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FAMU football's James Colzie 'extremely' frustrated with lack of progress as season tailspins
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- FAMU football's James Colzie 'extremely' frustrated with lack of progress as season tailspins
What positives does a football coach take away from a blowout loss at home?
"None," Florida A&M 's James Colzie III quickly responded when asked following Oct 11's non-conference loss to North Carolina Central.
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"I don't sugarcoat, man. We got beat 45-7. There's not a whole lot of positives."
FAMU football has been stuck in concrete this season, losing four of its first five games of its 2025 slate.
And even after being gifted a bye week following its Southwestern Athletic Conference-opening blowout loss to Alabama State, the Rattlers (1-4, 0-1 in SWAC) still appeared to be the same struggling team while being trounced by North Carolina Central .
Having an off week to rework schemes and shift your approach, but having the same results is to the chagrin of FAMU's head coach Colzie, who's now 8-9 in his two-year tenure at the helm.
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Especially since he lays that responsibility squarely on his shoulders with the help of his assistants.
"Extremely," Colzie said when asked how frustrated he was with FAMU's early-season plunge.
"You've got to get back to the drawing board. We've got to continue to coach them, and eventually it'll sink in. I thought we had a very, very good plan offensively and defensively."
Saturday was an opportunity for the Rattlers to spark a turnaround against one of HBCU football's top teams.
The NCCU Eagles, of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, have been a squad that has been at the mountaintop in recent years, winning the Black College Football National Championship in the 2022 Celebration Bowl.
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The Eagles appeared in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2023 and fell a game short of being MEAC champions in 2024.
"No matter how good they may be, their record and what they've done speak for themselves. I didn't necessarily need to tell our team that," Colzie said.
The Rattlers made what they feel were the necessary changes, such as starting Jett Peddy at quarterback versus the Eagles, replacing RJ Johnson III . Peddy went 11 for 26, passed for 154 yards, threw three interceptions, and was sacked three times.
Florida A&M Rattlers quarterback Jett Peddy warms up for a Week 7 NCAA college football game versus the North Carolina Central Eagles on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
Same outcome.
Another blowout loss for the descending Rattlers to add to the program's worst start since 2016.
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"I thought we did some things to help our team as far as having some fresh faces in the lineup and having some spark," Colzie explained. "You see it as a missed opportunity because you didn't win, whether it was in convincing fashion or lost by a point."
FAMU football's morale in question due to early skid
A question typically raised about losing teams is whether the coach still has the pulse of the locker room.
That's also a narrative that raises concerns about job security.
Colzie says he has it under control, adding that players Corey Collier, Justice Cross, and Nay'Ron Jenkins were resounding voices following FAMU's faltering to NCCU.
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"I didn't want to bore them with any coach speak after the game. I'm not going to 'BS' them," Colzie said.
"They know we've got to play better. That's how you keep morale up by playing better. You're 1-4 and now you're trying to hold it together. We're going to keep working. And the guys that I have on our football team ― they're going to come to work every single day.
"That's all I ask of them."
FAMU football's next game, homecoming, can repair some issues
FAMU's next game is "important," and its head football coach "understands the assignment" of it.
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Next Saturday, the Rattlers will play their homecoming football game versus the Alcorn State Braves (1-5, 0-2 in SWAC). Alcorn State won its homecoming football game and captured its first victory of the 2025 season this Saturday by beating NCAA Division II team the Lincoln Oaklanders 42-0.
FAMU hasn't lost a homecoming since 2017.
"My understanding is that one way to get out of here is to lose homecoming and lose the Florida Classic," Colzie said. "We got a very, very good Alcorn State team coming in here. We're going to be reeling a little bit."
The pressure is on.
Florida A&M Rattlers head coach James Colzie III looks on as his team faces the North Carolina Central Eagles in a Week 7 NCAA college football game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025.
Colzie and FAMU football have the opportunity to put on a show for all Rattler fans and alums during homecoming.
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At the same time, the Rattlers can record their first SWAC victory of the season against a fellow trudging team, Alcorn State.
"It's going to be a packed house," Colzie previewed the FAMU-Alcorn homecoming matchup.
"Nobody's going to worry about any records. They're coming here to make sure that we win. All the stuff that happens Monday to Friday, none of that means a whole lot until that game happens on Saturday. So, we've got to make sure we handle business."
Florida A&M Football's Remaining 2025 Schedule
All times listed are in Eastern Standard Time.
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Week 8: Saturday, Oct. 18 ― vs. Alcorn State (SWAC/Homecoming), 4 p.m., ESPN Plus
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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.
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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 not seeing many positives in turnaround effort
