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How FAMU football avoided a homecoming upset from Alcorn State to get first SWAC win
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- How FAMU football avoided a homecoming upset from Alcorn State to get first SWAC win
It was a happy homecoming for Florida A&M .
This Saturday, Oct. 18, saw the Rattlers host homecoming and defeat the Alcorn State Braves 33-28 before a sold-out crowd of 19,465 on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium for the Week 8 Southwestern Athletic Conference game.
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FAMU (2-4, 1-1 in SWAC) outgained Alcorn State (1-6, 0-3 in SWAC) 475-304.
The opponents dazzled the Tallahassee crowd by combining for 30 points in the fourth quarter, with FAMU scoring 16 points and Alcorn State scoring 14.
The Rattlers trailed the Braves 14-9 at halftime.
"I was excited with how we handled adversity," FAMU head football coach James Colzie III said in Saturday's postgame press conference. "We had nine points at the half and finished with 33."
Rattlers quarterback RJ Johnson III returned as the starter on Saturday and shined. The redshirt sophomore completed 26 of 38 passing attempts for 323 yards, passed a touchdown, and rushed for one. He added five rushes for 33 yards.
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Johnson sat out last week against North Carolina Central while Jett Peddy quarterbacked the FAMU offense .
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.
"RJ Johnson played a very, very good football game. Almost error-free," Colzie assessed the quarterback.
"Each game he plays, he's going to get better. The young man grew up tonight. I'm proud of him and excited for him," the FAMU coach added.
Saturday marked FAMU's first SWAC win of the season, ended this season's two-game skid, and moved the Rattlers' homecoming game streak to seven, dating back to 2018 (2020 season cancelled/COVID).
FAMU football QB RJ Johnson III stars in return as starter vs Alcorn State
FAMU football started the game by opening up the playbook, calling trick plays like flea flickers and jet sweeps.
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The opening drive provided some early optimism for the FAMU offense, which had struggled before this game, but it continuously stalled and had to settle for field goals.
FAMU scored its first touchdown of the night in the third quarter on a 15-yard pass from Johnson to wide receiver Jamar Taylor Jr. FAMU then went for a two-point conversion, which was successful as Johnson connected with receiver Goldie Lawrence in the endzone.
The Rattlers went on to string together three more consecutive scoring drives to add to the Johnson to Taylor touchdown. FAMU tacked on a 26-yard scrambling touchdown by Johnson, a 38-yard field goal by Daniel Porto, and a 33-yard rush by Lawrence to put Alcorn State away.
Florida A&M Rattlers wide receiver Kenari Wilcher makes a catch over an Alcorn State Braves defender during a NCAA college football Week 8 Southwestern Athletic Conference game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
The Rattlers' rushing leader versus the Braves was Thad Franklin Jr., with 19 carries for 71 yards. FAMU's top receiver was Kenari Wilcher, who had five catches for 83 yards.
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FAMU football's defense forces Alcorn State offense to use alternative ways to succeed
Unexpectedly, Alcorn State star running back JaCorian Sewell wasn't a problem for the Rattlers.
Sewell finished with 13 carries for 25 yards.
"Defensively, we wanted to stop the running back," Colzie said. "That guy was one of the top rushers in the country."
Despite that, Braves quarterback Jaylon Tolbert was able to gash the Rattlers' defense seven times for 57 yards and a rushing touchdown. Tolbert's rushing touchdown was due to FAMU's bad tackling, which allowed him to elude defenders en route to a 31-yard score.
The Florida A&M Rattlers defense chases Alcorn State Braves quarterback Jaylon Tolbert during a NCAA college football Week 8 Southwestern Athletic Conference game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Alcorn State running back Reggie Davis had nine carries for 50 yards.
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Tolbert completed 18 passes on 26 attempts for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He passed a 34-yarder to Davis and an eight-yarder to Ja'Coby Matthews in Alcorn State's comeback effort.
FAMU's defense had late-game stands.
First, the Rattlers' special teams defenders blocked an Alcorn State 38-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter.
"As hard as they work, we finally get one," Colzie said of the block. "You're just seeing all the hard work pay off in that situation."
Then FAMU made a fourth-down stop in the second half of the fourth quarter.
The Tolbert to Matthews touchdown with 2:29 left in the game was too little, too late, as FAMU got the ball back, secured some first downs, then knelt it to run out the clock.
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FAMU football uses timeouts at questionable times vs Alcorn State
The Rattlers' use of timeouts raised some concerns.
On multiple occasions, FAMU opted for timeouts on plays where they might not have been necessary.
In the first quarter, FAMU called a timeout on third and six to call a running back draw by Franklin, which Alcorn State stopped short.
In the second quarter, FAMU burned another timeout while Daniel Porto was about to attempt a 51-yard field goal, which could have potentially led to a friendly fire 'ice the kicker' situation.
However, Porto drilled the lengthy field goal attempt.
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Lastly, when FAMU took a 17-14 lead over Alcorn State in the third quarter, the Rattlers used another timeout before the two-point conversion.
"We're going to have to practice when we score, get used to scoring touchdowns and getting ready for the next play," Colzie said. "We weren't great in our exchange."
It left the Rattlers with one timeout remaining for the fourth quarter.
"We had a couple times we didn't come out on timeouts, so we had to burn one ― two, I think," Colzie said. "I don't ever want to have to lose or make a possession. We have to be better. It starts with me.
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"I don't want to call them. But if I call them, it's probably a very, very good reason why even if it may not make sense."
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 gets first win SWAC in homecoming victory vs Alcorn State
