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GAME TIME
Morgan State (2-6, 2-4) will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak when they travel to face Florida A&M (3-6, 3-3) on Saturday. The game will mark the Rattlers' Senior Day and is scheduled for a 4 p.m. kickoff at Bragg Memorial Stadium. WEAA, 88.9 FM will be broadcasting the game live. The Bears will look to rebound from a disappointing 41-10 home loss to Bethune-Cookman, while the Rattlers enter the contest fresh off of a bye week. This will mark the 27th meeting in the series.
RADIO: WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears ...
Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with former Bear coach
Kelvin Bridgers in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org.
THE SERIES
• Saturday marks the 27th meeting in the series that began with a 50-0 Morgan State win in 1943. The Rattlers hold a 19-7 advantage in the series vs. MSU.
• The Bears have won the last three meetings against Florida A&M since 2013, including five of the last seven games since 2007.
•
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 road meeting against FAMU was on Oct. 4, 2014. MSU QB
Robert Council ran for a pair of touchdowns and
Herb Walker Jr. carried 22 times for 203 yards and a TD leading to a 24-9 victory at Bragg Memorial Stadium. Senior SS Paul Eatman led the Bears defensive unit with a game-high 11 tackles.
• The Bears posted a 21-7 victory during their last meeting against Florida A&M on Nov. 14, 2015. MSU's offense recorded 540 total yards. MSU quarterback
Moses Skillon completed 16 of 30 passes for 327 yards and one touchdown and ran seven times for 74 yards and a touchdown as well.
• From 1995-2006, the Rattlers went 11-0 against the Bears, marking the longest streak by either team in the series.
QUICK HITS
• Graduate student transfer QB
Chris Andrews currently ranks No. 9 in pass effic. (110.9) , No. 7 in the MEAC in total offense (1,218 yds) and No. 7 in passing (1,099 yds, 9 TDs).
• Senior WR Ladarious Spearman led the Bears with 4 catches for 34 yards last week vs. Bethune-Cookman.
• Senior LB Greg Gibson ranks No. 8 in the MEAC in tackles (61) and posted a career-high 13 stops with 4 TFL and a fumble recovery vs. Howard in Week 4.
• Junior DL Jai Franklin posted a game-high 8 tackles, including 2.5 tackle for loss and a sack vs. B-Cookman.
• The Bears rank No. 6 in the league in total offense by averaging 295.8 yards per game.
• MSU ranks No. 6 in the MEAC in sacks with 16.
• MSU ranks No. 2 in the MEAC in kickoff returns (20.0).
A GLANCE AT THE RATTLERS
• Florida A&M finished the 2015 season with a 1-10 record in Alex Woods' first season and a 1-7 mark in the MEAC.
• The Rattlers' last home win against Morgan State was on Oct. 30, 2010 when they had a 31-17 victory at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
• R-Freshman QB Ryan Stanley (6-3, 190) ranks No. 6 in the MEAC in passing. He has completed 57.5 percent of his passes (92- 160) for 1,010 yards with 5 TDs and 3 INTs. He also has 50 carries for 235 yards with 3 TDs.
• Tailback Devin Bowers (6-0, 180) leads the Rattlers' ground attack and has 270 yards (3.6 avg) on 74 carries with 3 TDs. Hans Supre (5-10,185) will also see action in the backfield and has 250 yards on 71 carries and has scored a pair of rushing TDs.
• Stanley will also look to target WRs Brandon Norwood (42 rec. - No. 2, 397 yds - No. 9; 3 TDs), Montavius Williams (35 rec. T-No. 3, 351 yds, TD) and Kareem Smith (18 rec., 193 yds) in the passing game.
• Defensively, FAMU will be led by senior free safety Jacques Bryant and senior linebacker Justin Bennet. Bryant ranks T-No. 10 in the MEAC in tackles has 62 tackles (44 solo) with 3 INTs, while Bennett is second on the team with 36 stops, 1.5 TFL, and a pick.
• Junior DL Elijah Price (6-3, 225) has 15.5 tackles for loss (No. 2 in MEAC) and 2.5 sacks, to go along with 31 tackles.
• FAMU enters Saturday's contest with the MEAC's No. 1 ranked leader in pass defense by limiting opponents to 160.9 yards per game.
• Alex Wood enters his second season as the Rattlers' head coach. In his first season, the Rattlers were just 1-10. They already have three wins this season and they are .500 in the MEAC.
A WIN WOULD ...
...give Fred T. Farrier his 22nd career win as a head coach.
... give Fred T. Farrier his 3rd win as MSU's interim head coach.
... mark Fred T. Farrier's 3rd win against an MEAC opponent.
... mark its first road win against Florida A&M since a 24-9 victory on Oct. 4, 2014.
... mark the Bears 4th straight win against Florida A&M since 2013.
... snap MSU's 4-game losing streak.
... mark its first road win since a 26-6 victory at Delaware State on Oct. 3, 2015.
KEY MILESTONE IN REACH
33 - Yards needed by senior WR
Thomas Martin to reach 1,000-career receiving yards; with his catch last week against Bethune-Cookman he passed Robert Surratt (68 rec.) for No. 12 on the school's all-time career receiving list with 69 receptions.
174 - Rushing yards needed by redshirt senior RB
Lamont Brown III to pass T.J. Stallings (1,510 yds; 1999-02) for 13th place on Morgan State's all-time career rushing list. Brown is currently 14th all-time with 1,330 career yards.
PRESEASON PICKED LAST
Morgan State, who finished T-4th place a season ago, was picked to finish seventh (7th) to co-defending MEAC champions and Preseason #1 North Carolina A&T, #2 Bethune-Cookman and #3 N.C. Central.
PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
Five (5) Morgan State football players were named to the 2016 MEAC preseason team, which was voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Redshirt senior cornerback Delonta Hall was named first-team All-MEAC, while senior running back Orlando Johnson was a second-team selection. Redshirt senior tight end Willie Gillus III, junior offensive lineman Joshua Miles and junior defensive lineman Jai Franklin were third-team picks.
BEARS OPEN 118th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 118th season of football, and the first under interim head coach Fred T. Farrier.
RETURN MEN
The 2016 Morgan State Bears return 66 letterwinners, including 15 starters - 9 on offense, 8 on defense and 1 on special teams.
CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS
The Bears enter the 2016 season looking to post their first winning season since going 7-6 in 2014.
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2016 campaign against two of its first three non-conference matchups. MSU opens the season at home against Holy Cross (Sept. 3), followed by a road game at Marshall (Sept. 10). The Bears round out non-conference in a season-finale matchup at Army (Nov.19).
BEARS NAME TEAM CAPTAINS
The MSU Bears wrapped up the preseason by naming the team captains for the 2016 season. The leadership group is comprised of four seniors and a junior ... offense - Thomas Martin (Naples, Fla.), Dominique Woods (Skyline, Texas) - defense - Greg Gibson (Houston, Texas), Ayodeji Agbelese (Lanham, Md.) and special teams - Willie Gillus III (Suffolk, Va.).
BEARS OPEN 40th SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open its 40th season in the MEAC when they host the Howard Bison on Sept. 24.
• The Bears opened the 2015 MEAC schedule with a 21-13 victory against Howard at the 18th Annual Chicago Football Classic at Soldier Field.
• The Bears kicked off its first season in the MEAC in 1971. Morgan State withdrew from the conference at the end of the 1979-80 fiscal year, before returning to the MEAC in 1984.
MSU IN THE CIAA
Morgan State was a power as a former member of the 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.
ROAD WOES
Morgan State continues to be in search of its first road win of the 2016 season. The Bears dropped a 62-0 decision at Marshall (Sept. 10) and fell 22-12 at Hampton and 27-14 at Norfolk State. Following this weekend's contest in Tallahassee, the remaining road games for the Bears will be at Army (Nov. 19) and at Savannah State (Nov. 26). MSU's last win outside of the confines of Hughes Stadium was on Oct. 3, 2015 when they handed Delaware State a 26-6 loss in Dover.