Florida State and Florida A&M are enjoying historic success as the college football regular season steams into its final month.
The two Tallahassee titans are a combined 17-1 heading into Saturday’s home games on campuses less than two miles apart. It’s their best cumulative record at this point in November since a 17-2 mark in 1998.
Both are in national conversation in their respective divisions and have secured berths to conference championship games.
Rudy Hubbard, 77, offers a unique perspective on their accomplishments.
The Tallahassee resident coached FAMU to inaugural NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship in 1978, and was part of the 1968 and 1970 national championship staffs under College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes at Ohio State.
Hubbard has watched coach Mike Norvell return the Seminoles to elite status in four seasons; and coach Willie Simmons build on his six seasons of success with the Rattlers.
“FSU and FAMU together, man, it’s unbelievable,” Hubbard said. “It’s amazing and I am so pleased. Winning is really difficult, and these two teams are swinging heavy blows.
“It’s exciting for Tallahassee.”
FSU football returning to ACC Championship Game for 1st time in nearly a decade
The Seminoles remained No. 4 in the second of six College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday and last Saturday secured their first appearance in the ACC Championship since 2014.
FSU is 9-0 and riding a 15-game win streak entering their showdown against Miami (6-3) at Doak Campbell Stadium at 3:30 p.m. The game is FSU’s eighth to be televised by ABC this season and fourth sellout in five home games.
Since going 8-13 in his first two seasons at FSU, Norvell, 42, has reversed course at 19-3.
“I am so proud of Mike, his team, the coaches and players,” former FSU President John Thrasher said. “I am proud of being part of hiring Mike. … he has done everything he said he was going to do, and more.”
FSU’s winning ways have lifted spirits and been an economic boost to nearby businesses like Madison Social in CollegeTown.
“As we all know, the sun shines a bit brighter on those Sundays after a win,” said Matt Thompson, managing partner For The Table Hospitality. “Being so close to Doak, one thing is for sure – when the ‘Noles win, Tallahassee wins.”
FAMU football will host first playoff game since 1988
Across Gaines Street from FSU, the Rattlers (8-1) clinched a spot in the SWAC Championship game two weeks ago.
And their win over Alabama A&M last Saturday secured the league title game being played at Bragg Memorial Stadium Dec. 2. FAMU last hosted a postseason game in 1988, defeating Troy in the Division I-AA playoffs.
The Rattlers also vaulted to No. 9 from No. 13 in this week’s FCS Coaches Poll Top-25. Home, sweet, home has never been better, either. FAMU has won 18 consecutive home games entering their non-conference game and home finale against Division II Lincoln University at 6 p.m.
FAMU fans have supported their team, too, averaging near-capacity crowds (19,633) in three home games this season at Bragg Memorial Stadium (19,716 capacity). Nearly 20,000 fans squeezed into the renovated venue for the Rattlers’ homecoming win over Alabama State last month.
“It has been fantastic. The spirit is much higher than it has been in the past because I think (fans) recognize this could be a Cinderella season for football this year,” said Eddie Jackson, president of the 220 Quarterback Club, a local support group of FAMU athletics.
Simmons, 43, a Quincy native, has directed FAMU to three consecutive nine-win seasons. He was a youth in the 1990s when FSU and FAMU annually chased titles.
The Rattlers appeared in the FCS playoffs for the first time in 20 years in 2021, when they received an at-large bid.
When it comes to precedent, however, the winner of the SWAC Championship next month between East Division winner FAMU and the West Division winner (yet-to-be determined) advances to the Celebration Bowl in Atlanta Dec. 16.
The bowl game recognizes the Black college football national champion. And Simmons has repeatedly said this year’s team is his best at FAMU, which has never appeared in the Celebration Bowl since its inception in 2015.
“I think Willie has done an excellent job,” said Hubbard, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2021. “Comparatively speaking, I wasn’t close to having the knowledge he has about the passing game. I really appreciate what he brings to FAMU football.”
Winning football at FSU and FAMU brings Tallahassee community together
FSU and FAMU feature winning formulas.
They have prolific offenses directed by seasoned quarterbacks in Jordan Travis with the Seminoles and Jeremy Moussa with the Rattlers.
In wins at Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, FSU has recorded back-to-back 500-yard games on the road for the first time since 2001. In last Saturday’s 42-28 win over Alabama A&M, the Rattlers scored the game’s first 17 points and ended it with 35 straight points.
And for those fans who like defense and special teams?
FSU was the only team in the country that did not allow a passing touchdown in October, while FAMU is ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense at 16.76 points per game.
The Rattlers started their season in stunning fashion Sept. 3, when Marcus Riley returned the Orange Blossom Classic’s opening kickoff against Jackson State 96 yards for a touchdown. And FSU’s Deuce Spann returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score against Duke last month to help the Seminoles rally from a 10-point deficit and remain undefeated.
Together, FSU and FAMU are again a winning combo that is impacting Tallahassee, the state and nation.
“To win consistently, I have always felt teams had to handle 12 situations in games (like first downs, third downs, turnovers, etc.),” Hubbard said. “If you win a majority of those, you will win a majority of your games, like FAMU and FSU are doing. And these coaches are going out and getting the kind of players that fit their systems.
“It’s really great what those two teams are doing this year.”
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