Miami awaits with high anticipation for the FAMU Marching 100 Band.
Enjoy the telecast on the Internet at 7 p.m. ET, at ESPN360.com
UM aware of Rattlers' talentThe University of Miami aired radio commercials promoting Saturday's football game by touting the famed Florida A&M Marching 100 band's 15-minute, postgame show at Land Shark Stadium. The 60-minute main event that precedes it, however, could be a lot more interesting than some might expect. This is not the same FAMU team that UM defeated 51-10 in 2006. The undefeated 2009 Rattlers (4-0) come into Miami Gardens ranked No. 22 in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches' Poll. The Rattlers last were ranked nationally in 2001.
If you are imagining that UM coach Randy Shannon reminded the Hurricanes that former Division I-AA Appalachian State defeated Michigan in 2007, or even more relevant, that two fellow Atlantic Coast Conference teams have fallen this season to FCS teams (Richmond defeated Duke 24-16 and William & Mary defeated Virginia 26-14) -- you are right. "They're excellent players,'' said UM cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, who played at Miami Pace with FAMU left guard Anthony Collins and defensive tackle Demtris Lane. ``All those guys at FAMU are real good. Demtris had Division I offers, and Anthony Collins did, too." Seventeen Rattlers grew up in South Florida.
Around FCS: FAMU looks to upset Miami againFlorida A&M fans remember the coaching tenure of Rudy Hubbard fondly, if for nothing more than two games. Taking over in 1974, Hubbard rebuilt a FAMU squad that had fallen into disrepair after the legendary Jake Gaither retired in 1969. By the end of the decade, Hubbard had led the Rattlers to the first NCAA I-AA Football Championship in 1978 with a 35-28 victory over Massachusetts.
That capped off back-to-back seasons where the Rattlers finished 11-0 and then 12-1, a stretch of success that FAMU hasn't duplicated since. But few people could have expected what would happen the following year. Playing Miami for the first time, Florida A&M pulled off one of the biggest upsets Football Championship Subdivision history, beating the Hurricanes 16-13 before a crowd of 34,743 fans at Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL.
After 30 years, Miami upset still fresh in famu's mind Howard Schnellenberger couldn't remember too much of the details. After all, it was exactly 30 years to the day, as he was trying to recall how his Miami Hurricanes were shocked by FAMU.
"We knew we were playing a great football team that had more talent than we did," Schnellenberger's voice boomed over the phone. "We just wanted to kick the field goal and get the tie." But instead, Dan Miller's 20-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, securing a 16-13 victory for FAMU in its first meeting with the Hurricanes. Lost in all of the hoopla and history written on that day at Doak Campbell Stadium was the biggest moment in the career of FAMU defensive tackle Algie Hendrieth.
Thirty years later, Hendrieth is probably better remembered locally as a football coach at Rickards and Lincoln high schools. But it was his one big play in that game so long ago that made sure that the Rattlers would have earned no worse than a tie against a Miami team that was ranked 10th in the nation at the time. On third-and-goal from FAMU's 3-yard line, Hendrieth swatted away quarterback Mike Rodrique's pass, forcing the failed field-goal attempt. It was the second straight bat-away for the Rattlers, who on the first play of the series had stopped Hurricane running back Lorenzo Roan for no gain.
FAMU QB Curtis Pulley is on the Payton Watch List along with KR LeRoy Vann.
Game preview: Florida A & M at No. 11 Miami
Quick slantAfter facing four straight ranked opponents, the Hurricanes (3-1) play the first of two consecutive non-conference opponents (the Hurricanes visit UCF next week). The Rattlers (4-0) are off to their best start in 12 years and ranked No. 24 in Division I-AA. UM hasn't lost a game in the series since the opener in 1979.
About FAMUThe Rattlers have two candidates for the
Walter Payton Award, given to the nation's best Division I-AA player. QB Curtis Pulley has thrown for 877 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. Special-teams player LeRoy Vann has scored on four punt returns and is the I-AA career leader in kickoff-return yardage. Vann has twice been named national player of the week. FAMU has outscored its opponents 134-44. The defense, led by LB Bryan Parker, has yet to allow more than 12 points in a game this season. Parker has 31 tackles, including 4.5 for losses.
Famed band may steal the show at Miami-FAMU game against Florida A&M,Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon will hurry off the field. And then he'll hurry right back out. For many in the stands Saturday night, the matchup between No. 11 Miami (3-1) and Florida A&M (4-0) will serve only as a warm-up act. The best show may very well come from FAMU's fabled "Marching 100" band, which will perform for seven minutes at halftime, then hit the turf again for another 15-minute set postgame.
The beat of the drums, the blasts from the horns, synched with dance moves ... Shannon simply can't wait.
"I'll be watching it," said Shannon, who helped hatch the idea for the after-game festivities. "It's very rare that you get an opportunity to play a team like Florida A&M. And then you get a band to perform that everybody knows about. After enjoying a game and coaching in a game like that, you can't miss out on enjoying that band." His players don't want to miss out, either.
As soon as word spread that FAMU's band was playing postgame -- it'll be a tribute to Michael Jackson -- much of the Hurricanes' locker room starting buzzing. "They make the average band look so subpar," said Miami cornerback Ryan Hill, a native of Tallahassee, where Florida A&M is based. The band's name is a misnomer: There's actually more than 400 membe
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