Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Bethune-Cookman rallies to defeat FAMU
It has to be disheartening for Florida A&M when a botched fake punt turns out to be just what arch-rival Bethune-Cookman needed in the Florida Classic on Saturday.
It’s even more crushing, however, knowing the fake punt wasn’t even supposed to be attempted.
The confusion was just enough for B-CU to gain the momentum it needed, rallying from a two-touchdown deficit to win its seventh consecutive Florida Classic by a score of 29-24 at Camping World Stadium.
FAMU head coach Alex Wood took direct responsibility for the faked punt after the game, explaining that his team entered the contest with the fake punt in the game plan. Punter Chris Faddoul was supposed to be looking for the opportunity to attempt the fake, but Wood said it should not have happened at that time.
“Bad communication from me ... bad coaching choice,” Wood said. “We had a plan for it in the first half … but it was not part of the plan when you go ahead, especially on the short field. It’s one of those things … if it works, we’re all geniuses.
“It was not supposed to be called and that’s poor communication that falls to me. That single-handedly lost this football game. … That should have never been on the table and we should have communicated that to him better.”
FAMU was leading 24-17 when the wheels fell off. Faddoul saw what he thought was a perfect time for the fake with the Rattlers facing a fourth-and-5 play at their own 34-yard line. B-CU’s Cameron Rigby split two FAMU blockers to snuff Faddoul’s attempt to run and the Wildcats took over at the FAMU 32.
Five plays later, Michael Jones scored on a 4-yard run, and even though B-CU kicker Uriel Hernandez missed the extra point, the damage was done. With FAMU clinging to a 24-23 lead, B-CU had all the momentum.
“I’ll never say one play wins or loses a football game,” Wildcats coach Terry Sims said. “[Coach Wood] may have felt that kind of took the air out of their sails or gave us the momentum back, and I will say that. It was a momentum swing.”
B-CU senior quarterback Larry Brihm Jr. knows he was certainly happy to see Rigby make the big stop.
“For me, just to change the field is less yardage that we had to work to score a touchdown,” Brihm said. “It was big on us because after you see that you look at their sideline and a lot of heads dropped down and we knew they were slightly giving up.”
FAMU was forced to punt after its next three plays and Brihm led the Wildcats on a 12-play, 78-yard drive that Brihm capped with a bootleg scamper all alone to the end zone.
The loss was a blow to the FAMU program, which could have used a big boost like a victory in the Classic. Wood is at the end of his three-year contract and his job very much looks to be in jeopardy.
The loss even had District 8 state representative and FAMU alum Ramon Alexander taking to his Twitter account shortly after the game. He posted a tweet that called for Wood’s job:
“It is extremely rare that I will make this type of public comment .... Coach Alex Wood MUST be fired immediately for the fake punt call in the 4th Quarter of the Florida Classic .... and I mean Immediately,” the tweet read.
Wood said he’ll address his future with the FAMU administration once he’s back in Tallahassee.
“It depends on who you ask. I’m not going to debate that,” Wood said. “I get it. If that’s the way it goes, I mean, if that’s the culture, that’s great. No problem, we’ll just move on and do whatever.”