Photo Caption: Daniel Richardson throws ball against Miami.
The Florida A&M Rattlers traveled to Miami to face the juggernaut that is the Hurricanes.
The first quarter was all Miami as star quarterback for the Canes, Cam Ward carved the Rattler defense apart with multiple crucial third conversions between the numbers.
Ward completed seven passes on eight attempts in the first quarter, including two passing touchdowns.
The Rattlers applied pressure on the defense on their next drive, getting into the Hurricanes’ red zone before settling for a field goal. The Hurricanes lead 15- 3 after the first quarter.
FAMU head football coach James Colzie III lamented his team’s ability to cover Miami’s receivers in the first quarter.
“We had a couple of busted coverages early,” Colzie said. “We can’t do that with a good football team.”
The second quarter was more of the same. Ward took advantage of the ample time the Rattler’s defense provided for him in the pocket to find open wide receivers.
Nonetheless, the Rattlers continued to fight.
Quarterback Daniel Richardson continued to push the ball down the field when his number was called.
The first half ended after Richardson hit receiver Karter Johnson for a 16-yard pass, who then fumbled the ball out of bounds, continuing a trend from FAMU’s first two games. That Rattler drive ended in a field goal, with the Hurricanes leading 25-6 going into halftime.
“We make mistakes,” Colzie said. “And you know the University of Miami did a very good job of taking advantage of those mistakes. And number one (Cam Ward) makes plays when we thought we did some good stuff, he is a difference maker.”
The second half was all Miami. The Canes proved that they would be forced to be reckoned with in the ACC and showed no fatigue for the final two quarters.
The Canes nearly doubled their total points in the third quarter.
The Rattlers and the Hurricanes would go on to pull their starting quarterbacks from the game to preserve their health.
Richardson would finish this game by completing 13 of his 17 passes for 136 passing yards and one interception, and Ward would finish the game by completing 20 of 26 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’re going to correct,” Colzie said. “We’ll be back tomorrow, we have a bye week and we’ll work on our corrections.”
The Rattlers would go on to fall to the Hurricanes 56 – 9.