Everyone in the country is well aware that Miami is going to blow Florida A&M out on Saturday, but apparently FAMU players didn’t get the memo:

Rattlers believe they can top Miami

“This year we have more of a mind-set that we can beat them. We know we can beat them,” said Running Back Demitric Henry.

“They are just another team on the schedule that’s in our way of greatness,” said senior Linebacker Gregory Boler. “Don’t let the hype distract you because I know that does it for a lot of people. I’ve played against them already and it’s nothing major.”

That “nothing major” was a game that Miami won 51-10 back in 2006 when Miami was a very mediocre team.

Miami is once again an elite team with as much talent as any team in the nation and are expected to flex their muscles against the Rattlers and eventually get the backups in the game to build depth. It will be an opportunity to hopefully see true freshman Quarterback A.J. Highsmith get some playing time. It will also be the first time that fans get to see Tommy Streeter if he is able to get on the field. Streeter is a 6’5 Wide Receiver with 4.4 speed from Miami Northwestern and will no doubt be a major mismatch against any Cornerback on FAMU’s roster. Miami’s Offensive Line has been extremely impressive so far this year but with three seniors on that starting line it will be interesting to see how the back ups hold up when they are called upon. Second stringers include former Northwestern Bulls Brandon Washington and Ben Jones. The young linebackers could get their opportunity, it is a speedy unit that includes Ramon Buchanon and C.J. Holton (former Safeties who made the switch to Linebacker) as well as former blue-chipper Arthur Brown. The highly recruited true freshman Cornerback Brandon McGee will also be getting his first major playing time of the year.

FAMU is much better than usual this year. They have a big, fast, athletic Quarterback in Curtis Pulley who has thrown for 7 touchdowns this year and only 1 interception. He is also the team’s leading rusher including a 196 yard rushing performance the opening week against Delaware State. They have possibly the most dangerous Punt Returner in LeRoy Vann who has already returned 4 touchdowns so far this year giving him a total of ten for his career. He is quickly closing in on the all-time NCAA record. FAMU is 4-0 on the year and is outscoring opponents by and average of 33.5 to 11 so far this season.

Now lets compare their four games to our for games:

1 Florida State                  1 Delaware State

2 Georgia Tech                2 Winston-Salem

3 Virginia Tech                 3 Howard

4 Oklahoma                      4 Tennessee State

They are having a good season so far in their division of football and they will likely have a good season with the exception of this Saturday. But the bottom line is that they are not on our level and should not be competitive unless we allow them to. And I highly doubt the Canes will be in a generous mood on Saturday. Let’s wrap this one up early in the game and see what the young guys can do. The only chance FAMU has of impressing anyone is with their band.

If you can’t make it out to the game it will be shown on ESPN360 and reportedly on the FAMU athletic Web site.