SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State fell 4 yards and an extra point short in a 20-14 loss to Florida A&M in both teams' Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener Saturday night at T.A. Wright Stadium.

On fourth-and-goal from FAMU's 4-yard line, SSU quarterback D'Vonn Gibbons' pass to Derek Kirkland in the end zone fell incomplete and the Rattlers (2-2, 1-0 MEAC) took over on downs with 4.2 seconds to play and snapped a two-game losing streak.

On third-and-goal, Gibbons' pass to Kirkland in the back of the end zone fell incomplete with 8 seconds remaining.

On second-and-goal from FAMU's 1-yard line, SSU's Gibbons fumbled for a 3-yard loss but teammate Paris Baker recovered at FAMU's 4-yard line with 13 seconds to play.

SSU called its final timeout and chose to attempt two passing plays instead of a run that, if it stopped short of the end zone, likely would have ended the game.

"Without the timeouts, we felt like (passing) was the best chance of getting two plays," SSU second-year head coach Erik Raeburn said. "We knew because we had run the football that we were going to get a good look (to pass). We decided to do the play-action (on third down) because if you wait until fourth down to do the play-action it's not going to work. We get the play-action. I thought the throw was just a little high. And then we thought we had the throw there on fourth down."

A crowd of 4,670 watched as SSU (0-3, 0-1) started its final drive from its own 29-yard line. The Tigers picked up critical first downs on runs by Uriah Oliver, Rashad Saxton, Gibbons, and Ronnie Stevens. Nicholas Bentley's 4-yard run to FAMU's 1-yard line had SSU poised to tie the game at 20 and perhaps win it with an extra point.

"We looked like a different team out there playing tonight compared to last week (at Montana)," Raeburn said. "The effort and how hard we played, I'm really proud of that. We just made too many mistakes to win the football game. If we play with that kind of effort, and play a little smarter, we'll have a chance in every one this year."

FAMU's Tevin Spells ran for a 6-yard touchdown to give the Rattlers a 20-14 lead with 6:11 to play. Khalil Clark's kick for the extra point failed.

SSU's Gibbons ran for a 40-yard touchdown and Giovanni Lugo kicked the extra point, tying the game at 14 with 11:57 to play. The Tigers' 12-play drive covered 99 yards in 6:03.

Gibbons, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound freshman from Stone Mountain, made his first collegiate start at quarterback in place of sophomore TJ Bell, who wore a boot on his left foot and stood with the aid of crutches on the sideline. Bell was injured in SSU's season opener against Appalachian State and his injury worsened against Montana last Saturday.
Gibbons finished 8-of-13 passing for 62 yards. He threw an interception to FAMU's Elijah Richardson on SSU's opening drive of the game but responded by running for a game-high 123 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. Oliver ran for 87 yards on 19 carries.

"We did all we could," Gibbons said. "We just need to keep working."

SSU took a 7-0 lead on Gibbons' 5-yard touchdown run and Lugo's kick for the extra point with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.

"I thought D'Vonn played well," Raeburn said. "Our pass blocking  just wasn't good enough. It's hard to put our lack of a passing attack solely on an inexperienced quarterback. It's tough to play quarterback, period, but when you're a true freshman it's really hard. I thought he responded really well. I think he'll continue to get better and better, and hopefully our pass protection will get better, too. If we can pass the ball a little bit, I think we'll run it well enough to score some points.

FAMU tied the game on Ryan Stanley's 38-yard touchdown pass to Chad Hunter, and Khalil Clark's kick for the extra point, with 1:57 left in the first quarter.

Stanley, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound redshirt sophomore from Pembroke Pines, Fla., finished 17-of-25 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once by
Darrell "Vanquez" Bonner to end the Rattlers' opening drive of the game. FAMU's Devin Bowers ran for a team-high 115 yards on 21 carries.

In the second quarter, a bad snap by FAMU's Christian Mastramico resulted in a turnover that was recovered by SSU's Kendarious Dukes at the Rattlers' 21-yard line. SSU's Lugo missed a 37-yard field goal with 11:17 left before halftime.

FAMU's Stanley connected with Hunter for another touchdown, this time a 15-yard scoring strike, and Clark kicked the extra point to make it 14-7 with 2:06 left in the first half. Hunter finished with a game-high 96 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.

FAMU led, 14-7, at halftime.

SSU defensive back Juwan Tolbert, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior from Augusta, made a team-high eight tackles. Linebacker Mekhi Cooper, a 6-foot-, 195-pound freshman from Savannah's Memorial Day School, had seven tackles for the Tigers.

"It's a tough loss," Tolbert said. "The effort is there but we've just got to finish."

FAMU linebacker Jakaris Wilson made a game-high 12 tackles, including one of the Rattlers' three sacks.

SSU beat FAMU, 37-27, at T.A. Wright Stadium in 2015. Last season, FAMU won, 19-14, in Tallahassee, Fla.