After a troubling first half, Florida A&M got their offense together to conquer the Texas Southern Tigers, 31-21. The Rattlers move to 6-1 on the season and solidify themselves as the clear top seed in the SWAC.

The first quarter started out well for Florida A&M, though it quickly snowballed. They forced Texas Southern into a 3-and-out on their first possession. On offense, they were driving and even got a pass interference against the Tigers, but the drive slowed to a halt.

Texas Southern's offense finally got into groove. In the red zone, quarterback Jace Wilson avoided defenders on a rollout and threw his first touchdown pass to tight end Jyrin Johnson.

FAMU got quickly got into striking distance on their next possession. However, while in the red zone, quarterback Jeremy Moussa threw an interception to cornerback Xavier Player.

Texas Southern's offense looked extremely smooth throughout the first half. On the interception, they moved the ball, working through the run and screen passes to get across the field. They had to settle for a field goal, but the ball bounced off the goal post and out.

Fortunately for the Tigers, the Rattlers' offense remained stuck in the mud. They got the ball back and, using the same combination attack as before, smoothly cruised down the field and back inside Florida A&M's 20-yard line. Wilson threw an astonishing floater as his second touchdown to receiver Trenton Leary for the 14-0 lead.

At the end of the first half, FAMU finally got its run game clicking. With the Tiger defense focused on the run, Moussa threw a deep touchdown to receiver Jamari Gassett. The first half closed with Texas Southern holding on to a 14-7 lead.

Whatever Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons said to his team at halftime worked. The Rattler offense came out with a vengeance to start the third quarter. When caught in a fourth and short situation, they went wildcat formation with Jaquez Yant taking the snap and converting for a first down. The Rattlers took up a huge chunk of the third quarter, going on a 13-play, 65-yard drive that took the first six minutes and 33 seconds of the half. The possession ended in a “tush push,” giving Jeremy Moussa a rushing touchdown and tying the game at 14.

Not only did the offense for FAMU step up, but the defense hit another level. They forced the previously humming Tiger offense into a 3-and-out. On the next possession, Kelvin Dean broke off a 49-yard touchdown run to give the Rattlers a 21-14 lead. FAMU'S defense forced *another* 3-and-out against the Tigers, and then the offense immediately scored again off a 14-yard screen pass to Kareem Burke.

To start the fourth quarter, Texas Southern's offense officially ground to dust. Sacks, quarterback pressures, stuffed runs, and dropped passes infected the offense the entire second half. They gave the Rattlers the ball back due to yet another 3-and-out, giving them the opportunity to put the game away. Luckily for them, Florida A&M punted the ball away due to a dropped catch on third down.

The offensive woes for Texas Southern continued. Their abandonment of the run game resulted in another punt that was nearly muffed by the Rattlers. Not wanting to take any chances, Florida A&M slowly moved the ball down the field, utilizing runs and short passes to drain the clock. They kicked a field goal with only a few minutes left, taking a commanding 31-14 lead.

With the clock working against them, the Tigers' offense finally found some rhythm. Mixing some runs in with the passing game (which included multiple dropped passes), Wilson found receiver Kerien Charlo for a wide open touchdown. The Tigers then recovered the onside kick, but turned the ball over on downs to the Rattlers.

The Texas Southern Tigers' passing offense would have looked a lot more crisp if not for the multiple dropped passes. Jace Wilson finished with three touchdowns, an interception, and 178 yards on 16-29 passing. Jyrin Johnson led the Tigers with four catches for 67 yards.

LaDarius Owens led all rushers with 19 carries for 128 yards.

Jeremy Moussa got going after a suspect first half. He ended the game with 17 completions on 32 attempts, throwing for 180 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Jamari Gassett had the most receiving yards for the team with 77 yards and a touchdown, but Jah'Marae Sheread was Moussa's most targeted receiver as he had six catches.

Kelvin Dean had an extremely efficient game, running for 83 yards and a touchdown on just nine attempts.

The Rattlers return for homecoming to face Prairie View A&M on Oct. 28. The game will air on ESPNU.

Texas Southern, now 2-5 on the season, is lined up to play Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Oct. 28