This Saturday former MEAC foes Norfolk State and Florida A&M will renew football acquaintances in the 2024 MEAC/SWAC Challenge.
The two schools last met on September 28, 2019, in a hotly contested matchup in which FAMU was able to escape Dick Price Stadium with a 30-28 win.
The Spartans went 3-8 last season, dropping 5 of their last 6 games, and come into the matchup looking to get not only a potential statement win that could springboard the Spartans into a winning 2024 campaign. Norfolk State has not finished a season with more wins than losses since posting a 6-5 mark in the 2021 season.
The Spartans will have a new signal caller under center as Garden City Community College transfer Jalen Daniels was named QB1. Incumbent and previously presumed starter Otto Kahn was sacked for 4 games by the NCAA due to a rules violation. The Spartans return their top two rushers from last season X’Zavion Evans and Preseason MEAC Second Team member Kevon King.
On the other side of the ball, the Spartans return a bevy of Preseason All-MEAC Team members, including DL Keshawn Lynch and DB Terron Mallory on the first team, with LB Daylan Long and DB Devon Allen on the second team.
Florida A&M enters the game clouded with uncertainty. This is the rattlers first game in the post-Willie Simmons era and the James Colzie-led FAMU football team enters the game with a host of questions, primarily at quarterback, where Florida Atlantic transfer Daniel Richardson has the unenviable task of replacing All-SWAC performance Jeremy Moussa. On the other side of the ball, FAMU has an Isaiah Major-sized void to fill.
Prediction:
This is a game that will be decided in the trenches. With two new quarterbacks, establishing the run for both teams will be paramount.
Whichever team can consistently run the football will likely leave Atlanta with the victory.
The team that will be able to do that, will be FAMU. The Spartans have allowed over 200 rushing yards per game in each of the last two seasons and I anticipate there will be opportunities in the run game for the Rattlers, which they will take advantage of. The same won’t be true for Norfolk, as the FAMU run defense while, not at the level of last year’s unit that allowed just 95.4 yards per game on the ground, will be stingy enough to force the Spartans to put the ball more in the hands of quarterback Jalen Daniels. The speed of the Rattler’s defense will cause Daniels to make some mistakes, which will lead to points for FAMU.
Although the Spartans will compete hard, they will be overmatched by the defending HBCU champs.
Final score:
Florida A&M: 31
Norfolk State: 17
