The Orange Blossom Classic will see Florida A&M (FAMU) take on Jackson St (JSU) Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL. These teams enter under slightly different circumstances. FAMU is just kicking their season off, while JSU recently won against South Carolina State. The last time these two teams played was in 2022. Jackson State took that one by a final score of 59-3.
Florida A&M (9-2 Overall in 2022)
The Rattlers will enter this season after a 9-2 campaign last year. They averaged 25.5 points and 353 offensive yards per contest in 2022. Defensively, the Rattlers conceded an average of 22.4 points per game.
It’s the first game of the season for Florida A&M. Players in all three phases: offense, defense, and special teams, will be looking to start the season off right.
Last season, Florida A&M’s offensive play selection split was 54% pass, 46% run.
Florida A&M went 9-2 in 2022. The Orange Blossom Classic is their first neutral site game this year, but they went 1-1 in 2022. Florida A&M has lost three straight matchups against Jackson State since Sep 15, 2018.
Jackson State (1-0 Overall)
The Tigers will enter this match up with a 1-0 campaign so far. Getting points on the board certainly hasn’t been an issue for Jackson St, as they are averaging 37.0 points per contest. On the other side of the ball, the Tigers’ defense is giving up an average of 7.0 points per game.
Quarterback Jason Brown will be leading Jackson State in this one. Brown has averaged 356.0 pass yards per game with season totals of three touchdowns and zero interceptions thus far this season.
Jackson State’s offense is constantly looking to get their star receiver involved. Rico Powers has been on the receiving end of 27% of the team’s passing yardage this season.
Jackson State enters after putting up a 12-1 campaign in 2022. They’ve had good luck at neutral sites this season, as they’re current neutral site record sits at 1-0. The Orange Blossom Classic is the first SWAC game for Jackson State.