The last time FAMU (3-6, 2-3) visited Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, in Orangeburg, SC, the Rattlers rallied from an 11-point fouther-quarter deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 27-24. Then-freshman quarterback Damien Fleming made his presence known that day by completing 34-40 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown. This afternoon, Coach Earl Holmes is looking for that same kind of effort from his Rattlers to spoil S.C. State's homecoming.
While first-year head coach and former Rattler and NFL
linebacker Holmes had aspirations of contending for the conference title, he does see
significant progress being made coming off a 16-6 road win at Norfolk State.
“It’s a learning process and we’re going through that and
the younger guys are getting experience and the only way they’re going to gain
experience is to continue to play each and every week and understand the
game-like situations,” said Holmes. “Rome wasn’t built in a day and we
understand that. At the same time, we still concentrate on what we’re looking
for and we’re starting to get that.”
Holmes called his team’s win over the Spartans their first
“60-minute game” of the season in which all three phases – offense, defense and
special teams – played at a high level. A similar effort will be sought today
at 1:30 p.m. if the Rattlers are to play homecoming spoiler for the second
straight week.
“Coach (Buddy) Pough has them playing well,” Holmes said.
“They’re very solid on defense as well as they can move the ball on offense.
The team that makes the least amount of mistakes is the team that’s going to
get the win.”
While Fleming struggled last season and his junior season
numbers (102-193 passing, 6 TDs, 13 TDs; 207 rushing yards, 2 TDs) are somewhat
down, Holmes said the offensive line shares some responsibility in his
struggles.
“It’s all about protecting him as well,” he said. “Sometimes
when you look at a guy’s stats and you see a lot of interceptions, that doesn’t
mean the quarterback made a bad pass. Sometimes, it’s a deflected pass at the
line of scrimmage, a guy can cut off his route short or sometimes, the guy’s
just scrambling trying to throw the ball away.
“Damien’s our guy. He’s a smart guy. He’s very calm,
collected in the pocket and he’s our guy. Looking at the numbers’ part of it,
it’s not what we’re used to seeing from Damien the last two years. But at the
same time, he’s in a new system, he’s learning the system and he’s showing
growth as well.”
The Rattlers face a tough challenge in SC State this
afternoon. The Bulldogs are the FCS
leader in sacks (45) and the MEAC leader in rushing defense (82.3 yards per
game). FAMU is ranked third in the conference in sacks allowed (15), but are
eight in rushing offense (114.4 yards per game).
Defensively, the Rattlers rank second behind S.C. State in
pass defense and fourth overall. While free safety John Ojo and linebackers
Brandon Denmark and Akil Blount are among the team leaders in tackles, Holmes
credited the play up front of the defensive line with their individual success.
“Anytime you can have some defensive linemen getting after
some guys and the outside linebacker has to win their one-on-one and put
pressure on the quarterback, that’s what it’s designed to do,” Holmes said.
“Brandon Denmark as well Akil Blount, those guys have been playing very well
just feeding off the defensive line. That’s where it starts.”
FAMU holds a 31-19-2 lead in the series, but the Rattlers
are 1-9 in the Pough era.
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