Florida A&M football goal is to close matches.
Putting teams away was the solution Ratters‘ key to success over the past two weeks, resulting in a 24-6 victory over Southern and, most recently a 52-28 homecoming win over Texas Southern.
Both games took place at FAMU’s Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
FAMU head coach James Colzie III hopes that wrapping up games will translate on the road when the Rattlers (5-3, 3-1 in SWAC) visit the Prairie View A&M Panthers (4-5, 2-3 in SWAC) this Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
ESPN Plus will televise the Week 11 Southwestern Athletic Conference game.
Head Coach James Colzie III coaches the Florida A&M rattlers in the home game against Texas Southern, Saturday, November 2, 2024.
The last time FAMU played away it ended in a 35-21 loss at Jackson State as the visiting Rattlers had costly turnovers that led to two Jackson State touchdowns within the final three minutes of the game.
Colzie hopes there will be no repeats on this road trip to Prairie View, Texas.
“That’s one of our mantras: we want to make sure we finish every game we play,” Colzie said during his game week press conference on Monday.
“When you go on the road, there are two things you have to be able to do: run the football and not turn the ball over. If we can do those two things, our chances are good.”
Prairie View A&M is fresh off a 17-16 road win at Mississippi Valley State. All four of the Panthers’ wins have been decided by one possession.
“It will be important to continue to see what problems Prairie View will throw at us and build a game plan,” Colzie said.
FAMU football vs Prairie Watch A&M: Familiar opponents in familiar situations
FAMU and Prairie View A&M know each other well.
The teams met twice as the Rattlers hosted and defeated Panthers both times 45-7 in FAMU’s 2023 homecoming football gameThan 35-14 for the SWAC Championship.
However, Colzie is aware of the changes made to Prairie View A&M head coach Bubba McDowell’s staff.
Anthony Weeden is the Panthers’ new offensive coordinator after serving in the same role at Campbell University. Prairie View A&M’s scoring offense is seventh of 12 in the SWAC, averaging 22.4 points in nine games.
“They made some changes at the coordinator position. But we know Coach McDowell has a system and a philosophy,” Colzie said.
“So we look at the games they played this year and the two games we played against them last year. We’re looking forward to playing them again. But if we don’t do that, we could go there and come back as an upset football team because we didn’t handle our business properly.”
A lot will have to happen in their favor before FAMU and Prairie View A&M can clinch a spot in the SWAC Championship again.
The Rattlers do third in the SWAC East behind Jackson State and Alabama State. The Panthers are third in the SWAC West, behind Southern and Alcorn State.
The Florida A&M Rattlers lead Texas Southern in the 4th quarter, Saturday, November 2, 2024.
FAMU and Prairie View A&M must win and hope for losses against the league leaders to position themselves to represent their divisions in the Dec. 7 SWAC title game.
“They have to win. We have to win,” Colzie said. “The expectation for our football is that we will have to play well and do things the right way.”
FAMU football coach James Colzie III wants to see a complete shutdown of his team
FAMU had its first 50-point output in five years last week.
The Rattlers’ 52 points marked the first time they scored that many since posting the same number on the day, Nov. 2, in 2019.
Defensively, FAMU held Texas Southern to 164 total offensive yards.
However, the Rattlers allowed 275 kick return yards to Texas Southern.
The Florida A&M Rattlers will take on Texas Southern in their home game on Saturday, November 2, 2024.
So Colzie is looking for a light show in all facets when he leads his FAMU team to Prairie View this Saturday.
“We are a downright scary football team when our talent shows and we play disciplined football,” Colzie said. “I will always want more. My expectations are high for this team because I see these guys work every day.”
Florida A&M at Prairie Watch A&M – Week 11, SWAC
The Florida A&M Rattlers will take on Texas Southern in their home game on Saturday, November 2, 2024.
When: Saturday, November 9 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time
Where: Panther Stadium; Prairie View, Texas
Broadcast: ESPN Plus, mobile application from Rattlers
Tickets: Buy here
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-award winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning reporting RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or via the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: What FAMU football coach James Colzie said about Prairie View A&M matchup