Albany State vs. Fort Valley State: Fountain City Classic preview, kickoff time and how to watch

ALBANY — Last Saturday, Albany State learned how to finish. This Saturday, the Golden Rams get to show their biggest rival.

Fresh from a last-minute victory at Clark Atlanta, Albany State faces Fort Valley State in the 36th Fountain City Classic. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium in Columbus, with coverage streaming on ESPN+.

David Bowser didn’t need a full season to learn which games Albany State’s faithful circle first. When he arrived, supporters quickly impressed upon him the importance of winning homecoming and the Fountain City Classic.

He delivered the first. Saturday brings the second.

The Rams enter their regular-season finale with something Bowser hopes will outlast this season: evidence that they can turn a tense finish into a victory.

Against Clark Atlanta, Albany State drove for the winning touchdown with 26 seconds remaining, then intercepted a pass to preserve a 21-17 win. Earlier disappointments against Kentucky State and Tuskegee made the breakthrough especially meaningful.

“This one I’ll definitely put an asterisk beside as we move forward as a program because it was a defining win where all three phases of the ball game contributed,” Bowser said.

Fort Valley State presents a considerable obstacle to carrying that feeling into the offseason.

Albany State has won three consecutive meetings, including last season’s 48-3 victory. The previous two were much tighter: 20-15 in 2024 and 13-7 in 2023.

The Wildcats’ 2-6 record offers little comfort after quarterback Don Hudson Jr. accounted for 503 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-28 loss to Miles. Hudson threw for 337 yards and rushed for 166, showing how quickly he can punish a defensive breakdown.

The Rams counter with a quarterback gaining confidence of his own.

Jeffrey Davis completed 16 of 21 passes for 178 yards against Clark Atlanta. Cameron Lloyd caught nine passes for 108 yards, including the winning touchdown.

“On that last drive, he was a surgeon,” Bowser said of Davis.

Their connection began when both transferred to Albany State in the spring. A fall-camp injury delayed Lloyd’s impact, but his emergence alongside Jaquan Graham gives Davis another reliable target.

Zhay’Lyn Bell supplied another wrinkle. The 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman helped move the chains with quarterback runs when Clark Atlanta squeezed the Rams’ traditional running lanes.

Yet Albany State also brought a pressing concern home from Atlanta.

Two field-goal attempts were blocked. Bowser said coaches changed protection personnel and devoted extra practice time Monday to correcting operation speed, kick height and blocking.

“Once you put it on film that a kick can be blocked, you better know it’s coming,” he said.

In a rivalry, one such mistake can overwhelm an afternoon of good work. Bowser wants his players to embrace the atmosphere, then settle down enough to execute.

He also wants fans in their seats early. Their support, he said, helps create the college experience that can persuade young players to stay and build.

“The big words used to be recruit, recruit, recruit,” Bowser said. “Now it’s broken down, man. It’s recruit and retain, recruit and retain.”

On the sideline at Clark Atlanta, he heard that growing belief from the players themselves.

“Coach, we got this one,” they told him.

This time, they did.

Now comes the game Albany State’s faithful told him to win from the beginning.