Before a crowd of 59,418 in Orlando’s Florida Citrus Bowl, the Florida A&M Rattlers beat the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats by a resounding 42 - 6. The game was pretty much over at the half when the score was 35 – 0. The Rattlers were generally projected to win but not by such a large margin especially after suffering a 25 – 0 shellacking at the hands of Hampton the week before.

Other than the obvious half-time show performances by the marching bands, the highlight of the game was the performance of FAMU’s freshman, third-string quarterback, Martin Okpai. He demonstrated amazing, leadership, execution, and ball control in his showing at the Classic as Coach Joe Taylor wisely sidelined starting quarterback Curtis Pulley as the Rattlers held on to wildcard playoff hopes.

Speaking of half-time, the arguments continue about which marching band won the show. The Marching Wildcats inarguably had the best sound though their precision and execution was not up to their recent standards. The Marching 100 cannot be topped on precision, execution and showmanship but fans expected a new show rather than the already seen before tribute to Michael Jackson.

The Rattlers learned that they would not be invited to the playoffs so their season ends at 8 - 3 and the Wildcats , 5 – 6.

The Florida Classic attracts one of, if not the largest crowds in HBCU football. Not to mention all of the other activities surrounding the game.

Thurs. 10/15/2009

Sat. 10/17/2009