|
Florida A&M (0-1) at No. 5 Oklahoma (1-0), 6 p.m. (pay-per-view) Line: No line. Series Record: First meeting. WHAT'S AT STAKE After dropping a spot in the rankings following a 24-7 win against UTEP to start the season, Oklahoma could have a chance to smooth out the rough edges against the Rattlers of the Football Championship Subdivision. Bob Stoops' Sooners have won all three games against FCS opponents easily, by a combined score of 170-2. The Rattlers are out for a mammoth upset, and a $650,000 payday. KEY MATCHUP Florida A&M receivers vs. Oklahoma secondary. The Rattlers suspended top receiver Lenworth Lennon, along with three other players, before going up against a defensive backfield that allowed just 48 yards passing in Week 1. PLAYERS TO WATCH Florida A&M: DE Ellie Hyppolite. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior had two of the Rattlers' four sacks last week against Tennessee State and will line up against a shuffled offensive line that allowed three sacks a week ago - as many as the Sooners allowed through eight games last season. Oklahoma: RB Damien Williams. The junior college transfer ran for a team-best 103 yards, including a 65-yard TD run, in his debut. FACTS & FIGURES Stoops and Florida A&M's Joe Carter worked together on the coaching staff for the 2001 Hula Bowl college All-Star game. Stoops says he has a picture of the two of them, and others including Steve Spurrier and Dick Tomey, wearing sandals while coaching the game. ... The game contract called for Florida A&M to get $700,000 if its marching band traveled with the team, but the Marching 100 is suspended from games after the death of a drum major that has other band members facing hazing charges. ... FAMU is 0-13 against FBS teams since 1996, losing by an average score of 50-9.
|