Florida A&M football vs Howard Orange Blossom Classic rivalry renewed

WATCH: FAMU football coach James Colzie III comments on 2025 spring game

James Colzie III is the head coach of the FAMU Rattlers football team.

FAMU and Howard will face off in the Orange Blossom Classic on August 30, 2025.This game is a rematch of the 2023 Celebration Bowl, which FAMU won.FAMU leads the all-time series against Howard 30-11.The Orange Blossom Classic was revived in 2021 after being discontinued in 1978.

The Florida A&M and Howard football rivalry will turn a new page in three months.

On Saturday, Aug. 30, the Rattlers and the Bison are set to face off in Week 1’s Orange Blossom Classic in Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium to kick off the 2025 season.

FAMU versus Howard is a rematch of the 2023 Celebration Bowl, which determined the Black College Football National Champion. The Rattlers won the nail-biter in Atlanta, 30-26, to capture the program’s 16th Black College Football National Championship in December 2023.

Second-year FAMU head coach James Colzie III served as the Rattlers’ assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach during the Celebration Bowl game two years ago. Howard’s Larry Scott was in his fourth year leading the program during the Bison Black College National Championship runner-up finish.

This year’s Orange Blossom Classic is also a nod to the game’s beginnings when FAMU defeated Howard 9-6 in the 1933 inception. The teams also met in the 1974 Orange Blossom Classic, with FAMU beating Howard again, 17-13.

“It’s a chance to honor the legends who paved the way and allows us to write our chapter in the story of Black College Football,” Colzie said at the Orange Blossom Classic Kickoff Press Conference on Wednesday, May 21.

“Playing Howard is something we look forward to. Hopefully, we can bring that same excitement that we brought from the 2023 Celebration Bowl.”

In the…

Source link : https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/famu/2025/05/22/famu-rattlers-football-vs-howard-orange-blossom-classic-rivalry/83743472007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-05-22 09:06:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.