TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- Simon Heyward caught four passes for 103 yards but it would not be nearly enough as Savannah State was defeated by Florida A&M 44-3 in Bragg Stadium.

The Rattlers (3-4, 3-1) controlled the line of scrimmage holding SSU to just 44 rushing yards and sacking Antonio Bostick seven times.

When Bostick was able to break free, he completed nine passes for 121 yards.

FAMU took a 3-0 on their first possession after a 27 yard field goal from Chase Varnadore early in the first quarter.

The Tigers first possession ended in a fumble.

Bostick completed a 24 yard pass to Dylan Cook but Rattler Marvin Ross forced Cook to fumble and it was recovered by the Rattlers at the SSU 36.

Once again the Tigers kept Florida A&M out of the end zone but trailed 6-0 after a 21 yard field goal by Varnadore with 8:06 remaining in the opening quarter.

SSU cut their deficit in half on their next drive as they went from their own 17 to the FAMU 13 before bogging down. Preston McCarthy booted a 31 yard field goal with 4:16 on the clock to slice the Rattlers lead to 6-3.

The Rattlers answered with scores on their next three drives.

James Owens ran for a 15 yard score with 1:39 left in the first quarter, Varnadore kicked a 38 yard field goal with 12:15 left in the second quarter and with 5:03 on the clock Damien Fleming threw 10 yard touchdown pass to Michael Etheridge to make the score 23-3.

Fleming ran for a seven yard touchdown on the Rattlers opening drive in the third quarter to extend their lead to 30-3 with 8:39 on the clock.

Savannah State got as far as the FAMU nine on their next possession but on a third and 14 play. Bostick had his pass picked off by Devonta Johnson at the Rattler five to end the Tigers scoring threat.

FAMU took advantage of the turnover and turned it into points as Eddie Rocker ran for a 19 yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the third for a 37-3 lead.

After another punt by the Tigers, FAMU took their first possession of the fourth quarter and took just two plays to score as Fleming threw a 57 yard touchdown pass to Lenworth Lennon for a 44-3 lead with 13:22 remaining.

The Rattlers had 612 yards of offense while SSU had 205.

Sheldon Barnes ran for 58 yards for SSU (0-6, 0-4) while Edward Baety, John Wilson and Greg Brown all had nine tackles each.

FAMU was led by Rocker who ran for 171 yards and a touchdown. Fleming passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns while Lennon caught six passes for 134 yards and a score. Brandon Denmark led the defense with six tackles and 2.5 sacks.