2018 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

2018 Florida A&M Rattlers football
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
2018 record	6–5 (5–2 MEAC)
Head coach	Willie Simmons (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Alex Jackson (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Ralph Street (1st season)
Home stadium	Bragg Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 25,500)
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 North Carolina A&T $		6	–	1					9	–	2
Bethune–Cookman		5	–	2					7	–	5
Florida A&M		5	–	2					6	–	5
South Carolina State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Howard		4	–	3					4	–	6
North Carolina Central		3	–	4					5	–	6
Morgan State		3	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		2	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Savannah State		1	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2018 Florida A&M Rattlers football team represented Florida A&M University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Rattlers were led by first-year head coach Willie Simmons. They played their home games at Bragg Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–2 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for second place.

Previous season[]

The Rattlers finished the 2017 season 3–8, 2–6 in MEAC play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place.

On November 20, head coach Alex Wood resigned.^[1] He finished at Florida A&M with a three-year record of 8–25.

Preseason[]

MEAC preseason poll[]

In a vote of the MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, the Rattlers were picked to finish in fifth place.^[2]

Predicted finish	Team
1	North Carolina A&T
2	Howard
3	North Carolina Central
4	Bethune–Cookman
5	Florida A&M
6	Norfolk State
7	South Carolina State
8	Savannah State
9	Morgan State
10	Delaware State

Preseason All-MEAC Teams[]

The Rattlers had ten players selected to the preseason all-MEAC teams.^[3]

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	5:00 p.m.	Fort Valley State*	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL (Jake Gaither Classic)	ESPN3	W 41–7	20,262
September 8	7:00 p.m.	at Troy*	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	ESPN+	L 7–59	25,767
September 15	5:00 p.m.	Jackson State*	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	L 16–18	17,643
September 22	4:00 p.m.	Savannah State	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 31–13	16,644
September 29	4:00 p.m.	at North Carolina Central	O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 55–14	8,451
October 6	4:00 p.m.	Norfolk State	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 17–0	26,045
October 13	1:00 p.m.	at No. 10 North Carolina A&T	BB&T Stadium Greensboro, NC	ESPN3	W 22–21	15,418
October 27	4:00 p.m.	Morgan State	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	W 38–3	14,037
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at Howard	William H. Greene Stadium Washington, D.C.		L 23–31	6,858
November 10	4:00 p.m.	South Carolina State	Bragg Memorial Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN3	L 21–44	12,608
November 17	2:00 p.m.	vs. Bethune–Cookman	Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL (Florida Classic)	ESPN Classic	L 19–33	52,142
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries[]

Fort Valley State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7
Rattlers	7	13	13	8	41

at Troy[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	0	7	0	0	7
Trojans	21	17	14	7	59

Jackson State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	6	9	3	18
Rattlers	7	0	9	0	16

Savannah State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	0	0	6	13
Rattlers	0	3	14	14	31

at North Carolina Central[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	24	17	7	7	55
Eagles	7	0	7	0	14

Norfolk State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Spartans	0	0	0	0	0
Rattlers	0	3	0	14	17

at North Carolina A&T[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	0	6	7	9	22
No. 10 Aggies	14	7	0	0	21

Morgan State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	3	3
Rattlers	14	17	7	0	38

at Howard[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	10	7	0	6	23
Bison	21	0	7	3	31

South Carolina State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	14	6	14	44
Rattlers	0	14	7	0	21

vs Bethune–Cookman[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	12	14	33
Rattlers	3	10	6	0	19

Coaching staff[]

2018 Florida A&M Rattlers coaching staff

Head Coach Head Coach – Willie Simmons Assistant head coach – Billy Rolle Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Alex Jackson Tight Ends/Special Teams/Associate Head Coach – James Spady Wide Receivers – Jelani Barassa Running backs – Clifford Henry Graduate assistant – Mateo Kambui Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive line – Ralph Street Defensive backs – Kenneth Gilstrap Defensive backs – Brandon Sharp Source:[4] Last updated 7/13/18

References[]