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Why FAMU football coach James Colzie III is feeling heat to 'turn around' early season freefall
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- Why FAMU football coach James Colzie III is feeling heat to 'turn around' early season freefall
Florida A&M head football coach James Colzie III didn't mince words after his Rattlers dropped to 1-3 after Saturday, Sept. 27's 42-14 home loss to the Alabama State Hornets in the Southwestern Athletic Conference home opener.
"We're going to turn this thing around ― or [I won't] be here," Colzie told the media at the postgame press conference after falling to 8-8 in his two-year tenure leading FAMU football.
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FAMU is off to its worst start to a season since 2016, when the Rattlers opened the year 0-4 and finished 4-7.
Through four games, the Rattlers suffered losses to Howard (10-9), Florida Atlantic (56-14), Alabama State, and got their lone win against Albany State (33-25).
"We've got to make sure we get our confidence back. We've got to get some W's," Colzie said. "That's what it's going to come down to."
FAMU's 28-point loss to Alabama State on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium was the program's worst shortfall at home since 2018, when South Carolina State left Tallahassee with a 44-21 victory.
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FAMU (1-3, 0-1 in SWAC) was outdueled by Alabama State (3-1, 1-0 in SWAC), being outgained 405-309 in the Week 5 loss.
The Hornets leaned on their rushing game, scampering for 299 yards, led by running back Jamarie Hostzclaw's 22 attempts for 135 yards.
"I think we're a lot better than what we're showing," Colzie said. "Some schematic issues that we need to fix. If we're going to get it fixed, we need to do it immediately. We have no choice but to put a better product on the field."
Colzie described that the FAMU locker room was "somber" after the blowout loss to Alabama State. The FAMU coach added that the team is not as "united" as it needs to be during the early season struggles.
He hopes his team rallies behind him and the coaching staff and that he can unlock the Rattlers' untapped potential as the 2025 season holds eight more regular-season games.
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"We've got to make sure our guys believe in us," Colzie said.
"I'm never going to blame it on the kids. I'm going to look at myself and look at what we need to do staff-wise to make sure we're playing better. Too many good players in that locker room for us to give up 299 yards rushing and only score 14 points."
FAMU football coach James Colzie III reviews performance vs Alabama State
The hottest topic of FAMU football's 2025 season has been its quarterback situation.
RJ Johnson III has started in all of the Rattlers' four games, completing 72 of 115 attempts for 810 yards and tossing five touchdowns against zero interceptions.
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Led by Johnson, FAMU struggled to move the ball downfield versus Alabama State as the redshirt sophomore had 20 completions on 33 pass attempts (61 percent) for 133 yards and a touchdown.
Florida A&M Rattlers quarterback RJ Johnson III (12) runs the ball. The Florida A&M Rattlers were defeated by Alabama State on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.
FAMU averaged 6.7 yards per completion and four yards per pass attempt.
FAMU backup Jett Peddy did not play versus Alabama State on Saturday after having a solid showing and sparking the Rattlers' comeback against Albany State two weeks ago.
"The completion percentage is technically where you almost want to be," Colzie assessed Johnson and FAMU's passing game. "But I got to know why we were going short as much as we were. I know late in the game, when we're down two or three touchdowns, Alabama State's playing zone. So all his throws at that time have to be short yardage. We've got to get the ball down the field and soften some of these coverages up."
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All those interested in the FAMU versus Alabama State game thought Hornets quarterback and SWAC Offensive Player of the Year contender Andrew Body would pose the Rattlers' biggest concern .
Body completed just 10 of 18 passes for 106 yards, but threw two touchdown passes, and rushed eight times for 44 yards.
The Alabama State offense was efficient on money downs, converting eight of 12 third downs and its lone fourth down attempt.
"Defensively, we've got to get off the field," Colzie explained. "This is probably one of the worst third-down defenses we had today."
FAMU football has a tough road ahead, seeks retribution vs Mississippi Valley State
FAMU's schedule is getting no easier .
The Rattlers' next eight games include traveling to the defending SWAC West champions Southern on Saturday, Oct. 25, and defending Black College National Champions Jackson State traveling to Jackson State on Saturday, Nov. 1.
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And of course, FAMU will face rivals Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Orlando's Florida Classic, also a SWAC game.
"It's the first game of conference play. No one's been eliminated or anything like that ― that's where I think the panic kind of sets in," Colzie said. "Every game we play here on out is going to be against a good football team. The team we just played probably got the MVP of the conference [Body] on their football team."
But first, the Rattlers are set for a revenge game against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (0-4, 0-1 in SWAC) in the Georgia Football Classic next Saturday, Oct. 4. It kicks off at 4 p.m. from Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium and will be broadcast on SWAC TV.
Mississippi Valley hosted and lost to SWAC opponent Texas Southern 23-20 in the last minute this Saturday.
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Last November, Mississippi Valley got its only victory of the 2024 season against FAMU, winning 24-21 at Bragg Memorial Stadium to snap the Rattlers' 23-game home winning streak that spanned across six years.
"It's not going to take much for us to get motivated for who we play next week. The guys understand what's at stake there because of what happened last year," Colzie said.
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: FAMU football coach James Colzie vows to 'turn around' 1-3 start to 2025
