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GAME TIME
Morgan State will look to snap a 3-game losing streak when they host the Florida A&M Rattlers in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on Saturday in Baltimore. MSU holds a 3-5 overall mark and are 3-3 in league play following a 38-14 loss at Bethune-Cookman. Florida A&M is coming off a 33-0 shutout loss at Hampton last week and dropped to 1-8 overall and 1-5 in conference action. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Hughes Stadium and will be broadcast by WEAA, 88.9FM and on Sirius XM Channel 204.
 
THE SERIES
• Saturday marks the 26th meeting in the series that began with a 50-0 Morgan State win in 1943. The Rattlers hold a 19-6 advantage in the series vs. MSU.
• The Bears have won four of the last six games against Florida A&M since 2007, including a 24-9 victory in their last meeting in 2014.
• Robert Council ran for a pair of touchdowns and Morgan State held Florida A&M to 261 yards of offense, leading to a 24-9 victory Saturday at Bragg Memorial Stadium. Herb Walker Jr. carried 22 times for 203 yards, including a touchdown.
• The last home meeting against FAMU was on Oct. 5, 2013. MSU forced four turnovers in a 34-21 Homecoming victory. Seth Higgins ran 17 times for a career-high 102 yards and a TD, while completing 12-of-20 in the air for 144 yards and a TD.
• The last home loss to Florida A&M was on Oct. 31, 2009. The Florida A&M Rattlers stopped MSU quarterback Carlton Jackson on fourth and inches at the 15 in overtime of a 31-28 victory at Hughes Stadium on Halloween.
• From 1995-2006, the Rattlers went 11-0 against the Bears, marking the longest streak by either team in the series.
 
QUICK HITS
• R-senior QB Moses Skillon completed 20-of-40 passes for 227 yards at Bethune-Cookman, including a 10-yard TD pass to Landen Malbrough. Skillon was also intercepted twice by Marquis Drayton, one of which was returned 30-yards for a score.  
• MSU junior RB Orlando Johnson finished the B-CU game with 16 carries for 63 yards, including an 8-yard TD run for the Bears' first score of the game. He also had four receptions for 51 yards. 
• The Bears extended to its first three-game losing streak since 2013.
• On special teams, junior Chris Moller averaged 43.0 yards per punt, including a game-high 50-yarder and one punt inside the 20. He also had a 41-yard field goal attempt blocked with 22 second remaining in the first quarter.
• MSU's offense totaled 59 rushing yards and a touchdown at Bethune, including 227 passing yards with a TD.
• Head Coach Lee Hull hold a 2-3 career record in games played in November.
•Lee Hull's Bears were predicted to finish last in the MEAC's Preseason Order of Finish. However, MSU not only finished with its' first winning record since 2009...but they also captured its first MEAC Title in 35 years and its first Division I FCS Playoff berth.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
•  Florida A&M finished the 2014 season with an overall mark of 3-9 and a 3-5 conference record.
•  They returned 58 letterwinners and 18 starters from a team that lost four of its last five games a season ago.
•  Head coach Alexander Wood (Iowa, '78) leads the Rattlers in his first season at the helm.
•  The Rattlers had two (2) players (DL Miles Lovejoy and LB Akil Blount) selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Team and was tabbed to finish eighth in the MEAC's preseason predicted order of finish.
• Kenneth Coleman completed 8 of 16 passes for 88 yards and Montavius Williams caught five for 72 yards in a 33-0 loss at Hampton on Saturday. The Pirates racked up 421 yards of total offense while holding FAMU (1-8, 1-5) to 168.
•  Kenneth Coleman (6-1,190) and Carson Royal (6-2, 200) have both seen action at QB fo the Rattlers. Royal, a r-junior from Jacksonville (Fla.), has completed 50 percent of his passes (117-234) for 1,294 yards with 7 TDs and 7 INTs. Coleman has thrown for 394 yards (36-73). including a TD pass and 3 INTs.
•  The Rattlers' offense ranks No. 8 in the MEAC by averaging 306 yards per game and No. 8 in scoring (15.6/g). FAMU is ranked as the worst total defense in the league by allowing an average of 467.3 ypg, including 240.7 rushing yards per game.
•  RB Devin Bowers has compiled 268 yards (5.7 avg) on 47 carries with a TD. Sophomore Gerald Hearns (5-9,205) is the team's second leading ground gainer with 141 yards on 64 carries with a TD.
• The main target in the Rattler' air attack has been standout wideout Brandon Norwood (6-1,190) and Montav Williams (5-10,175). Norwood leads the way with 39 receptions (No. 3 in MEAC, 4.3 rec/g) for 344 yards (38.2 avg) and a TD, while junior Williams has 35 catches for 542 yards (No. 5 in MEAC, 60.2 avg).
• The defense has been led by redshirt freshman LB Jacques Bryant (6-0, 190), who ranks T-No. 7 in the MEAC in tackles (68 tackles), including an interception, and a forced fumble and fumble recovery; while senior SS Akil Blount (6-2, 243) also has added 67 stops (No. 9 in MEAC), 6.0 TFL, two INTs, and a forced fumble. Junior LB Curtis Alexander (6-2,245) has added a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss and has 41 tackles.
• Opponents are averaging almost 25 first downs per game against the Rattlers and have converted a perfect 9-of-9 4th down attempts against FAMU's defense.
 
A WIN WOULD ...
 ...give Lee Hull his 11th career win as a head coach.
 ... would snap the Bears' 3-game losing streak.
 ... mark its third straight win against Florida A&M.
 ... mark its second official home win of the season.
 ... mark the Bears first win against Florida A&M at Hughes Stadium since a 34-21 homecoming win on Oct. 5, 2013.
 ... improve Lee Hull's record against MEAC teams to 9-5 since 2014.
 
FOOTBALL HERITAGE
Morgan State was a power as a former member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). The Bears posted 173 wins between 1929 and 1959 when Edward P. Hurt was the head coach and the Bears won 14 CIAA championships. Earl Banks added to the championship collection by winning four titles during the 1960s and a MEAC title in 1971. Clarence Thomas led the Bears to a MEAC title in 1979...and now - after a 35-year drought - head coach Lee Hull has added a MEAC title following a thrilling and historical 2014 season.
Other MSU highlights:
•Four (4) Pro Football  Hall of Famers (Len Ford, Leroy Kelly, Roosevelt Brown & Willie Lanier)
•19 CIAA championships
•4  MEAC championships
•30 consecutive games won (8th in 1964 to the 5th in 1968)
•57 longest non-losing streak (4th in 1931 to the 6th in 1938)
•4 MEAC Coaches of the Year; 3 Offensive POTY;
4 Defensive POTY; and 1 Offensive POTY
•84 All-MEAC First Team selections
•38 All-CIAA First Team selections
 
CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS
The Bears enter the 2015 season looking to post their first back-to-back winning seasons (over .500) since going 7-5 in 2002 and 6-5 in 2003.
 
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2015 campaign with two of its first three non-conference matchups coming on the road. MSU opens the season at Air Force (Sept. 5), followed by a game at Illinois State (Sept. 12). The Bears round out non-conference play when they host Division II member VA-Lynchburg (Sept. 19) in the home-opener.
 
BEARS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
The MSU Bears wrapped up the preseason by naming the team captains for the 2015 season. The leadership group is comprised of a senior, two juniors and a sophomore ... offense - Andrew King (Columbia, Md.), defense - Andrew Mitchell (Memphis, Tenn.) and Greg Gibson (Houston, Texas) and special teams - Chris Moller (Newport News, Va.).
 
HULL vs. THE MEAC
MSU coach Lee Hull is 8-4 in all games against teams from the MEAC. Hull's only losses came last year against Norfolk State (L, 14-15, Sept. 17, 2014) and N.C. A&T (L, 0-45, Nov. 8, 2014), and this season against Hampton (L, 10-20, Oct. 17, 2015) and at North Carolina Central (L, 17-20, Oct. 24, 2015).
 
AVOIDING KETCHUP
Through the first eight games, Morgan State has gotten off to slow starts on offense.
• The Bears have been outscored in the first quarter by a 57-7 margin.
• MSU has scored 35 points in the first half of the first three games (11.6 avg), and have averaged just 8.0 points per game (24 points) in the first half of the last three games.
• The 14 first half points they posted at #25 Bethune-Cookman was the most since recording 21 points in the first half against Howard in the Chicago Football Classic in Week 4.