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How FAMU football crashed and burned vs Jackson State in crucial SWAC blowout loss
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- How FAMU football crashed and burned vs Jackson State in crucial SWAC blowout loss
Florida A&M football may have sealed its fate for the worst against the Jackson State Tigers.
The Rattlers faltered 41-16 to the Tigers in a Week 10 Southwestern Athletic Conference game that had significant postseason implications on Saturday, Nov. 1.
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Had FAMU (3-5, 2-2 in SWAC) defeated Jackson State (6-2, 4-1 in SWAC), it could have positioned itself atop the SWAC East divisional standings entering the final month of the season.
"A lot of emotions about this one tonight," FAMU head coach James Colzie III told the media in the postgame press conference.
Jackson State, ranked 20th in the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches Poll, outgained FAMU 496-202 before a Tallahassee crowd of 13,104 at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
FAMU was outscored 31-13 by Jackson State in the second half.
"Couldn't find the confidence, couldn't find the rhythm to put some points on the board," Colzie said. "Second half, they get the lead."
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Rattlers quarterback RJ Johnson III completed 16 of 29 passing attempts for 132 yards and threw two touchdowns. He added seven rushes for 31 yards.
Jackson State running back Ahmad Miller had 19 rushing attempts for 165 yards and scored a touchdown on the Rattlers. Fellow Tigers running back Donerio Davenport contributed 16 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown.
A questionable decision leads to FAMU football's meltdown vs Jackson State
One would assume that a quarterback kneel is a harmless play.
That actually led to FAMU falling apart versus Jackson State.
Before halftime, the Rattlers elected to kneel the football after receiving a kickoff following a Jackson State touchdown.
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FAMU had 18 seconds and three timeouts, ample time to attempt to move the football downfield, but chose not to do so. The Rattlers trailed the Tigers 10-3 at halftime.
"We were trying to keep it as much as we could because we weren't doing anything offensively," FAMU's coach explained the decision. "Just thought it was a better idea to take it in and kind of keep it the way it was."
To make matters worse, Jackson State received the ball first after halftime and scored on its opening drive of the second half on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Jared Lockhart to wide receiver Nate Rembert.
After that score, Jackson State forced a FAMU kick returner, Kenari Wilcher, to fumble and recovered it.
The ball slips through the hands of Florida A&M Rattlers wide receiver Kenari Wilcher (7). The Florida A&M Rattlers hosted the Jackson State Tigers at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
A few plays later, Jackson State running back Donerio Davenport scored on a six-yard rush to move the Tigers' lead to 24-3.
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"We mishandle a kickoff ― immediately put our team at a disadvantage because of having poor field position," Colzie said. "You can't start that way in a game of this caliber."
It gave the Tigers two second-half scores within two minutes of each other and between the first five minutes of the second half.
"It snowballed, yeah," Colzie said, referring back to opting to take a knee before halftime.
FAMU football's offense stuck in the mud vs Jackson State
The Rattlers' offense did virtually nothing versus the Tigers' defense, one of the best in the SWAC and FCS.
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It was a contrasting performance from FAMU's last two games, where it averaged 38 points in its wins versus Alcorn State and Southern.
Firstly, FAMU punted on its first five offensive drives.
Additionally, the Rattlers struggled to extend their offensive drives. They converted on one of 11 third-down plays.
"Our third downs weren't very manageable," Colzie said. "When you're playing a team like [Jackson State] and they're having the opportunity to pin their ears back and know we're going to throw the ball, that's in their advantage."
Alongside FAMU's disappointing game passing the ball, the Rattlers rushed for only 70 yards on 23 attempts. Johnson's 31-yard rushing output was FAMU's best on the evening.
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"You've got to be able to score points," Colzie said. "Even though we had some opportunities to be successful, we didn't."
FAMU football's defense can't stop JaCobian Morgan-less Jackson State offense
No JaCobian Morgan.
No problem.
Jackson State was without its star quarterback versus FAMU after sustaining a leg injury versus Grambling State last week.
He watched from the sidelines on crutches as Jared Lockhart started at quarterback for the Tigers.
Jackson State Tigers quarterback Jared Lockhart (11) winds up to pass to a teammate. The Florida A&M Rattlers hosted the Jackson State Tigers at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
The freshman Lockhart completed five of 10 passing attempts for 104 yards and a touchdown.
It was actually Jackson State's rushing attack that troubled FAMU.
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As a collective, the Tigers rushed for 392 yards.
Three different Jackson State runners reached the endzone, with Miller, Davenport, Rembert, and Travis Terrell scoring.
"Even though we know they're going to run the football, they took advantage of their talent versus ours," Colzie said.
"When you give up 392 yards rushing, you're not going to beat anybody," he added.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida A&M football catches beatdown vs Jackson State in key SWAC game
