T.C. Taylor didn't mince words when reacting to Jackson State's 28-10 loss to Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic. The first-year Tigers head coach took personal responsibility for how the team performed on the field Sunday afternoon.

“We got our butts kicked today out there today,” he said post-game according to J.T. Keith of the Clarion Ledger “I have to do a better job of getting this football team ready to play.”

To start the game, Florida A&M's Marcus Riley ran for a 96-yard touchdown that set the tone of the game. Taylor cited that as a sticking point of the loss.

“It was like a boxing match. We took a heavy hit in the first round. It was an amazing return by that kid. He did what he was supposed to do, and we had to rebound from it. I thought it set the tone for their program and their football team got the energy and momentum. It took us a while to rebound from it and get over it.”

Taylor also addressed the late-game quarterback switch that saw Zy McDonald subbed in for Jason Brown. McDonald was productive, as he finished the game throwing for 149 yards on 10/14 passing and setting up the lone touchdown for the Tigers.

“I thought Zy (McDonald) did a great job, Jason has some things he has to work on going forward. Zy came in and gave us a little spark. He was able to do a little bit more as far as the quarterback run game and gave the offense a little bit more spark in the second half.”

According to Keith's report, Jason Brown underwent an x-ray to determine if he was injured. He tweaked his hand after hitting it on a FAMU player's helmet.

Jackson State's next opponent will be rival Southern University in the Pete Richardson Classic on Saturday at 7 PM EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+