TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | The Florida A&M University football team, ranked No. 12 in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) polls, seeks its ninth straight win on Saturday afternoon as the Rattlers play host to Howard in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game. Kickoff for the Senior Day game is set for 4 p.m. from Bragg Memorial Stadium.
The game will be broadcasted and streamed live on ESPN3 as the crew of Keith Miles (play-by-play) and Albert Chester (color analyst), along with Calvin Sykes (sideline) will call all the action. The same broadcast crew will have the action live on WHBX – 96.1 FM (JAMZ).
The Rattlers (8-1 overall, 6-0 MEAC) were off last week, but had the opportunity to watch the scoreboard as No. 25 North Carolina A&T State and Bethune-Cookman fell to Morgan State and Delaware State, respectively. While Florida A&M is ineligible to win a conference crown, the Rattlers are still on pace to finish conference play with a perfect record. But before looking at the conference record, FAMU must avoid looking ahead and that starts Saturday with the matchup against Howard. The Rattlers will look to keep the offense in high gear as FAMU averages nearly 402 yards per game.
Howard (1-9, 1-5) enters the matchup on a six-game losing streak as the Bison will look to make it two straight over FAMU. Howard comes into the game off a 62-21 loss last week at South Carolina State. The Bison trailed, 20-0, after one period and 34-7 at the half. The Bulldogs put the game away with 21 points in the third quarter and took a 55-14 advantage into the final quarter. The Bison are averaging 16.7 points and 282.9 yards per game, while allowing opponents 47.0 points and 473.9 yards per game.
“Our mindset going into this week is the same it's been every week and that's to be where our feet are, which means we control what we can control” Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons said. “We have another team coming into town, that on paper, hasn't performed particularly well, but that's not for us to concern ourselves with. We have a philosophy here where we get everyone's best shot and so we have to prepare to be our best come 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
“That's how we've prepared when it comes to our film study, practices, weight lifting, class attendance, study table and everything it takes to be successful and developing those habits that we will need to be successful on Saturday. It's about developing those habits throughout the week. We tell the team all the time, 'we are going to play the game on Saturday, but we are going to win the game Sunday through Friday with how we prepare and if we do that, Saturday will take care of itself.' That's always been our mindset and I think that is why this team has been able to perform the way it has this season. We focus more on us, than we do the opponent coming in and we will keep that mindset this week.”
About The Game
> This will be the 40th meeting between Florida A&M and Howard
> The Bison won the 2018 contest, 31-23, in Washington, D.C.
> Florida A&M leads the all-time series, 26-11, as two FAMU victories were vacated due to NCAA sanctions
> Each team has won five games in the series over the last 10 games
Inside the Rankings
> Florida A&M is ranked No. 12 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and No. 14 in the FCS Coaches Poll
> The Rattlers unanimously hold the top spot in the SBN Black College Football Poll and BOXTOROW Coaches Poll
> Howard is unranked in the STATS FCS Top 25, FCS Coaches Poll, SBN Black College Football Poll and BOXTOROW Coaches Poll
About Florida A&M
> The Rattlers had a bye last weekend and are coming off a 52-30 win over Delaware State on Nov. 2
> With the win, FAMU extended its winning streak to eight games
> Florida A&M's last loss came during the opening weekend – Aug. 29 – a 62-0 defeat at the hands of previously-No. 17 Central Florida
> The Rattlers are looking to avenge last season's 31-23 loss to Howard
About Howard
> The Bison are coming off a 62-21 loss last Saturday at South Carolina State
> Howard registered 16 first downs and 337 total yards against the Bulldogs
> Dedrick Parson led the ground game with 130 yards on 23 carries, with a pair of scores
> Howard's lone win of the season came on Sept. 21, a 24-9 victory against Delaware State
> Dedrick Parson leads the Howard ground attack with 506 yards on 155 attempts, with two touchdowns
Last Time Against Howard
> The Bison used a 21-point first quarter enroute to a 31-23 victory over the Rattlers
> FAMU jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after an Azende Rey 3-yard touchdown run, but the Bison took a 21-10 lead into the second quarter
> Florida A&M cut the deficit to 28-23 after a Ryan Stanley 15-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Smith early in the fourth quarter, but a field goal by Faraji Joseph sealed the Howard win
> The Rattlers had three more first downs (24-21) than the Bison and racked up 440 yards, including 272 through the air
> Ryan Stanley went 23 of 41 passing, with a pair of scores, but was also intercepted twice
> Howard quarterback Caylin Newton went 15 of 30 passing for 172 yards, along with two touchdowns and two interceptions
> The Bison racked up 247 yards on the ground, with Dedrick Parson picking up 149 yards on 26 carries
Record Breakers
> Ryan Stanley has 675 career completions, which is a MEAC and FAMU record
> Ryan Stanley ranks first in school history in touchdowns passes with 60 and is fourth on the all-time MEAC list
> Xavier Smith became the 10th player in MEAC history to register four touchdowns in a single game
> Ryan Stanley ranks first in the FAMU record books in passing yards (8,252) and is second behind Howard's Ted White (9,808)
> Ryan Stanley is tops in FAMU passing attempts (1,117), which ranks him fifth in the MEAC record books
> Xavier Smith is tied for fourth all-time in FAMU history in touchdown receptions (10) with Dr. John Eason, Ray Alexander, Robert Wilson and Jacquay Nunnally
Senior Day
> The Rattlers will celebrate and honor 14 seniors on Saturday, including Keenan Anderson, Yahia Aly, Cameron Burton, Marquan Cromartie, Doyle Grimes, Andrew Hines, Terry Jefferson, Demontre Moore, Jacques Penney, Tyrell Reed, Elijah Richardson, Deshawn Smith, Ryan Stanley, Marcus Williams
Inside The Numbers
> Florida A&M ranks tops in the conference in scoring offense, pass offense, PAT kicking, sacks against, third-down conversions and turnover margin
> The Rattlers are second in the MEAC in time of possession, total offense, pass defense efficiency, kickoff returns and first downs
> The Rattlers rank fourth in the FCS in sacks allowed, seventh in turnovers lost, eighth in third-down conversion percentage, 10th in kickoff returns, 11th in passing offense, 14th in turnover margin, 15th in team passing efficiency, 16th in fumbles lost and 17th in passes had intercepted
> DJ Phillips ranks 19th in the FCS in fumbles recovered
> Markquese Bell ranks 13th in the FCS in passes defended
> Chris Faddoul ranks fifth in the FCS in punting
> Marcus Williams is sixth in the country in kickoff return touchdowns
> Ryan Stanley ranks 16th in the nation in passing efficiency, 17th in passing yards per game and 21st in total offense
> Xavier Smith ranks second in the FCS in receiving yards per game, fifth in receptions per game and seventh in receiving touchdowns
> Florida A&M is averaging 32.6 points, while surrendering 29.2 points
> Howard is averaging 16.7 points and giving up 47.0 points
Up Next
After Saturday's matchup against Howard, Florida A&M will conclude its season in the 40th Annual Florida Blue Florida Classic against rival Bethune-Cookman at Camping World Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The Wildcats are set to play at No. 25 North Carolina A&T State on Saturday.
Bethune-Cookman has won eight straight against FAMU, but the Rattlers hold the all-time series mark, 49-23-1, including the largest margin of victory in school history, 97-0, in 1960.
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