Florida A&M University’s football team is looking to right the ship versus the University of Oklahoma. The Rattlers are want to rebound from their loss to the Tennessee State University Tigers in the season opener.
Playing the 4th ranked team in the nation, the Oklahoma Sooners, the question is are the Rattlers ready for this game? FAMU lost a tough game last Saturday against the Tigers and are looking to bounce back. The Rattlers lost on a failed 4th down attempt on the goal line.
The team will be missing four players this Saturday due to violation of team rules. Lenworth Lennon, Devonte “Terry” Johnson, Dewayne Harvey and Daniel Lennon will rejoin the team Sunday.
Quarterback Damien Fleming passed for 119 yards while completing 50 percent of his passes and throwing for a touchdown. Fleming, a sophomore criminal justice student from Jacksonville, Fla. is in his second year as the starting quarterback for the team. He said the team played well last week, but they let one get away from them. Fleming also said the team needs to come out with more energy.
“We need to come out a lot harder than we did last week,” said Fleming. “We need to go out there and have fun while keeping our composure.”
Senior running back Eddie Rocker led the rushing attack with 13 rushes for 90 yards. Junior running back James Owens was big in the special teams with four returns for 99 yards. Owens is a criminal justice student from Apopka, Fla. He said the first game was very exciting, but the team came out sluggish.
“We intend on working hard in practice to pick up the tempo,” said Owens
Receiver Travis Harvey had six receptions for a total of 52 yards with one touchdown. Brandon Hepburn led the defense with 10 tackles and a forced fumble recovery, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the Tigers.
Head coach Joe Taylor is looking forward to Saturday’s game. He said he didn’t need any of his players to be the man, but that they all need to be men.
“We really do have a good team here,” said Taylor in a previous interview.
This game will definitely be a test for the Rattlers as they try to keep up with the Sooners.