In HBCU football, it's rare that you see Celebration Bowl rematches during the regular season. But the Orange Blossom Classic brought Howard University and Florida A&M together for the second iteration of their matchup after a thrilling 2023 Celebration Bowl face-off.
In that game, Willie Simmons led Florida A&M to their first Celebration Bowl victory after their first SWAC championship before parting with the program a couple of weeks later to join Manny Diaz's staff at Duke. Simmons was in the stadium for Florida A&M once again, but not as a coach, but as an honorary captain of the Rattlers in the Classic.
Florida A&M looked to replicate the same success they found against Howard University, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Both Howard University and Florida A&M had seasons that weren't ideal for reigning conference champions. They certainly looked at this matchup as a way to restore order and get them back in the conversation among contenders like Jackson State and South Carolina State. But today's game was a low-scoring affair that wasn't a great readout of how the teams will fare as contenders for the rest of the season.
Howard University got on the board first after quarterback Tyriq Starks threw a two-yard pass to CJ Neely for a touchdown that capped off a 10-play, 53-yard drive to start the second quarter. With two minutes and three seconds left in the second quarter, FAMU got their first points of the day on a 32-yard field goal by Daniel Porto. As was the trend in other HBCU football games, Howard University and Florida A&M didn't see any scores until later in the fourth quarter when Daniel Porto hit a 33-yard field goal for Florida A&M that put the score at 7-6 with Howard University leading. Florida A&M took the lead with another Daniel Porto field goal for a 9-7 edge.
But ultimately, Howard University was able to put together a drive that put them in range to kick a game-winning 43-yard field goal, courtesy of Matt Conord. Starks showed some wherewithal during the two-minute drill as he was sacked for a nine-yard loss that could have ultimately cost them the game. But he was able to make up for the lost yardage on the sack after he found KD Mosley for a 21-yard gain. Starks had a good game, throwing for 145 yards and one touchdown with one interception on 17-of-28 passing and also rushing for 30 yards.
RJ Johnson III, who was designated as Florida A&M's starting quarterback for the Orange Blossom Classic, finished the game with 183 yards on 17-of-32 passing. It seemed as if neither offense was really able to get things going as Florida A&M finished with 272 total yards and Howard finished with 195 total yards.
Florida A&M looks to regain their winning momentum with a game against FBS opponent Florida Atlantic on September 6th at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, Howard University also has an FBS game on tap as they play Temple University on September 6th at 2 p.m.
