South Carolina State at Florida A&M

South Carolina State at Florida A&M

This is Missed It. South Carolina State at Florida A&M, Sunday, September 6, 81 and overcast at Hard Rock Stadium, with the Bulldogs. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

We are here, Bulldogs fans, and it is a big one. South Carolina State is on the road against the Florida A&M Rattlers, and Florida A&M gets the ball first. The stage is set, the nerves are real, and we are ready to see what our Bulldogs are made of tonight.

The Sequence

The game is decided here, and it is settled by the first quarter 7:04. It starts with a long Florida A&M drive, 18 plays of grinding, and they take the early lead with a field goal. 0 to 3. But we answer, and we answer fast. the first quarter 7:17. No Huddle-Shotgun, Pickett-Hicks takes the handoff, and he is gone. Fifty-eight yards to the house. He hits the edge, turns the corner, and there is nobody catching him. The crowd is on its feet, the sideline is erupting, and Jackson's kick is true. 7 to 3. That is how you respond. Then the turnover. Florida A&M gets the ball back, and on the second play, Knowles tries to run it up the middle. He loses 11 yards, and the ball comes out. Reed is there to scoop it up at the Florida A&M 14, and he returns it 8 yards to the 6. We are knocking on the door. And we do not waste it. One play. the first quarter 7:04. Shaw takes it up the middle for 6 yards, and it is a touchdown. There is a face mask penalty on Florida A&M, but it does not matter. The kick is good. 14 to 3. Two touchdowns in 13 seconds of game time. The Rattlers are reeling. Florida A&M tries to answer, but their drive stalls and they turn it over on downs. Then we get the ball, and Watson throws a pass that is picked off by Bostic at the Florida A&M 10. He returns it 9 yards to the 19. A chance for Florida A&M to get back in it, but they punt it away. We take over and drive, but we cannot finish, and we turn it over on downs. Still, it is 14 to 3, and we have all the momentum.

Q2

The second quarter starts with both teams trading punts and turnovers on downs. It is a grind, but we are holding. Then Florida A&M puts together a drive, and at the second quarter 11:15, Knowles finds Lee over the middle for 41 yards down to our 40. It is a big play, and they eventually settle for a field goal. 14 to 6. They are creeping back, but we have an answer. the second quarter 7:23. Watson drops back, and he finds Hillman over the middle. Hillman catches it at the Florida A&M 35 and takes it 37 yards down to the 15. A huge chunk of yardage, and we are in business. We keep pushing, and at the second quarter 3:31, Shaw takes it up the middle for 1 yard and it is a touchdown. Jackson's kick is good. 21 to 6. That is the response we needed. Florida A&M gets the ball back, but they punt. We get it, but we cannot convert and turn it over on downs. Then Florida A&M gets it, and on the third play, they turn it over. We take over with just over a minute left in the half, and we are not done. the third quarter 15:00, the first play of the second half. Pickett-Hicks takes it left for 33 yards, out of bounds at the Florida A&M 32. He is having a night. And then, the third quarter 13:24, he takes it right for 32 yards, and it is a touchdown. Jackson's kick is good. 28 to 6. We are rolling, and the Rattlers have no answer.

Q3

The third quarter continues, and we are in control. Florida A&M gets the ball, but they punt. We take over, and we are moving. the third quarter 8:33, Watson finds Brown over the left side for 32 yards down to the Florida A&M 18. We are knocking on the door again. But then it happens. the third quarter 6:07. Watson drops back, and he throws it right to Bostic. Bostic picks it off at the Florida A&M 20, and he is gone. Eighty yards to the house. A pick-six. The Rattlers are back in it, 28 to 13. The air goes out of the stadium, but we are still up by two scores. We get the ball back, and we are trying to answer. the third quarter 4:27, Watson finds Jones over the right side for 20 yards down to the Florida A&M 9. But Jones fumbles it at the 16, and Florida A&M recovers. A killer turnover. We had a chance to put this away, and we let it slip. Florida A&M gets the ball, but they punt. We get it, but we punt it right back. Then Florida A&M starts a drive that carries into the fourth quarter. the fourth quarter 14:10, Fletcher finds Jackson deep for 38 yards down to our 33. They are moving, but our defense holds, and they turn it over on downs. We are still up 28 to 13, but we need to finish this.

Q4

The fourth quarter is here, and we are trying to close this out. We get the ball, but we punt. Florida A&M gets it, but they punt. We get it back with just over four minutes left, and we are running the clock. We are moving the ball, and we are in field goal range. the fourth quarter 1:09. Jackson lines up for a 39-yard field goal. The snap is good, the hold is good, and the kick is good. 31 to 13. That is the dagger. That is the insurance we needed. Florida A&M gets the ball back with no time left, and the game is over.

Wrap-up

Final score, South Carolina State 31, Florida A&M 13. We came into their house, we took the punch early, and we answered with 21 unanswered points. Pickett-Hicks was unstoppable, Shaw was grinding, and our defense made the plays when it mattered. This is a big win, Bulldogs fans. This is the kind of win that builds a season. We are going home happy.

By the Numbers

The Bulldogs by the numbers. Final score, South Carolina State 31, Florida A&M 13. 479 yards of offense to their 161, 187 through the air and 292 on the ground. 19 first downs. 1 of 8 on third down. 3 turnovers for us, 1 for them. We held the ball for just over 30 minutes.

Outro

That was South Carolina State at Florida A&M, from the Bulldogs side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.

South Carolina State at Florida A&M

This is Missed It. South Carolina State at Florida A&M, Sunday, September 6, 81 and overcast at Hard Rock Stadium, with the Rattlers. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

It's a new day in Rattler country, and we've got the South Carolina State Bulldogs in town. Florida A&M's got the ball first, and the energy in the building is electric. We're looking to make a statement early, to set the tone against a tough South Carolina State squad. The Rattlers are on the field, the crowd is up, and we're ready to go to work. This is Florida A&M football, and it's time to show what we're made of.

The Sequence

The game is decided here; it is settled by the first quarter 7:04. We open with the ball, and we put together a grind of a drive. Eighteen plays. Eighteen. We're moving the chains, chewing up clock, and we cap it off with a field goal to take the early lead. 3 to 0, Rattlers. That's how you start a ballgame. But then, the swing. South Carolina State answers in a hurry. Four plays, and on the second one, Pickett-Hicks takes it right, and he's gone. Fifty-eight yards to the house. Just like that, it's 7 to 3, and the air goes out of the building for a second. We've got to answer. And we try. Knowles takes the snap, tries to get something going up the middle, but the Bulldogs strip it. Fumble. They recover at our 14, and return it down to the 6. Our defense is on its heels, and South Carolina State is smelling blood. One play. That's all they need. Shaw rushes up the middle for 6 yards, and it's a touchdown. There's a face mask penalty on the play, but it doesn't matter. It's 14 to 3, and we're in a hole we didn't see coming. We try to respond. Five plays, but we can't convert on fourth down. Turnover on downs. Then our defense steps up. Watson drops back, throws, and Bostic reads it all the way. Interception at the 10, and he returns it 9 yards to the 19. We've got life. But we can't sustain it. Five plays, and we're punting it away. South Carolina State takes over, and they drive, nine plays, but our defense holds. Fourth down, they go for it, and they don't get it. We're getting the ball back, but we're down 14 to 3, and we need something to change.

Q2

We start the second quarter with the ball, but we can't get anything going. Four plays, punt. South Carolina State gets it back, and they push, but our defense holds again. Fourth down, they go for it, and they don't convert. We've got the ball back, and we need a spark. And we get one. Knowles drops back, throws it over the middle to Lee, and he's got room. Forty-one yards down to the South Carolina State 40. First down. That's the kind of play we needed. We're moving. We keep pushing, thirteen plays total, and we get down the field. We settle for a field goal, and it's 14 to 6. We're back in this thing. The defense is holding, the offense is moving, and we've got momentum. But South Carolina State takes it right back. Watson finds Hillman over the middle, and he takes it 37 yards down to our 15. They're in business. And then Shaw punches it in from a yard out. Touchdown. It's 21 to 6, and that one stings. We try to answer. Six plays, but we're punting again. South Carolina State gets the ball back, and they're driving, but our defense holds. Fourth down, they go for it, and they don't get it. We've got the ball back with a minute and a half left. And then it goes wrong. Three plays, and we turn it over. South Carolina State takes over, and they're not done. Pickett-Hicks takes it left for 33 yards, down to our 32. They're in scoring position, and the quarter ends with them knocking on the door.

Q3

The second half starts, and South Carolina State picks up right where they left off. Pickett-Hicks takes it right, and he's gone again. Thirty-two yards for the touchdown. It's 28 to 6, and this one is slipping away. We get the ball back, but we can't do anything with it. Five plays, punt. South Carolina State takes over, and they're moving again. Watson finds Brown for 32 yards, down to our 18. They're in business. But then, the moment. Watson drops back, throws, and Bostic is there again. He picks it off at the 20, and he's got nothing but green in front of him. Eighty yards. Eighty. He's gone. Touchdown, Rattlers! It's 28 to 13, and the building is rocking. We're back in this thing. South Carolina State gets the ball back, and they're trying to answer. Watson throws to Jones, and he's got it, but Johnson strips it. Fumble. We recover at the 9. We've got the ball, and we've got a chance to make it a one-score game. But we can't do it. Four plays, punt. South Carolina State takes over, and they're just trying to run out the clock. Six plays, and they punt it back to us. We've got the ball with under a minute left in the third. And we start to move. Fletcher drops back, throws deep to Jackson, and he hauls it in for 38 yards, down to the South Carolina State 33. First down. We're in business. The quarter ends, and we're driving, and we've got hope.

Q4

We start the fourth quarter with the ball, down 28 to 13, and we're driving. We've got a chance to make this a one-score game. But we can't convert. Fourth down, and we don't get it. Turnover on downs. The air goes out of the building again. South Carolina State takes over, and they're just trying to run the clock. Seven plays, and they punt it back to us. We've got the ball, down 15, with just over four minutes left. We need a miracle. Five plays, and we're punting it away. South Carolina State takes over, and they're in control. They drive, six plays, and they get down to our 21. They're going to try to put the dagger in. And they do. Jackson lines up for a 39-yard field goal, and it's good. 31 to 13. That's the ballgame. We get the ball back with no time left, three plays, and it's over.

Wrap-up

Final score: South Carolina State 31, Florida A&M 13. It's a tough one to swallow, Rattler fans. We came out and fought, we had our moments, but we couldn't get the big plays when we needed them. Bostic's pick-six was a thing of beauty, a moment that gave us all hope. But it wasn't enough. We've got to go back to work, we've got to get better, and we've got to come back stronger. This one hurts, but we're Rattlers. We don't quit. We get back up, and we go again.

By the Numbers

The Rattlers by the numbers. Final score, Florida A&M 13, South Carolina State 31. 161 yards of offense to their 479, 162 through the air and -1 on the ground. 10 first downs. 4 of 17 on third down. 1 turnover for us, 3 for them. We held the ball for just under 30 minutes.

Outro

That was South Carolina State at Florida A&M, from the Rattlers side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.