What: 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)
Who: Florida A&M vs Howard
When: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
The battle for HBCU supremacy has come down to two teams. The Howard Bison and the Rattlers of Florida A&M have survived the rigors of tough seasons and are on a collision course in the 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl.
Howard Bison (6-5, 4-1. MEAC)
With most of the attention in the MEAC circling NC Central’s quest to return to the celebration bowl and the farewell tour for legendary coach Buddy Pough, Howard went about their business, dispatching conference foes, including preeminent favorite North Carolina Central. The Bison feature the second-most prolific rushing attack in the MEAC, averaging 180.9 yards per contest. Three Howard running backs- Jarrett Hunter, 602, Eden James, 572, and Ian Wheeler, 378- have run for at least 378 yards on the season and average no less than 4.5 yards per carry.
Best win: The Bison shellacked defending MEAC champion North Carolina Central 50-20 in a game that knocked the Eagles, the preeminent favorite to win the MEAC, off what seemed to be a clear path to the conference title and a ticket to the Celebration Bowl. The Bison defense held the no.1 ranked scoring offense in the MEAC to just 20 points and just 198 yards of total.
Worst Loss: Howard was hammered 48-7 by the Harvard Crimson on October 14. Harvard scored the game’s first 48 points before Howard finally got on the board with an 8-yard touchdown run from Tony Bedell with just 3:36 left in the contest. Harvard ran for 341 yards on the afternoon, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
Key Players
Kenny Gallop, Jr.
The senior defensive back recorded 61 total tackles (40 solo), six for loss, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two quarterback hurries in being named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year. Against Norfolk State, the three-time All-MEAC performer recorded 11 tackles and the game-sealing interception in a performance that earned him FCS National Player of the Week. Gallop Jr is a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, an honor given to the best defensive player in FCS.
Eden James
The son of University of Miami and NFL star Edgerrin James averaged the third-highest yards per game of any running back in the MEAC with 63.6 yards per contest. James’ 572 yards were the second most for a Howard running back, with his biggest game coming against the Big 10’s Northwestern, where he ran for 177 yards, including a 64-yard romp, and a touchdown on 21 carries, while adding three receptions for 36 yards.
Jarrett Hunter
The senior running back was named to a MEAC All-Conference team for a third time, following a season in which Hunter appeared in 11 games and led the Bison with 602 yards on 133 attempts and eight touchdowns. Hunter’s first 100-yard game of the season came in the Bison’s 50-20 defeat of North Carolina Central, where he ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries while also hauling in 6 passes for 53 yards. His second came in the season’s final game against Morgan State, a 14-7 victory cemented Howard’s place in the Celebration Bowl, in which he ran for 108 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
Florida A&M Rattlers (11-1, 8-0)
This season, Coach Willie Simmons and the Rattlers of Florida A&M finally overcame the one obstacle that had stood in their way in their quest for SWAC supremacy the past two years- the Jackson State Tigers. SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Jeremy Moussa leads the conference’s most prolific scoring offense, putting up 30.7 points per contest. The Rattlers’ defense, led by SWAC Defensive Player of Year Isaiah Major, not only shows the SWAC in total security, run reason, red zone defense, and sacks. The FAMU defense ranks top-10 nationally in several categories, including bags (6th), tackles for loss (1st), scoring defense (2nd), run defense (5th), and third-down conversion defense (2nd), defensive TD scored ( t-4th) red zone defense (8th) and total security (2nd).
Best win: The Rattlers’ 35-14 defeat of Prairie View A&M in the SWAC Championship was not the 45-7 beating they laid on the Panthers just three weeks earlier; however, it was the victory that finally allowed FAMU to claim the SWAC title that has eluded them over the past two seasons. In conditions that were less than optimal due to storms that caused multiple delays in the game, the Rattlers had their second-most productive day on the ground with 229 yards and a season-high four touchdowns. The Florida A&M defense held the SWAC’s fourth-most prolific run game to just 91 yards and only 274 yards of total offense, forcing three turnovers.
Worst Loss: The Rattlers’ 38-24 defeat at the hands of the in-state foe, South Florida of the American Athletic Conference. Although the Rattlers were limited to 108 yards, South Florida’s second-lowest rushing output of the season, Florida A&M hurt themselves with four turnovers, which led to 10 USF points, and they could only run for 19 yards.
Key Players
Jeremy Moussa
The Vanderbilt transfer was named 2023 Preseason SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the Preseason All-SWAC First Team, as well the Phil Steele SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and All-SWAC First Team. Moussa completed 195 338 passes for a SWAC-leading 2,604 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a conference-best 236.7 yards per game.
Isaiah Major
Major led the Rattlers with 100 total tackles, 59 solo, 11.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception, which was a pick-six. The two-time All-SWAC performer garnered SWAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after tuning in 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, and two sack performances in the Rattlers’ matchup against South Florida.
Anthony Dunn Jr.
Dunn Jr completed his 5-game freshman campaign by recording six tackles. Four tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in the Rattlers’ 41-20 win over Bethune-Cookman in the Florida Classic. Building off that performance, Dunn put together a sophomore season in which he recorded 43 tackles (22 solo), 12.5 tackles for loss, and eight sacks, earning him a spot on the All-SWAC First Team Defense.
Prediction:
Florida A&M is a team on a mission. They have shown the ability, particularly after their bye week, to run the football effectively and consistently. Howard allows the fourth most rushing yards per game in the MEAC, with 186.6 yards per game. All season long, the Rattlers displayed an ability to stop the run, a strength for the Howard offense. Although the Bison are second in the MEAC in passing proficiency at 202.8 yards per game, quarterback Quinton Williams has only attempted 30 or more passes four times. FAMU can stymie the Howard run game and force the Bison to put the ball in the air more, putting the Bison into positions they do not wish to occupy.
FAMU 28, Howard 13
