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FAMU football's homecoming win vs Alcorn State was to regain respect of fans, supporters
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- FAMU football's homecoming win vs Alcorn State was to regain respect of fans, supporters
Two forbidden acts must elude a Florida A&M head football coach.
Lose the homecoming game.
And lose November's Florida Classic versus rivals Bethune-Cookman.
Second-year FAMU football coach James Colzie III avoided the former this Saturday, Oct. 18.
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His Rattlers celebrated homecoming by capturing their first Southwestern Athletic Conference victory this season in a 33-25 defeat of Alcorn State Braves .
"You guys know how this season has been going for us," the FAMU head coach said to the media in Saturday's postgame press conference.
"The team needed a win. I needed to win. The university needed to win. Alumni needed to win. We got it done tonight."
The Rattlers' (2-4, 1-1 in SWAC) Week 8 triumph over the Braves (1-6, 0-3 in SWAC) marked FAMU's seventh consecutive homecoming victory , dating back to 2018 (2020 season cancelled/COVID).
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The last month and a half have been a whirlwind for Colzie and his FAMU football program.
Before Saturday's homecoming win, the Rattlers were off to their worst start since 2016.
That included back-to-back puncturing losses at home to Alabama State (42-14) in Week 5 and North Carolina Central (45-7) in Week 7.
"It's been an up and down week," Colzie said. "Obviously, the excitement going through this and being able to play in this type of game, and also understanding the need to win this football game. The last couple of weeks, especially at home, we didn't play the best football."
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Pressure began to build on Colzie as FAMU continued to suffer losses. He's now 9-9 in his two-year tenure as the Rattlers' head coach.
Florida A&M Rattlers fans cheer on their team during a NCAA college football Week 8 Southwestern Athletic Conference game versus the Alcorn State Braves on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
And due to the lowly start, the Rattlers football team was subject to boos by their FAMU schoolmates at an on-campus homecoming pep rally on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
"Wednesday morning was a tough time for them," Colzie said. "We talked about what we needed to do to make sure we changed that. We knew what we had to do to get that respect back. It was to win tonight. It was a different tone in the locker room tonight."
FAMU football shows signs of life, growth in homecoming win vs Alcorn State
The Rattlers showed minimal signs of growth this season, with a lethargic offense and defense that allowed opponents to outscore them.
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Against Alcorn State, FAMU quarterback RJ Johnson III played exponentially better than in his first four starts before being benched in favor of Jett Peddy in the North Carolina Central game .
Florida A&M Rattlers quarterback RJ Johnson III commands the offense versus the Alcorn State Braves during a NCAA college football Week 8 Southwestern Athletic Conference game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Johnson dazzled the sold-out Bragg Stadium homecoming crowd of 19,465 by completing 26 of his 38 passes for 323 yards. The redshirt sophomore also passed and rushed for a touchdown apiece.
"It's been a rough couple of weeks for him and I," Colzie said of himself and Johnson.
"I know he's going to be a very, very quarterback wearing a Rattler uniform. We've got to believe in him. He's a young guy. But I think you saw a very, very confident young man back there. When you have performances like that, it can only help the trust in the locker room with him."
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FAMU erased a 14-9 deficit against Alcorn State on Saturday. The Rattlers strung together four straight scoring drives and scored 16 fourth-quarter points to put the Braves away.
During the comeback effort that saw the FAMU offense tie its season high of 33 points, the Rattlers' defense also made timely stops against the Alcorn State Braves .
First to mind is when FAMU blocked Alcorn State's 38-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter and also made a fourth-down stop in the Braves' penultimate offensive drive.
While satisfied with the homecoming win, Colzie doesn't want to resort to comeback efforts with six regular-season games remaining, with five being away.
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"Questions? Can we play a full four quarters offensively and defensively? Because we have not done that yet," Colzie explained. "As we get closer to our schedule, we're going to have to do so if we want to make sure we continue to win."
FAMU football's postseason hopes still alive, travels to Southern Jaguars next
Despite the early-season tailspin, FAMU still has a postseason shot after beating Alcorn State for its first SWAC win.
"There are some teams that have to continue their season right now that are in SWAC play ― they're just playing to finish the season," Colzie said.
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"Guys were giving me hugs and all that other stuff. But I had to let them know the season isn't over. We needed to win this football game to play for the goal we've set for ourselves. It's a tough time when you're just playing games and they're not meaningful, and just trying to end the season. You want to make sure you're playing for an opportunity to win the conference."
FAMU still has the SWAC East leader Jackson State (5-1, 3-0 in SWAC) on schedule for its home finale in Tallahassee Nov. 1. Winning that would place the Rattlers atop the division standings and position to represent the East versus the West in the SWAC title game on Dec. 6.
However, first, the Rattlers will travel to Baton Rouge to face the Southern Jaguars in a Week 9 SWAC matchup next Saturday, October 25.
Southern has struggled this season, sitting at 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the SWAC.
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The Jaguars lost their homecoming game 24-3 versus the Prairie View A&M Panthers. The Southern Jaguars have dropped five straight games.
"We got a very, very tough opponent next week in Southern ― got to go on the road," Colzie said. "They're not going to be happy to see us. But we're going to ride in there and be ready to go."
The FAMU at Southern SWAC matchup kicks off at 5 p.m. Eastern Time at Baton Rouge's A.W. Mumford Stadium. The game will be televised on SWAC TV.
Florida A&M Football's Remaining 2025 Schedule
All times listed are in Eastern Standard Time.
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Week 9: Saturday, Oct. 25 ― at Southern (SWAC), 5 p.m., SWAC TV
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Week 10: Saturday, Nov. 1 ― vs. Jackson State (SWAC), 7 p.m., ESPN Network
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Week 11: Saturday, Nov. 8 ― at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
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Week 12: Saturday, Nov. 15 ― at Alabama A&M (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
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Week 13: Saturday, Nov. 22 ― vs. Bethune-Cookman (SWAC/Florida Classic at Orlando's Camping World Stadium), 3:30 p.m., ESPN Plus
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Makeup Game: Saturday, Nov. 29 ― at Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
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Saturday, Dec. 6 ― SWAC Championship Game (If Necessary)
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Saturday, Dec. 13 ― Celebration Bowl at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium (If Necessary)
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: James Colzie leads struggling FAMU football to mandatory homecoming win
