Howard placekicker Matt Conord transferred from Division II Chowan, and his services were required late in Saturday’s Orange Blossom Classic.
The sophomore came through with a 43-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Bison to a stunning 10-9 victory over Florida A&M, gaining some measure of revenge for the Rattlers’ 2023 Celebration Bowl win.
Florida A&M took its first lead of the game with 1:49 to go in the fourth quarter on Daniel Porto’s third field goal of the day, this one from 18 yards out.
Bison quarterback Tyriq Starks, a transfer from Florida Atlantic University making his first collegiate start, calmly rallied the Bison into Conord’s range.
The key play was a 21-yard completion to K.D. Mosley on 3rd and 19 to keep the drive alive. Starks completed passes to Eden James, Jaquavion Smith and Mosley again before a couple of runs himself to get Howard close enough for Conord’s kick.
Conord booted the ball right down the middle, setting off a wild Howard celebration and leaving the Rattlers and FAMU fans in attendance in shock.
The game was pretty quiet up until the fourth quarter. Howard (1-0) took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a Starks pass to C.J. Neely, then the Rattlers worked their way back into contention with a robust defensive effort. Howard matched that effort, keeping FAMU out of the end zone, but Porto was true with kicks of 37 and 33 yards leading up to his 18-yard go-ahead chip shot.
Starks completed 17 of 28 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception while rushing 12 times for 30 yards.
Florida A&M quarterback R.J. Johnson, making his debut after transferring from Toledo, completed 17 of 32 passes for 183 yards.
In a game where neither team moved the ball well, Florida A&M outgained Howard 272 total yards to 195 and won the time of possession battle 33:36 to 26:24.
Howard, however, had the ball last. And Matt Conord helped the Bison have the last laugh.
