Just a smattering of college football games were played this past weekend in what has become known as "Week Zero" of the sport. One of them was in Chapel Hill, as the UNC Tar Heels hosted the Florida A&M Rattlers in a Saturday night clash televised by the ACC Network.
An announced crowd of 46,130 fans attended the game — despite a few rain showers — and those folks were treated to quite a show.
On the gridiron, Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye led UNC to a 56-24 victory. And when football wasn't happening, one of the most electrifying shows in the sport wowed the crowd, as FAMU's renowned "Marching 100" strutted onto the field, played loud and kept the energy high. UNC also used what it called its "HBCU Celebration Game" to honor a few legends of the sport, like Rod Broadway, Bill Hayes and Rudy Hubbard.
Below is a collection of photos from the game.
There were worries on Friday that this game would be canceled due to concerns that FAMU may not have enough players to safely compete. ABC27 in Tallahassee, Florida, reported that 20 players were ineligible due to academics and problems with transfer eligibility.
That left the Rattlers especially thin along the offensive line. Just seven young men entrusted with protecting FAMU quarterback Jeremy Moussa suited up for the game.
And the Tar Heels’ pass rushers took advantage of the Rattlers’ lack of depth, wearing the offensive line down and eventually recording six tackles for loss. Still, Moussa threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
Kenan Memorial Stadium surely brought back fond memories for FAMU head coach Willie Simmons. Two decades ago, he was a quarterback in the ACC at Clemson. On Oct. 21, 2000, Simmons and the Tigers visited Chapel Hill for a game against the Tar Heels. After Clemson fell behind by 17 points and had their starting quarterback knocked out of the game, Simmons entered and threw four touchdowns en route to a 38-24 victory over UNC.
Simmons scored 15 touchdowns in 22 games at Clemson, then played his final season of college football at the Citadel. FAMU is now 24-11 since Simmons — a Tallahassee native — took the reins as head coach in 2018. The Rattlers have had two consecutive nine-win seasons, and last year made the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2001.
FAMU has a long and storied history in college football, laying claim to 15 HBCU national championships — eight of which came between 1945 and 1969, when coach Jake Gaither’s teams dominated in an era of segregation. The Rattlers also won an Division I-AA championship in 1978, and have produced 69 NFL players.
When UNC football coach Mack Brown was a player at Florida State, he took graduate classes nearby at FAMU and met Gaither. Brown has called Gaither “one of the best coaches ever.” Gaither’s record as a head coach was 204-36-4. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. Brown joined him there as a fellow member in 2018.
While FAMU’s football history is well-known, the school is perhaps more widely associated with its famous and innovative band, “The Marching 100.”
The band has performed at several Super Bowls, the Grammys, for Presidents Clinton and Obama, and at the Louvre. The 100 traveled to Chapel Hill and wowed the crowd on Saturday, playing on the field before the game and at halftime, and sometimes partnering with UNC's band.
In the end, the Tar Heels of the ACC proved to be just a bit bigger, faster and stronger than the Rattlers of the SWAC.
FAMU showed some fight though. With two minutes to play before halftime, the Rattlers trailed the Tar Heels by just a touchdown. They racked up 335 yards of total offense on the rainy evening in Chapel Hill.
UNC was led by redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who threw for five touchdowns, setting a UNC record for the most scoring throws in a collegiate debut.