2019 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

2019 Florida A&M Rattlers football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 24
FCS Coaches	No. 25
Record	9–2 (7–1 MEAC)
Head coach	Willie Simmons (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Alex Jackson (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Ralph Street (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Bragg Memorial Stadium

2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 24 Florida A&M *		7	–	1					9	–	2
No. 20 North Carolina A&T +		6	–	2					9	–	3
South Carolina State +		6	–	2					8	–	3
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	3					7	–	4
Norfolk State		4	–	4					5	–	7
North Carolina Central		3	–	5					4	–	8
Howard		2	–	6					2	–	10
Morgan State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Delaware State		1	–	7					2	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions * Florida A&M ineligible for conference title due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 Florida A&M Rattlers football team represented Florida A&M University as member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Rattlers were led by second-year head coach Willie Simmons and played their home games at Bragg Memorial Stadium. Florida A&M finished the year 9–2 overall and 7–1 in MEAC play to post with the best record in the MEAC and across all HBCU schools. However, in May 2019, Florida A&M had been banned from 2019 postseason play; as a result, the team could not compete in the Celebration Bowl or for a MEAC championship.

Preseason

MEAC poll

In the MEAC preseason poll released on July 26, 2019, the Rattlers were predicted to finish in third place.

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	North Carolina A&T	304 (12)
2	Bethune–Cookman	237 (1)
3	Florida A&M	204 (2)
4	Howard	166
5	North Carolina Central	161 (1)
6	South Carolina State	152
7	Norfolk State	119 (1)
8	Morgan State	87 (1)
9	Delaware State	46

Preseason All–MEAC teams

The Rattlers had eleven players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.

Second Team Offense

Ryan Stanley – QB

Deshawn Smith – RB

Xavier Smith – WR

Third Team Offense

Bishop Bonnette – RB

Chad Hunter – WR

First Team Defense

Yahia Aly – K

Chris Faddoul – P

Second Team Defense

Terry Jefferson – DB

Third Team Defense

Demontre Moore – DL

Elijah Richardson – LB

Herman Jackson Jr. – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	7:30 p.m.	at No. 17 (FBS) UCF*		Spectrum Stadium Orlando, FL	CBSSN	L 0–62	44,073
September 14	6:00 p.m.	Fort Valley State*		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 57–20	17,911
September 21	6:00 p.m.	Southern*		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 27–21	27,191
September 28	4:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State		William "Dick" Price Stadium Norfolk, VA	ESPN3	W 30–28	8,249
October 5	2:00 p.m.	North Carolina Central		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 28–21	25,679
October 12	2:00 p.m.	at South Carolina State		Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	ESPN3	W 42–38	15,792
October 20	2:00 p.m.	No. 10 North Carolina A&T		Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 34–31	1,051
October 26	3:00 p.m.	at Morgan State	No. 20	Hughes Stadium Baltimore, MD	ESPN3	W 24–12	2,786
November 2	4:00 p.m.	Delaware State	No. 17	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 52–30	7,412
November 16	4:00 p.m.	Howard	No. 12	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 39–7	8,979
November 23	3:30 p.m.	vs. Bethune–Cookman	No. 12	Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL (Florida Classic)	ESPNews	L 27–31	55,730
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

At UCF

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	0	0	0	0	0
No. 17 (FBS) Knights	17	31	7	7	62

See also: 2019 UCF Knights football team

Fort Valley State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	6	14	20
Rattlers	14	26	7	10	57

See also: Fort Valley State Wildcats football

Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	0	7	7	7	21
Rattlers	17	0	2	8	27

See also: 2019 Southern Jaguars football team

At Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	7	10	6	7	30
Spartans	7	7	7	7	28

See also: 2019 Norfolk State Spartans football team

North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	7	7	21
Rattlers	7	7	0	14	28

See also: 2019 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

At South Carolina State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	7	7	14	14	42
Bulldogs	0	14	3	21	38

See also: 2019 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 10 Aggies	7	7	3	11	3	31
Rattlers	14	7	0	7	6	34

See also: 2019 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team

At Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Rattlers	7	17	0	0	24
Bears	7	3	0	2	12

See also: 2019 Morgan State Bears football team

Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hornets	0	3	20	7	30
No. 17 Rattlers	14	17	14	7	52

See also: 2019 Delaware State Hornets football team

Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	0	0	0	7	7
No. 12 Rattlers	3	14	22	0	39

See also: 2019 Howard Bison football team

Vs. Bethune–Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 12 Rattlers	7	6	7	7	27
Wildcats	7	14	0	10	31

See also: 2019 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
STATS FCS	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	20	17	16	12	12	20	24
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	23	17	15T	14	13	21	25