Tale of the tape about the biggest HBCU game of the year

What: 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl

The place: 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 2 groups. The Howard Bison and the Rattlers of Florida A&M have survived the trials of powerful seasons and are on a collision course within the 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl. 

Howard Bison (6-5, 4-1. MEAC)

With a lot of the consideration within 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 enterprise, dispatching convention foes, together with preeminent favourite North Carolina Central. The Bison function the second-most prolific dashing assault within the MEAC, averaging 180.9 yards per contest. Three Howard working backs- Jarrett Hunter, 602, Eden James, 572, and Ian Wheeler, 378- have run for at the least 378 yards on the season and common a minimum of 4.5 yards per carry. 

Greatest win: The Bison shellacked defending MEAC champion North Carolina Central 50-20 in a recreation that knocked the Eagles, the preeminent favourite to win the MEAC, off what gave the impression to be a transparent path to the convention title and a ticket to the Celebration Bowl. The Bison protection held the no.1 ranked scoring offense within the MEAC to only 20 factors and simply 198 yards of complete. 

Worst Loss: Howard was hammered 48-7 by the Harvard Crimson on October 14. Harvard scored the sport’s first 48 factors earlier than Howard lastly acquired on the board with an 8-yard landing run from Tony Bedell with simply 3:36 left within the contest. Harvard ran for 341 yards on the afternoon, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. 

Key Gamers

Kenny Gallop, Jr. 

The senior defensive again recorded 61 complete tackles (40 solo), six for loss, three interceptions, two compelled fumbles, and two quarterback hurries in being named MEAC Defensive Participant of the Yr. In opposition to Norfolk State, the three-time All-MEAC performer recorded 11 tackles and the game-sealing interception in a efficiency that earned him FCS Nationwide Participant of the Week. Gallop Jr is a Buck Buchanan Award finalist, an honor given to the perfect defensive participant in FCS. 

Eden James

The son of College of Miami and NFL star Edgerrin James averaged the third-highest yards per recreation of any working again within the MEAC with 63.6 yards per contest. James’ 572 yards had been the second most for a Howard working again, along with his greatest recreation coming in opposition to the Large 10’s Northwestern, the place he ran for 177 yards, together with a 64-yard romp, and a landing on 21 carries, whereas including three receptions for 36 yards. 

Jarrett Hunter

The senior working again was named to a MEAC All-Convention staff for a 3rd time, following a season during which Hunter appeared in 11 video games and led the Bison with 602 yards on 133 makes an attempt and eight touchdowns. Hunter’s first 100-yard recreation of the season got here within the Bison’s 50-20 defeat of North Carolina Central, the place he ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on solely 14 carries whereas additionally hauling in 6 passes for 53 yards. His second got here within the season’s last recreation in opposition to Morgan State, a 14-7 victory cemented Howard’s place within the Celebration Bowl, during which he ran for 108 yards and a landing on 21 carries. 

Florida A&M Rattlers (11-1, 8-0) 

This season, Coach Willie Simmons and the Rattlers of Florida A&M lastly overcame the one impediment that had stood of their manner of their quest for SWAC supremacy the previous two years- the Jackson State Tigers. SWAC Offensive Participant of the Yr, quarterback Jeremy Moussa leads the convention’s most prolific scoring offense, placing up 30.7 factors per contest. The Rattlers’ protection, led by SWAC Defensive Participant of Yr Isaiah Main, not solely exhibits the SWAC in complete safety, run cause, purple zone protection, and sacks. The FAMU protection ranks top-10 nationally in a number of classes, together with luggage (sixth), tackles for loss (1st), scoring protection (2nd), run protection (fifth), and third-down conversion protection (2nd), defensive TD scored ( t-4th) purple zone protection (eighth) and complete safety (2nd). 

Greatest win: The Rattlers’ 35-14 defeat of Prairie View A&M within the SWAC Championship was not the 45-7 beating they laid on the Panthers simply three weeks earlier; nevertheless, it was the victory that lastly allowed FAMU to say the SWAC title that has eluded them over the previous two seasons. In situations that had been lower than optimum because of storms that precipitated a number of delays within the recreation, the Rattlers had their second-most productive day on the bottom with 229 yards and a season-high 4 touchdowns. The Florida A&M protection held the SWAC’s fourth-most prolific run recreation to only 91 yards and solely 274 yards of complete offense, forcing three turnovers. 

Worst Loss: The Rattlers’ 38-24 defeat by the hands of the in-state foe, South Florida of the American Athletic Convention. Though the Rattlers had been restricted to 108 yards, South Florida’s second-lowest dashing output of the season, Florida A&M harm themselves with 4 turnovers, which led to 10 USF factors, and so they may solely run for 19 yards. 

Key Gamers

Jeremy Moussa

The Vanderbilt switch was named 2023 Preseason SWAC Offensive Participant of the Yr and was named to the Preseason All-SWAC First Group, as nicely the Phil Steele SWAC Offensive Participant of the Yr and All-SWAC First Group. Moussa accomplished 195 338 passes for a SWAC-leading 2,604 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a conference-best 236.7 yards per recreation. 

Isaiah Main

Main led the Rattlers with 100 complete tackles, 59 solo, 11.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, a fumble restoration, and an interception, which was a pick-six. The 2-time All-SWAC performer garnered SWAC Defensive Participant of the Week honors after tuning in 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, and two sack performances within the Rattlers’ matchup in opposition to South Florida.

Anthony Dunn Jr. 

 Dunn Jr accomplished his 5-game freshman marketing campaign by recording six tackles. 4 tackles for loss, three sacks, a compelled fumble, and a fumble restoration within the Rattlers’ 41-20 win over Bethune-Cookman within the Florida Basic. Constructing off that efficiency, Dunn put collectively a sophomore season during which he recorded 43 tackles (22 solo), 12.5 tackles for loss, and eight sacks, incomes him a spot on the All-SWAC First Group Protection. 

Prediction:

Florida A&M is a staff on a mission. They’ve proven the power, significantly after their bye week, to run the soccer successfully and constantly. Howard permits the fourth most dashing yards per recreation within the MEAC, with 186.6 yards per recreation. All season lengthy, the Rattlers displayed a capability to cease the run, a power for the Howard offense. Though the Bison are second within the MEAC in passing proficiency at 202.8 yards per recreation, quarterback Quinton Williams has solely tried 30 or extra passes 4 instances. FAMU can stymie the Howard run recreation and power the Bison to place the ball within the air extra, placing the Bison into positions they don’t want to occupy.

FAMU 28, Howard 13