On Saturday Florida A&M and Howard will meet in Atlanta for the 2023 Celebration Bowl. The journey to Atlanta for these programs to get to this point have been very similar. For the Rattlers the program is a proud one but has had to endure some tough times to get back to the top of HBCU football. In 2001 Head Coach Billy Joe had won his fourth MEAC title but the Rattlers would wait 22-years before they would win another outright conference title. The Bison have also had a tough road. The Bison hoisted the MEAC title in 1993 and would have to wait 30 years to bring another outright title back to the Mecca.
The Celebration Bowl’s inaugural year was 2015 and during that 2015 season the Ratters and Bison finished at the bottom of the MEAC with a combined overall record of 2-20 and a 2-14 conference record between the two. Fast forward a few years and both programs have climbed out of the doldrums and now are champions of their respective conferences. Willie Simmons arrived in Tallahassee in 2018 tasked to turned around a once proud program that hadn’t had a winning season since 2010 and was a 18-50 in the six previous seasons prior to his arrival. Since that time Rattlers are 44-13 and have finished in the top 25 nationally the last four consecutive seasons.
For the Bison it’s been a long road. The Bison finished 2nd in the MEAC in 2012 under Coach Gary Harrell but would not finish in the top half of the MEAC standings again until 2017 under Coach Mike London when the Bison finished in 2nd place again and would score the biggest upset in college football history by beating UNLV as a 45-point underdog. Happy times in DC wouldn’t last as Mike London would depart after a 4-6 season in 2018 for William & Mary and Ron Prince entered in 2019 and dismantled everything that had been built previously as the Bison fell back to earth with a 2-10 record. Then a gift from Gainesville by the name of Larry Scott made his way to DC. Things started slow during the covid spring season and into the 2021 season as Scott only had a 3-11 record heading into the 2022 season. Since that time the Bison have only lost 2 conference games, won a share of the MEAC title in 2022 and won the MEAC outright this season. Saturday’s game is the next step for two proud programs who have endured some rough times who now will battle it see who’s the King of HBCU Football.
The Rattlers have been in some big games since Simmons arrived in Tallahassee. They slayed the dragon that is North Carolina A&T twice, they’ve finally overcome Bethune-Cookman, they’ve conquered Jackson State and now the SWAC title resides on The Highest of Seven Hills. The Rattlers have been dominant this season with an 11-1 record and an average margin of victory of 19-points and winning 10 of their 11 games by double digits. The Rattlers placed 13-players on the All-SWAC team and Willie Simmons captured the SWAC Coach of the year. The Rattlers boast a defensive unit that’s ranked 2nd in total defense in the country, and they’ve only allowed over 14 points on four occasions during the season. Offensively the Rattlers are just as potent. FAMU ended the regular season as the number one offense in the SWAC in total yards, and points per game.
Most people will tell you that they expected FAMU to be in Atlanta to end the season, but many penciled in North Carolina Central to make consecutive trips to Atlanta. The Eagles flew into DC on November 11th ranked 7th nationally with an 8-1 record and Howard turned the HBCU football landscape upside down. Not only did they derail the NCCU train scheduled for Atlanta, but they did it in dominant fashion with a 50-20 win over The Eagles. Unlike the Rattlers who win games by almost 3 touchdowns, the Bison have been the “Cardiac Kids” of the season. Howard has been involved in six games that were decided by one possession or less and they are 3-3 in these contests including a 3-point loss to Northwestern of the Big Ten. Howard will bring an offense that is ranked 1st in the MEAC in total offense second in passing offense with 202.8 yards per game and first in third down conversions at 46.7%. Defensively the Bison can be stubborn has they ranked second in the conference in total defense and second in scoring defense. Howard will also bring 14 players of their own who received all-conference honors.
As these two teams meet in Atlanta on Saturday, both fanbases will rejoice because they remember the hard road that it took to get here. The scale up the mountain for both has been a tedious climb and for both programs there’s only one more step to take. The problem is that they’re both standing in each other’s way! Saturday a new King of HBCU football will be crowned. Will it be FAMU adding a 17th HBCU National Title? Or will it be Howard adding their 6th HBCU National title to cap off a magical season for the Bison.
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