The Rattler football team started out slow on Saturday against Howard, but pulled away with 22 straight third-quarter points to defeat the Howard University Bison, 39-7, in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game in Bragg Memorial Stadium in front 8,979 fans.
The Rattlers (9-1 overall, 7-0 MEAC) concluded their home campaign with a perfect 6-0 mark for the first time in 10 years.
FAMU got a 46-yard field goal by Yahia Aly with 10:44 remaining in the first quarter to grab an early 3-0 lead.
The Rattlers, who were off last week, shook off the rust midway through the second quarter when Azende Rey, running the Wildcat offense, scored on a 2-yard run, giving FAMU a 10-0 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first half.
A Markquese Bell interception sparked Florida A&M’s next score.
On the very next offensive series, Howard quarterback Ramar Williams was picked off by Bell and two plays later, Ryan Stanley connected with Xavier Smith for an 18-yard touchdown strike as the Rattlers extended the lead to 17-0 with 7:52 left in the second.
In the second half, FAMU took the opening kickoff and went 56 yards in five plays with Bishop Bonnett scoring on a 25-yard touchdown run, pushing the margin to 25-0 as Chris Faddoul converted the 2-point conversion with 12:40 left.
The Rattlers continued to move the ball on their next possession and went 80 yards in nine plays as Terrell Jennings scored on a 3-yard run, giving FAMU a 32-0 advantage with 6:42 remaining.
Florida A&M put the game away with 40 seconds left in the third when Rey caught a 22-yard pass from Rasean McKay, extending the lead to 39-0.
Howard (1-10, 1-6) finally got on the scoreboard with 6:20 remaining in the game with a Josiah Cruite a 4-yard run to make the score 39-7.