Tallahassee, Fla. - With Southern football still mathematically alive in the SWAC West, the Jags needed a strong effort out in Tallahassee against Florida A&M to stay afloat in the divisional race. They got one. Southern beat the Rattlers in Tallahassee for the first time since 2001 in a 42-14 win.

Southern started fast and stayed fast throughout the first two quarters. Four of the Jags' first five drives ended in touchdowns, with two being scored on the ground by running back Trey Holly. Quarterback Christian Johnson turned in a perfect half, throwing the football with five completions on five attempts and a passing touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, Michael Williams II picked up two interceptions in the half and returned the second for a touchdown.

FAMU was able to get a little bit of life heading into halftime. The Rattlers scored their second touchdown of the day with 1:01 remaining in the first half on a pass from Armond Parker to Corey Petty.

Southern led 35-14 at halftime, but the second half slowed down. Nobody scored again until after the two-minute timeout when Jags running back Khalil Davis punched in a 1-yard touchdown to make it 42-14.

The star of the game was easily Holly, who racked up more than 200 rushing yards on the day on just 25 carries. 

With the win, Southern gets a much-needed victory in the SWAC standings and moves to 2-3. The Jags are back at home next week to face Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Nov. 7.