Florida A&M football can swing its unsatisfactory start to the 2025 season this week.
This Saturday, Oct. 11, the Rattlers (1-3) are hosting one of HBCU football’s top teams, the North Carolina Central Eagles (4-2), for a Week 7 non-conference game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
NCCU, a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, has been a constant presence in Black College Football over the years.
The Eagles won the 2022 Celebration Bowl against the then-Deion Sanders-led Jackson State and appeared in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2023.
After an 8-3 finish last year, the Eagles are soaring early in the season on a three-game winning streak that has seen them score at least 49 points in all of those triumphs, with its most recent one being a 50-42 victory at East Texas A&M on Sept. 27. NCCU was on a bye last week.
Meanwhile, FAMU is off to its worst start since 2016, having last played on Sept. 27 and dropping its Southwestern Athletic Conference opener 42-14 at home against Alabama State.
“Is there a lack of confidence right now? Of course,” FAMU head coach James Colzie III told local media in his weekly Zoom call on Oct. 6.
“Playing well will show we’ve got a good football team. We’ve got a very, very talented locker room. It will instill confidence, which hopefully we can continue to carry on for the rest of the year.”
The Rattlers were handed an unplanned bye last week after Atlanta’s Georgia Football Classic versus Mississippi Valley State got cancelled, relocated, and rescheduled due to uncertainty surrounding a past-due payment from the game promoters to FAMU.
Not playing last week could’ve been a blessing in disguise for the Rattlers.
The extra time allowed the team to scout NCCU, which boasts the 15th scoring offense in FCS statistics.
Furthermore, the Rattlers were able to search for answers on how to end their early-season freefall.
“Our seniors, our graduates are doing a great job of keeping things upbeat,” Colzie said. “Our practices were very, very good last week. I’m anticipating some very, very good practices this week. But we all know it’s going to boil down to how we’re doing to play Saturday.”
FAMU football’s James Colzie updates QB status vs North Carolina Central
The buzz surrounding FAMU football is who will quarterback the Rattlers’ offense moving forward.
RJ Johnson III has been FAMU’s starter since the beginning of the season. The redshirt sophomore has completed 72 out of 115 passing attempts for 810 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
In his last outing versus Alabama State, Johnson went 20 for 33, threw for 133 yards, and tossed a touchdown pass. However, the FAMU offense struggled to move the ball.
FAMU has four quarterbacks on its roster, but backup Jett Peddy is the only other signal caller besides Johnson to get playing time this season. The junior played versus Florida Atlantic and Albany State.
Colzie said the quarterbacks did a “great job” during the bye week, and there is one who’s “slightly ahead” to start as of Monday, Oct. 6.
“I’ll always make a decision that’s best for the football team,” the FAMU coach said. “We’ve got to make sure that our best football team is out there this Saturday. And it starts at quarterback.”
FAMU football vs NCCU a final dress rehearsal for the Rattlers
FAMU’s next opponent, NCCU, is the Rattlers’ final non-conference game of the 2025 season.
The Rattlers versus Eagles SWAC-MEAC matchup kicks off in Tallahassee at 3 p.m. on HBCU GO and 96.1 JAMZ.
After Saturday, the Rattlers will move back to SWAC play for the remainder of their seven regular-season games.
“As a team, we know we can play a lot better than what we last played,” Colzie said. “Whether it’s a MEAC team, a SWAC team, or an FBS team, just getting a chance to play again is always important.”
Florida A&M (1-3, 0-1 in SWAC) vs North Carolina Central (4-2)
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: How FAMU football can shake its ‘lack of confidence’ to save subpar season vs NCCU
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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