TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 1) - Saturday's FAMU Football road game at Savannah State will have many subplots surrounding it, the main one being that both squads are gunning for win number one in 2015.
This weekend's game is also a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference affair, with FAMU (0-4, 0-1) coming off a heartbreaking 30-14 home loss to Tenenssee State, while Savannah State (0-3, 0-1) dropped a 42-12 road decision at Bethune-Cookman last Saturday.
FAMU leads the all-time series with Savannah State, 7-0, winning last year's game in Tallaahssee, 24-14.
Here are a few more notes of interest on FAMU Football headed into Week 5:
The MEAC Right Now: As the calendar switches to October, the 2015 MEAC title chase and the Run For Atlanta (champion gets berth in the newly-minted Celebration Bowl) begins in earnest this week, with five of the six games on tap being of the league variety…. After the first month,Bethune-Cookman, South Carolina State and Morgan State – three of the five teams that tied for first in the 2014 standings, are all 1-0, along with Norfolk State, while Hampton is a half-game back at 1-1…. This week's action will see Norfolk State at Howard (1:00), North Carolina A&T at Hampton (2:00), Morgan State at Delaware State (2:00), Bethune-cookman at North Carolina Central (4:00) and FAMU at Savannah State (7:00)…. South Carolina State is out-of-conference at Furman (7:00)…
The Final Seven: The Rattlers emerged from a rugged September schedule focused on the final seven games of the 2015 regular season – all conference games…. Although technically, the Rattlers are ineligible for the MEAC title due to the APR penalties from the NCAA, their league games count in the standings, meaning they can have a say on who wins the title…. FAMU opens the final stretch on the road at Savannah State Saturday, then returns home for a rare three-game homestand to close October, against North Carolina Central (Oct. 10 – 5:00 p.m.); Delaware State for Homecoming (Oct. 17 – 3:00 p.m.) and North Carolina A&T (Oct. 31 – 5:00 p.m.)…. FAMU closes the season in a familiar vein, on the road, with November travel dates at Hampton, Morgan State and Bethune-Cookman in Orlando….
Year of the Long Plays: The Rattlers have despite their struggles, made some big, long plays in the first four games – four of them scoring plays:
FAMU'S LONGEST PLAYS OF 2015
90 yards – Kashawn Butler, fumble return vs. Samford, 9-12-15.
84 yards – Devondrick Nealy, punt return TD vs. Tennessee State, 9-26-15.
73 yards – Devin Bowers, TD run from scrimmage vs. Samford, 9-12-15.
65 yards – Akil Blount, TD Interception return vs. Samford, 9-12-15.
62 yards – Carson Royal to Kevin Troutman pass vs. S.C. State, 9-17-15.
51 yards – Carson Royal to Montavious Williams pass vs. TennState, 9-26-15.
45 yards – Carson Royal to Kareem Smith pass vs. Tennessee State, 9-26-15.
Nealy Mr. All Purpose: Devondrick Nealy has made the most of his touches of the pigskin so far this year, leading the Rattlers in all-purpose yards… The senior from nearby Monticello, Florida, who transferred in to FAMU from Iowa State, is averaging 106.2 all purpose yards per game…. Through four games, Nealy has 425 combined yards (75 rushing, 79 receiving, 129 on punt returns and 142 on kickoff returns)…. The scintillating speedster brought the huge Bragg Stadium crowd to their feet Saturday with his 84-yard TD punt return in his first home game in a Rattler uniform…
FAMU's Leading Men: Defensively, the Rattlers have been put to the test by opposing defenses far, but the GanGreen Defense has held its own for the most part… Preseason All-MEAC safety Jacques Bryant now tops the tackle charts with 34 stops (24 solos) and an interception… Linebackers Akil Blount (29 tackles, 2.5 for loss, INT for TD) and Kashawn Butler (25 tackles, 3 recovered fumbles) , have been big hitters too, along with secondary aces Braxton Brown (26 stops) and John Boston (20 stops, INT)…. Junior Curtis Alexander (17 tackles, 4.0 for loss, on sack) had a strong performance against TSU, coming back from injury….
Offensively, freshman Devin Bowers still holds the club rushing lead with 144 yards on 12 carries, followed by Devondrick Nealy (75) and Gerald Hearns (51)…. QB Carson Royal has passed for 480 yards and a score on 40 of 87 passes (3 INTs)…. Sophomore Brandon Norwood tops the team with 17 receptions for 135 yards, followed by Kareem Smith's 96 yards and a score on 10 catches, and Montavious Williams' 155 yards on eight (8) grabs….
Special Teams: Nealy is averaging 21.5 yards per punt return, highlighted by his electrifying 84-yard TD runback Saturday against TSU… He is also averaging 17.8 yards on kickoff returns, sharing those duties with Jairockeis Jones (16.1) and Kenyan Foster (13.9)…. Junior Colby Blanton is the Rattler kicking game, averaging 40.7 per punt (35 attempts), with a 61-yard boot, five kicks over 50 yatrds, and eight (8) downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line… He is 5-of-5 on PATS and 1-of-4 in field goals, in this his first collegiate season punting, placekicking and kicking off, where he averages 59.3 yards on his kickoffs…
Saturday's Big Home Crowd: The 18,020 in attendance at Saturday's game amounted to one of the largest non-Homecoming crowds in the current Bragg Stadium…. Bragg was expanded to the current 25,500 capacity in 1982, but didn't see major non-Homecoming crowds until the 1990s….
FAMU'S BEST NON-HOMECOMING CROWDS (Since 1982)
22,827 vs. Tuskegee (1994)
21,162 vs. Fort Valley State (2011)
19,945 vs. Howard (1994)
19,058 vs. Southern (1999)
18,631 vs. Tennessee State (1987)
18,088 vs. Alabama State (2008)
18,020 vs. Tennessee State (2015)
17,209 vs. Delaware State (2009)
17,049 vs. Norfolk State (2009)
Lemon Returns: FAMU Defensive Coordinator Theo Lemon returns to the scene of one of his previous coaching tours, at Savannah State, this week…. From 2006 through 2008, the Ohio native was head coach of the Tigers.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Rattlers will return home next Saturday, October 10 to kick off a rare three-game homestand against North Carolina Central in Bragg Stadium.
Kickoff will be 5:00 p.m. ET.
FAMU will host Delaware State on October 17 for Homecoming at 3:00 p.m., then after a bye week on October 24, they close their 2015 home schedule against North Carolina A&T on October 31 at 5:00 p.m.
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