FAMU blasts Howard Bison

PHOTO GALLERIES:
FAMU at Howard Pregame
FAMU 51 Howard 24

Even a certain gentleman who lives in a big white house several blocks from here would have struggled to bail out the hometown Howard University Bison. Like the Bison, he probably would have never had time to react to a Florida A&M football team that simply came on too strong -- too early. Now 17 days removed from a game they lost in overtime, the Rattlers appeared to need little time to overwhelm the Bison on their way to a 51-24 road win.

In less than one minute, the Rattlers turned a 3-0 lead in the first quarter into 17-0 with two long defensive touchdowns. First, FAMU defensive end Joseph Wims picked up a fumbled snap and made a mad 65-yard dash for a touchdown, the first of his career. "Before the game, (head coach Joe Taylor) was talking about 'Start out fast. Start out fast,?' " Wims said. "When they made errors, we just capitalized on it. We just do our job. We expect to win. That's why we got up at 5:45 in the morning all spring -- for this."

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

ATTENDANCE: 5,297 (53%) at William H. Greene Stadium, Washington, D.C. (Capacity: 10,000).

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Rattlers pile on vs. Howard
Rattlers' defense puts together strong showing
Catches help FAMU's West cope
FAMU fights battle with penalties
FAMU vs. Howard blog: FINAL: FAMU 51, Howard 24
Battle, FAMU pound Howard
Battle sets tempo as Rattlers scuttle MEAC foe
Catches help FAMU's West cope

UAB Blazers burn Alabama State Hornets, 45-10

PHOTO GALLERY: ASU loses to UAB in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, AL -- Alabama State came to Birmingham looking for answers to its recent struggles. The Hornets left Legion Field with more questions. UAB kept the struggling ASU offense in check and, surprisingly, sliced through the Hornets' defense with ease. The Blazers (1-2) were as dominating as the 45-10 final looked.
























Coach Reggie Barlow's ASU Hornets (0-3) have absolutely nothing to cheer about after getting a beat down by a terrible UAB Blazer team (1-2) that was win less prior to facing the Hornets.

"It looked bad scoreboard-wise," ASU head coach Reggie Barlow said. "Whenever you go up against a I-A school, there is some unbalance there. You don't want to dwell on that, but it's a fact. Still, we come to play and we didn't get the job done." UAB quarterback Joe Webb did. Webb completed 14 of 22 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 121 yards on 14 attempts and added another TD.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

ATTENDANCE: 26,414 (32.8%) at Legion Field, Birmingham, AL (Capacity: 80,391).

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Webb leads UAB in win over Alabama State
UAB players say big win feels good

William & Mary routs NSU in first meeting since '87

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, VA - Both teams wore green and gold at Zable Stadium on Saturday night. That's where the similarities ended between Norfolk State and William and Mary in the first meeting between the schools in 23 years. For the Tribe (2-1), it was a night of big plays in a 42-12 rout. For the Spartans (2-2), it was a frustrating evening of missed opportunities, blown coverages and offensive ineptitude.

NSU Coach Pete Adrian and the Spartans were steamrolled by William and Mary Tribe 42 -12, Saturday. However, the Spartan Legions Band did play and may have won the so-called mystical battle of the bands. It appears that Spartans football was out of their league in facing divisional foe, William and Mary. The Spartans were validated by the Tribe as being "certified pretenders" for the MEAC Crown and a FCS playoff berth.

NSU had four turnovers, committed 12 penalties and converted just three of 18 third-down opportunities. William and Mary's Jake Phillips, meanwhile, had his third straight game with three or more touchdown passes, throwing four four scores. "We played very poorly and I'm not happy with it at all," NSU coach Pete Adrian said. DeAngelo Branche's 1-yard run with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter was the lone touchdown by the Spartans.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

ATTENDANCE: 10,152 (82.8%) at Zable Stadium, Williamsburg, VA (Capacity: 12,259).

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Return of two Tribe RBs provides boost
Blocked kick returned for TD ignites Tribe
Tribe feeds on Spartans' errors
W&M Defeats Norfolk State, 42-12, For Second Consecutive Victory
Tribe cruises past Spartans
Tribe offense moving forward

Clemson routs overmatched S.C. State, 54-0

Final Stats Photo Gallery

CLEMSON, S.C. — A tired-looking Vic Koening met with reporters earlier this week, explaining that his lack of sleep was due to anxiety over facing South Carolina State. Clemson’s defensive coordinator and his fellow coaches pushed the right buttons with their players as the Tigers matched the underdog Bulldogs’ intensity Saturday. Early in the second half it was most of those in attendance at Death Valley stifling yawns during No. 23 Clemson’s 54-0 win.

“We did what we needed to do,” head coach Tommy Bowden said. “We were focused and played with a lot of energy, and that’s all we can ask for right now from the players.” Clemson’s coaching strategy was to preach all week that S.C. State featured many players who had been recruited by the Tigers and the talent level was not to be taken lightly. “I think Coach Koenning did (over-hype the Bulldogs),” senior safety Michael Hamlin said. “That’s any coach’s job, to blow them up bigger than they really are. He told us how good they were and really opened everybody’s eyes up.”

S.C. State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough has been stomped 143-6 in four "practices" with Clemson, Central Florida, South Carolina and Air Force Academy the past two seasons. Should SCSU spare themselves and their fans the embarrassment and cancel the Georgia Tech game for '09, as the Bulldogs have proven they are not competitive with middle of the pack FCS and FBS teams? Clearly the Bulldogs are pretenders and are guilty of being over-hyped by their AD and SID.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

ATTENDANCE: 78,000 (97.2%) at Death Valley (Memorial Stadium), Clemson, S.C. (Capacity: 80,301)

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Clemson notebook: Davis grinds up Bulldogs
Clemson's performance not easy to assess after Tigers thump South ...
Shove story: Tigers flex muscles against overmatched Bulldogs
Tigers Overcome Early Miscues, Rout SC State, 54-0
MISMATCH: One-sided affair turns into 54-0 SCSU loss to No. 21 Clemson
When it counted, Malcolm Long hung in there for the Bulldogs

Florida A&M University's opponent Howard not living in the past

Howard vs. Florida A&M
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Greene Stadium (7,000).
Records: Bison 0-2, 0-1 MEAC; Rattlers 1-1, 0-1.
Complete Game Notes
Webcast (audio only), notes and more
http://www.howard-bison.com/ Play-by-Play: Ron Harris
Radio: 96.1 (Tallahassee)

Florida A&M has a 24-6 lead in its all-time series against Howard, which is coming off back-to-back losses to start the 2008 season. Bison coach Carey Bailey wants his players to forget all that by kickoff, as well as anything else that might have gone wrong. "You live in the past and you have no future," Bailey said earlier this week during MEAC coaches conference call. "The thing about football is you don't have a lot of time to celebrate or mourn. You have to go get your mind on the next game."

The next game is FAMU today at Green Stadium in Washington, D.C., where Howard used a spread offense to baffle Hampton before falling 38-27 last weekend. The loss kept Howard winless on a day that quarterback Floyd Haigler put himself in the program's record book by passing for 456 yards. The offense that Haigler is directing could make the afternoon interesting for the FAMU defense because of similarities to what the Rattlers saw in their first game against Alabama State. FAMU could not get more than a seven-point lead, mostly because of the short underneath passes that often caught the defense off-guard. That and Haigler's speed has been a concern for FAMU head coach Joe Taylor this week.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:
Keys to the game: Florida A&M at Howard
FAMU's Vann parlays confidence into success
FAMU hopes to slow Howard's passing game
--------------
Sorry sports fans, this one is in our backyard, so the "Beep" will be attending the Howard vs. FAMU game this afternoon. We will update the blog on our return late this evening. Have a great football day! Go Rattlers, Pirates, Wildcats, Bears, Bulldogs, Tigers, Eagles and Spartans!!!

Week 3: MEAC/SWAC Battle of the Bands

Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands (So. Heritage Classic)

South Carolina State University Marching 101

Bethune-Cookman University Marching Wildcats

Jackson State University Sonic Boom Marching Band

Mississippi Valley State University


Alcorn State University Sounds of Dynomite and the Golden Girls
ASU Golden Girls

Stronger quarterback gives TSU power lift

Heffner spent time in weight room

Antonio Heffner is off-limits to the media this week because Tennessee State Coach James Webster doesn't want him bothered by questions about facing Eastern Kentucky. If only it were that easy to keep EKU's defense away from the TSU quarterback. It was against the Colonels that Heffner's 2007 season abruptly ended when he broke his leg trying to escape a heavy rush.

No. 25 TSU (3-0) faces EKU (1-2) in Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference opener at LP Field. And the Colonels might not recognize Heffner. Not only is he back on his feet, he is bigger and stronger than when they saw him last.It was the second straight year Heffner was seriously hurt. It inspired him to do whatever was necessary to change his bad luck. He hurt his shoulder the year before. After his leg healed last winter he headed for the weight room to become sturdier.

CONTINUE READING, CLICK BLOG TITLE.

READ RELATED ARTICLES:

Unbeaten TSU joins Top 25 poll
TSU's early success sends message to critics
TSU claims Classic for 6th straight year