SAVANNAH, Ga. - The late Alonzo Smith "Jake" Gaither, Florida A&M University's legendary football coach, had a famous saying about his players. "I like my boys to be agile, mobile and hostile," said Gaither, who died in 1994 in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
FAMU likely will be all three, especially hostile, when the Rattlers bring a four-game losing streak into T.A. Wright Stadium to play Savannah State University at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game will be radio-broadcast by WHCJ 90.3 FM. It will be "Think Pink/Open House/High School Band Day" at SSU.
 
"They've lost four in a row," SSU first-year head coach Earnest Wilson III said. "But they played well in most of the games."
 
FAMU (1-4 overall, 0-1 MEAC) beat Mississippi Valley State in its season opener before falling to Tennessee State, Samford, Ohio State and Morgan State. The previous time the Rattlers started a season 1-4 was in 2007.
 
SSU (1-5, 0-2) is coming off a 26-24 loss at Norfolk State last Saturday. It was the Tigers' second consecutive MEAC loss by two points. SSU fell, 24-22, to Delaware State on Sept. 28.
 
Wilson said he is encouraged that SSU's losses to Norfolk State and Delaware State were not lopsided like they were when the teams played prior to this season. Norfolk State beat SSU, 33-21, in 2012. Delaware State beat SSU, 49-9, in 2002. Wilson believes the Tigers are closing the gap against MEAC competition.
 
"It's frustrating for some of these young men," he said. "I think people like (SSU quarterback Antonio) Bostick and the other seniors have embraced that this is their last go-round. But this is also their chance to put their mark on it, put their mark on building (the program) so that one day they can come back and say, 'We started this.' And the rest of the players are learning how to win and they're learning from the losses. It's an exciting time for me to see these guys develop. I think in their future they're going to win. And it's going to mean even more when we start winning."
 
SSU beat NCAA Division II Fort Valley State, 27-20, on Sept. 14. A victory over FAMU would send shockwaves throughout the MEAC and the Football Championship Subdivision. Wilson said it's not impossible.
 
"The thing is, they blitz a lot," he said of FAMU. "So we've got to be able to handle the blitz. And they're extremely fast. We don't want their quarterback to get a hot hand. They're a lot like us. They're jelling with a new coach (Earl Holmes) and a new coaching staff. We've got to hope that they don't jell in the game that we're playing."
 
FAMU is 5-0 in the series against SSU. The Rattlers beat the Tigers, 44-3, last season in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
To reverse that trend, Wilson said there will be a great deal of pressure on SSU's running backs to pick up FAMU's blitzes and protect the Tigers' quarterback.
 
"Yes, and the quarterbacks have to throw high," Wilson said. "And the protection has to be there from the offensive line. We have two freshmen and two sophomores on our offensive line so we're going to have to be ready to step up."
 
If the play isn't there, SSU's quarterback needs to get rid of the ball and not get sacked.
"That's what we've been working on all week," Wilson said. "The whole offense has been kind of slow to develop but for the last two weeks we've had back-to-back 400-yard games. But we need to get in the end zone more. And stop making dumb mistakes and having touchdowns called back."
 
SSU gained 424 yards of total offense against Delaware State. The Tigers produced 408 yards of total offense against Norfolk State. SSU ranks third in the MEAC in passing offense with 209.7 yards per game.
 
"We started slow. It's good to see the quarterbacks beginning to pick up the offense and understanding their role," Wilson said. "In two games, we've had 10 guys catch passes in each game. That's kind of unheard of. But them knowing that we can spread the ball around, and guys can become playmakers, should motivate them to do better."
 
Wilson said Bostick, who threw for a school-record 337 yards against Norfolk State, will start at quarterback.
 
"Bostick's starting but (redshirt freshman Leon) Prunty might see some time," Wilson said. "Both of them have been working hard."
 
CONFIDENCE IS HIGH
Wilson said he is optimistic because he believes his Tigers are improving.
 
"The linebacking crew has gotten better each week," he said. "(Freshman linebacker) Marquis Smith had 16 tackles last week. (Sophomore linebacker) Justin Dixon is playing great.
 
"You look at people like (senior wide receiver) Jeremy Moore, who was a starter at Georgia Tech. But all they did was block. Now he's catching five or six balls a game. And you look at Bostick, who threw for more yards than anybody since 1999, since
(SSU) started keeping records. You see guys all over the place that the light bulb is beginning to come on. It's pretty neat. It's pretty neat to see young men fulfilling their dreams but at the same time wanting to get wins."
 
FAMU OUTLOOK
FAMU quarterback Damien Fleming, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior from Jacksonville, Fla., is 56-of-105 passing (53.3 percent) for 559 yards and three touchdowns. He has been intercepted nine times. Fleming was a MEAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year last season with Bethune-Cookman's Isidore Jackson.
 
Running back Al-Terek McBurse, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound redshirt senior from Oviedo, Fla., leads the Rattlers in rushing with 185 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. He is a transfer from Purdue.
 
Wide receiver Lenworth Lennon, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound redshirt junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has made a team-high 17 catches for 265 yards and a touchdown.
Linebacker Michael Ducre, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior from Orlando, Fla., leads the team in tackles with 38.
 
Defensive back Patrick Aiken, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound redshirt freshman from Pembroke Pines, Fla., has intercepted a team-high three passes.
 
"Their defense is pretty big. They've got a 6-10 defensive end," Wilson said, referring to Frances Mays, a 6-foot-10, 295-pound senior. They've got some guys that have got the potential to go to the next level."
 
COACH EARL HOLMES
FAMU first-year head coach Earl Holmes was officially named head coach and the interim tag was removed from his title in January. Holmes was an assistant for four years to Joe Taylor, who retired before the end of the 2012 season.
 
A Tallahassee, Fla., native, Holmes played for FAMU before spending 10 seasons in the NFL as a middle linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions.
 
"We had a chance to visit a little bit at the conference meetings," Wilson said. "He seems like a real good guy. He was a defensive coordinator (at FAMU) last year when I was at Hampton. He did a pretty good job against me. He's a talented young coach who's going to, hopefully, be real good for a long time."
 
THINK PINK
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, MEAC officials are using pink whistles and wearing pink hats and wristbands throughout all conference home games in October.