Fresh off their first win of the 2008 season, Winston-Salem State rolled south to Tallahassee, Fla on Oct. 9 to take on Florida A&M.
The Rams headed into Bragg Stadium in front of 15,000 plus fans looking to take the series lead against FAMU.
Unfortunately for the Rams, momentum wouldn’t fit on the bus.
The Rams were shut out for the first time since 1996 when North Carolina Central overpowered them 28-0 in Durham.
The more important thing is that the Rams suffered this loss to FAMU in front of a multitude of people on ESPNU. Last time the Rams faced the Rattlers was last season in another big-time game in Indianapolis, in the Circle City Classic where the Rams beat the Rattlers 27-23 in a game aired nationally on the NFL Network.
The Rams (1-4) set out to establish the run but found out early that the Rattlers (5-2, 1-2 MEAC) would not budge on the line of scrimmage holding the Rams to 45 yards rushing on 24 carries.
The Rams then looked to start where they finished when defeated Howard University (34-10) by going to the air.
Quarterback Jarrett Dunston completed only 5 of 17 passes for 36 yards, and the Rams had no outlet for offensive production.
Luckily for the Rams cornerback/punter Jamaine Mack had the golden foot. Mack punted 10 times averaging just less than 40 yards a punt with a long of 53 yards.
The Rams were terrible in every faucet on offense mustering a dismal 81 yards of total offense and just four first downs the entire game. The defense did all it could to prevent the Rattlers from putting the game out of reach early.
The Rattlers held the ball for 40 minutes of a 60-minute game against the young defense of the Rams. The Rattlers completed 24 of 33 passing gaining 289 yards in the air with no interceptions and rushed for 145 yards on 41 carries for combined total of 434 yards of total offense.
The Rattlers had 26 first downs and punted five times. The Rams’ performed reasonably well, given the offense’s ineffectiveness.
The Rams will have a chance to put this loss behind them and put their focus on the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman during Homecoming 2008 on Oct. 25.