
– The Tigers will face both SWAC newcomers – Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman – in a three-week span
– Florida A&M will be seeking its first ever victory over Grambling State in Bragg Memorial Stadium
GRAMBLING STATE NEWS & NOTES
– Grambling State enjoyed the rest of the bye week last weekend
– The Tigers are coming off a 34-20 Homecoming victory over Texas Southern on Ov. 16
– Against TSU, Grambling State forced three turnovers and has amassed 10 over the past three games
– The Tigers’ defense ranks tops in the conference in passes intercepted and defensive touchdowns
– GSU’s defense ranks third nationally in defensive touchdowns and 14th in sacks
– In addition, Grambling State ranks first in the SWAC in fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards
– Noah Bodden, Aldon Clark and Elijah Walker all saw action under center against Texas Southern
– Garrett Urban continues to be solid in the kicking game as he is 9-for-11 in field goal attempts (81.8 percent), with both misses coming between 40-49 yards
– Grambling State begins a stretch of back-to-back road games, before its home finale on Nov. 13against Bethune-Cookman
FLORIDA A&M NEWS & NOTES
– The Rattlers have won four straight, including a 31-28 road victory last weekend against Mississippi Valley State
– Florida A&M defensive end Isaiah Land leads the nation, averaging 1.64 sacks per game and owns the school’s single-game sack record with five against South Carolina State
– FAMU running back Bishop Bonnett has 640 carries and is slowly approaching 1,000 yards for the season
– The Rattlers’ defense is among tops in the nation in third down defense (fourth), fumbles recovered (seventh), team sacks (eighth), first down defense (ninth) and total defense (ninth)
– Defensive end Isaiah Land was selected the SWAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks
– FAMU’s Jah’Marae Sheread was tabbed the SWAC Specialist of the Week
– The Rattlers boast 357.1 yards per game, with nearly a balanced attack, averaging 158.1 on the ground and 199.0 through the air
ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY
– Grambling State leads the all-time series, 10-5
– The series dates back to 1955, where Grambling State won, 28-21
– Grambling State has dominated the series, having won eight of the last nine meetings
– GSU own the longest winning streak in the series – seven games
– The Tigers edged the Rattlers, 12-10, in the last matchup in 2000
BRODERICK FOBBS TRENDS
– This will be the first meeting between Grambling State and Florida A&M
– Grambling State is 23-3 in games played in October
– The Tigers are riding a three-game conference road losing streak, which dates back to the 2019 season
– Grambling State is 50-19 against non-ranked FCS teams
– GSU is 40-19 in games played before 6 p.m.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WHAT’S NEXT
– Grambling State returns to action with a trip to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 6
– The Tigers and Golden Lions last met in the spring, with UAPB picking up a 48-21 victory
– Prior to the spring loss, Grambling State had won four straight against UAPB
– The last time Arkansas-Pine Bluff won two straight against Grambling State was during the 2012 and 2013 seasons
– Arkansas-Pine Bluff faces Texas Southern on Saturday
– GSU is 31-12-2 all-time against UAPB as the series dates back to 1951
