JACKSON, Miss. — Florida A&M had a lead going into the final quarter at Jackson State on Saturday, Oct. 17, but the Rattlers could not hold it, and the Tigers pulled away for a 27-17 Southwestern Athletic Conference win on their homecoming day at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Jackson State held a slim 12-10 edge at the break. Two of those points came on a safety just before halftime, when a FAMU kick returner took the ball back into the end zone and knelt. The Rattlers jumped back in front on their first snap of the third quarter, when running back Jamal Hailey broke loose for an 81-yard touchdown. He finished with 111 yards on 12 carries.
The fourth quarter belonged to the home team. Quarterback Jared Lockhart found Jabari Jones on a 25-yard scoring throw and then ran in the two-point try, and Nate Blount IV later added a short touchdown run after a bobbled FAMU snap was recovered at the Rattlers’ 29. Lockhart, back from a back injury suffered the week before against Grambling State, threw for 98 yards.
Turnovers sank FAMU. Freshman quarterback Armond Parker, who ran for a touchdown, completed 11 of 27 throws for 163 yards but was picked off three times and lost a fumble.
The loss drops FAMU to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play, one week after a 28-27 comeback at Alabama State. Jackson State improves to 6-1 and 3-1. The Tigers have now beaten FAMU three straight times, after a 41-16 win in 2025, and lead a series that dates to 1961.
FAMU returns to Tallahassee for its own homecoming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m.
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