{"id":189186,"date":"2025-08-31T10:29:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T10:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/189186\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T10:29:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T10:29:19","slug":"famu-football-left-searching-for-answers-after-gut-wrenching-season-opener-loss-vs-howard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/189186\/","title":{"rendered":"FAMU football left searching for answers after gut-wrenching season opener loss vs Howard"},"content":{"rendered":"

One could sense the frustration from Florida A&M<\/a> head football coach James Colzie III following the Orange Blossom Classic.<\/p>\n

The opening act of his second season at the helm didn\u2019t get off to an ideal start as the Rattlers (0-1) were defeated by the Howard Bison (1-0) 10-9 <\/a>in Miami Gardens\u2019 Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s an upset football team,\u201d Colzie told the media after Week 1\u2019s Orange Blossom Classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpset\u201d would be the word to explain FAMU\u2019s loss, which came on a walk-off 43-yard field goal by Howard kicker Matt Conord as time expired<\/a>, especially with a defense that held firm by allowing Howard<\/a> to earn just 195 yards of offense.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M Rattlers take on the Howard Bison in the Orange Blossom Classic NCAA football game in Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

The Rattlers were favored to defeat the Bison<\/a>, who hadn\u2019t enjoyed a win over FAMU since 2018 before Saturday.<\/p>\n

So where does FAMU football go from here?<\/p>\n

Colzie is preaching to his team to remain united and driven to flip Saturday\u2019s loss into a successful 2025 season with 11 regular-season games remaining.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJust talked about staying together and can\u2019t get torn apart. It\u2019s not much to say to them once you get to that locker room,\u201d Colzie explained the postgame conversation with his team. \u201cIt was a very, very tough defeat. Obviously, we got a little bit more work to do to be ready to play. And that always falls on the head coach\u2019s shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things won\u2019t get easier for the Rattlers in the coming week.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019ll be just 39 minutes from where they suffered their season-opening loss, when they face the Florida Atlantic Owls at Boca Raton\u2019s Howard Schnellenberger Field at Flagler Credit Union Stadium.<\/p>\n

FAMU plays in the NCAA\u2019s Football Championship Subdivision, a lower level than FAU, which is in the Football Bowl Subdivision. FAU lost 39-7 to Maryland on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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Kickoff is at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m responsible for all losses,\u201d Colzie said. \u201cWe made it too close and let them stay around too long in the game, and it came back to bite us in the butt. We\u2019ve got to get ready for next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

FAMU football quarterback situation in question?<\/p>\n

Redshirt sophomore RJ Johnson III made his first college start<\/a> and debut in Saturday\u2019s Orange Blossom Classic versus Howard.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta native finished completing 17 of his 32 pass attempts for 183 yards. He showed signs of being a first-time starting quarterback while going through progressions.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M Rattlers quarterback RJ Johnson III steps off the plane for the Orange Blossom Classic NCAA football game versus the Howard Bison. The FAMU football team arrived in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, Aug. 28, two days ahead of the Week 1 matchup.<\/p>\n

But Johnson \u201cgrew up late\u201d in the game with a \u201cbigtime drive,\u201d Colzie said. On FAMU\u2019s final possession, Johnson led the Rattlers\u2019 offense 61 yards downfield to the goal line, highlighted by a 26-yard completion from the quarterback to wide receiver Jalen \u2018Speedy\u2019 Rogers.<\/p>\n

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The big play would set up an 18-yard field goal by FAMU kicker Daniel Porto for the Rattlers to take a 9-7, their first and only lead of the night, over the Bison with 1:49 left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought RJ did a good job. He led us down the field to potentially a game-winning field goal and had a bigtime throw to Jalen Rogers to get down there,\u201d Colzie assessed his quarterback.<\/p>\n

Johnson beat out fellow FAMU quarterback Jett Peddy<\/a> and others to win the starting job for Saturday. Peddy, a junior, threw for over 2,700 yards last season at Long Beach City College in California.<\/p>\n

With the heavily contested quarterback battle behind, curiosity reemerged after Johnson showed signs of being a young quarterback.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDidn\u2019t necessarily want to take him out,\u201d Colzie said of Johnson. \u201cJett was ready to go if need be. But just kind of where we were at and what we were doing offensively, we felt RJ had the best chance to get us to where we needed to. Jett will be ready to go when his number is called.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is FAMU football equipped to compete for a SWAC, HBCU championship?<\/p>\n

The Rattlers didn\u2019t enter the 2025 season with high expectations from outsiders.<\/p>\n

Despite being outfitted with Preseason HBCU All-Americans, the Rattlers were picked to finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference East division<\/a> behind the defending Black College Football National Champions and ahead of Alabama State.<\/p>\n

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Jackson State won its season opener 28-14 over Hampton while Alabama State showed promise in a 52-42 loss at UAB.<\/p>\n

\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida A&M Rattlers take on the Howard Bison in the Orange Blossom Classic NCAA football game in Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

FAMU doesn\u2019t open its SWAC schedule until Saturday, Sept. 27<\/a>, when Alabama State travels to Tallahassee.<\/p>\n

Colzie is still high on his team as it makes adjustments entering Week 2 versus FAU.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we still got a pretty good football team,\u201d Colzie said. \u201cI think [how] we contend in the SWAC is we\u2019ve got to continue to get better. We don\u2019t play for another three weeks and still have time to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the\u00a0Florida A&M Rattlers<\/a>\u00a0at the Tallahassee Democrat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow his award-winning coverage on\u00a0RattlerNews.com<\/a>\u00a0and contact him via email at\u00a0GDThomas@Tallahassee.com<\/a>\u00a0or on the app formerly known as Twitter\u00a0@3peatgee<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Football: QB situation, SWAC hopes in question after Howard loss<\/a><\/p>\n