TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — After a bye week, the Florida A&M Rattlers are back at it, and in a big way. They're playing their first SWAC game at Bragg this weekend. It's a moment head coach Willie Simmons and this program have been looking forward too. Alabama State is coming from just three hours away. Simmons said their band will be here and he expects a large fan base and for it to be loud inside Bragg Memorial Stadium Saturday night, and those reasons are why they joined the SWAC in the first place.
"This is a game where all our rabid Rattler fans should be here and really be prepared to give us a great home field advantage," he said Monday. "I think the atmosphere will be electric, and I'm looking forward to it. Games like this, even though it's early in the season, this is a reason you come to FAMU, this is a reason we joined the SWAC, to have the type of atmosphere we're going to see inside Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 6:00."
The Rattlers opened up the season with a loss against Jackson State, and he said this team is ready to get their first conference win.
"We really didn't do a lot as far as Alabama State goes last week, it was really about us and us getting better at our fundamentals," he said of taking advantage of the bye week. "We were able to do that and get some guys back healthy. Chad Hunter was able to get his ankle better, hunt the same, so we're being able to being able to get back to full strength as we can be."
Kick-off between Alabama State and Florida A&M is set for 6:00 on Saturday.
