After losing the previous two Orange Blossom Classics by 57 points total, including 56 a year ago, the Florida A&M Rattlers went from kickoff to final gun to prove a point to Jackson State and the rest of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Eastern Division.
Bethune-Cookman transfer Marcus Riley blazed a trail 96 yards to the end zone on the opening kickoff, and that gave FAMU confidence and a lead they never lost track of, defeating the Tigers 28-10 in their final (for the moment) Orange Blossom Classic appearance.
The Rattlers, preseason favorites to win not just the SWAC East but the entire conference, played like a team on a mission in the first 30 minutes, taking advantage of Jackson State miscues to build an insurmountable lead.
That lead held up thanks to seven Rattler rushers collecting 207 yards on the ground, led by the tag team of 6-foot-1, 225-pound Terrell Jennings (11 carries, 75 yards) and 6-foot-3, 235-pound Jaquez Yant (11 carries, 72 yards, one touchdown). The Judgment Day better watch out; these two young men could easily take the WWE tag team titles from them.
Jackson State couldn’t get out of their way in the first half as they compounded poor kickoff return coverage with a bad snap on a field goal attempt and a fumble by quarterback Jason Brown that Allen Smith Jr. pounced on.
Those turnovers allowed SWAC preseason offensive player of the year Jeremy Moussa to throw touchdown passes to Trevonte Davis and 5-foot-7 Jah’Marae Sheread, who performed a very convincing Tyreek Hill impersonation (195 all-purpose yards on the afternoon) on the Hard Rock stadium grass.
After an exciting offseason that featured social media back and forth and a now-scrubbed-from-the-internet music video, Florida A&M got down to the business of playing football. For the moment, business is booming.
The Rattlers exorcised a demon that still had remnants of the specter present even as Deion Sanders took his two sons and several other talented players to the Rocky Mountains with him. Still, that’s not to say T.C. Taylor’s cupboard is bare – the Tigers have plenty of talented players, as evidenced by their domination of South Carolina State in last week’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
Be that as it may, the current edition of South Carolina State compares about as favorably to this version of Florida A&M as a long broken up R&B band or group that has two different versions of itself touring on the old school concert circuit. Jackson State saw Otis Williams’ version of The Temptations last week. The Tigers were introduced to the late Dennis Edwards’ Temptations Revue this week.
While FAMU is currently in the driver’s seat, bumps in the road still exist on the way to SWAC glory. Alabama State’s defense looked otherworldly in stifling Southern, while Alabama A&M and Bethune-Cookman certainly aren’t going to lay down for the Rattlers. Willie Simmons and his team will have a red and white bullseye clashing with their orange and green jerseys all season.
At least for now, they can say that Jackson State is in the rear-view mirror. If the Rattlers can keep their eyes on the road, that 260-plus mile ride from Tallahassee to Atlanta could become a joyride on the return trip home.
