Playoff mode begins for Florida A&M on Saturday versus Texas Southern.
That’s how first-year FAMU coach James Colize described when asked how the Rattlers will approach the final five weeks of the regular season.
The mission for FAMU is clear: win out and then hope SWAC East leader Jackson State somehow drops two games along the way to recapture first place and a spot in the conference title game.
“We are in a playoff situation right now,” Colzie said. “Any mishap we have puts us in a tougher situation. We’re on the outside looking in, but we need to make sure we take care of what we need to.”
The Rattlers have no room for error after losing to Jackson State 35-21 on Oct. 19. It was only the third loss to a SWAC opponent FAMU has suffered since moving to the conference from the MEAC. Ironically enough, all three of those losses have come to Jackson State.
The previous defeats to the Tigers — both in season openers in 2021 and 2022 — led to FAMU finishing in second place in the SWAC East. In 2022, FAMU did earn an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs.
FAMU hopes to overtake Jackson State this time, though that will require perfection combined with a few breaks.
Colize said he will lean on the experience of veterans who have experienced the highs of the HBCU national championship season and the lows of coming one win short of a postseason appearance to lead the way down the stretch.
But it will not be easy, as the Rattlers are in the middle of a run that features seven consecutive games and ends on Nov. 29 versus Alabama A&M in a make-up contest postponed by Hurricane Helene.
“We have to make sure we take care of what we need to, and that puts us in a playoff mode,” said Colzie. “We must win every quarter and every snap and win everything that we’re doing just to continue to hopefully fulfill the goals that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season.”
