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Albany State University Athletics

26 fb header at famu
7
Albany St. (GA) ASU 0-1 , 0-0
20
Winner Florida A&M FAM 1-0 , 0-0
Albany St. (GA) ASU
0-1 , 0-0
7
Final
20
Florida A&M FAM
1-0 , 0-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ASU Albany St. (GA) 0 0 0 7 7
FAM Florida A&M 7 0 3 10 20

Game Recap: Football |

Golden Rams Play Tough, Fall Short to FCS Rattlers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The David Bowser era opened with grit and some encouraging plays in the 2026 football season opener. Albany State held tough and gave host Florida A&M all it could want for the first 51 minutes before it fell by a 20-7 margin on the gridiron.
 
Florida A&M put the first points on the board on its second drive and never trailed. The Golden Ram defense came up with some big plays to highlight the promising outing, including a 4th-and-goal sack after have the team's punt blocked ending the previous possession. ASU found paydirt with 4:20 left in the game when Vinson Berry hit Exavior Sherrod from seven yards away for what would be the 20-7 final.
 
"I felt we matched the physicality of FAMU. It was a very physical game," noted Bowser. "But we made more mental mishaps – in regards to the first ball game. We needed to play someone else to see what we needed to work on."
 
In the one-score game the majority of the night, the Rattlers outgained the Golden Rams, 260-163. ASU completed 14 passes for 160 yards, while it only gained three positive yards on 37 carries due to 10 sacks by the home team.
 
Berry came off the bench to complete 5 of 10 passes for 38 yards and the lone touchdown, while starter Jeffrey Davis amassed 122 yards on nine of 12 pass attempts. Jaquan Graham pulled in five passes for 83 yards, including grabs of 29 and 21 yards in the opening drive of the second half. Malachi Eaford had three catches for 25 yards and Duke Timmons caught two balls for 19 yards. Sherrod's lone reception was the seven-yard score. Jayden Threat led the ground game with 26 yards on eight rushes.
 
Defensively, the ASU unit gave up only 260 yards on 57 plays including eight tackles for loss and a trio of sacks. D'avary Weeks paced the group with seven stops and a sack, while both Rontavion Scott and Derrick Drayton recorded six tackles to go with one and two tackles for loss. Avery Hall and Jimmy Dawson rounded out the defense with the other two sacks.
 
"Now, our defense played outstanding. We converted and got some stops," Bowser pointed out. "We need to clean up some things on the special teams with our decision making."
 
Bowser continued, "Overall, we had a lot of missed opportunities. We played both quarterbacks on offense – Vince gave us a spark late and JD had good drives. Collectively, we have to improve things."
 
After the ASU punt was blocked late in the second quarter, Dawson made sure FAMU didn't come away with any points off it. On 4th-and-Goal from the 3-yard line, Dawson took down his former teammate in the Rattlers' QB Isaiah Knowles for a 7-yard loss and turnover on downs.
 
Down 7-0 at half, the Golden Ram offense put together its best drive of the night to that point. Davis hit Graham from 29 and 21 yards in an 11-play, 65-yard drive. ASU, though, came up empty when Jonathan Rodriguez's 32-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
 
The ASU defense continued to be solid as it bent but didn't break as FAMU added a 17-yard and a 37-yard field goal for a 13-0 total with 12:29 left.
 
The two foes exchanged touchdowns over the final nine minutes, including ASU's 74-yard on 14 play drive.
 
It will not be a resting Labor Day weekend for the Golden Rams. Albany State travels to Canton, Ohio for a Sunday, Sept. 6 contest against Johnson C. Smith in the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic. Kick-off is set for 4 p.m. and it can be seen on The NFL Network.
 
 

 
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