After being beaten by Jackson State 35-21 on Saturday, Florida A&M head coach James Colzie was asked whether he was concerned about the Rattlers rush defense (or lack thereof).
Though the first-year coach said he thought the defense “held on pretty well” against Jackson State, FAMU missed too many tackles, was pushed out of gaps, and did not do a good enough job containing the Tigers’ running backs, who compiled 245 yards and 3 touchdowns on 5.7 yards per carry.
Most notably, JSU running back Irv Mulligan led the way with 139 yards and 2 TDs on 7.7 yards per rush, including a 54-yard score in the first quarter. His performance was good enough to earn SWAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The struggles of the Rattlers’ run defense were not exclusively isolated to Saturday. It has been a season-long issue, starting with the Week 0 opener against Norfolk State, when the Spartans gained 227 yards between four ball carriers.
Through the first six games, including games against FBS Miami (Fla.) and Troy, the FAMU defense has allowed 212.3 yards per game on the ground which ranks 110th in the FCS and No. 9 in the SWAC among all qualified defenses.
Previously, Colzie indicated that the fix would be if the Rattlers defensive line didn’t overpursue, stayed disciplined in run fits and simply tackled better. He also said that rotating linemen would help in the effort.
However, the remedy has not been easy to find as the unit continues to underperform.
“We’re playing more gap sound than we were earlier in the year,” said Colzie on Monday. “It goes back to us finishing tackles. We had some one-on-one tackles in the past where our guys made them. This year, they have not made them as consistently as we have wanted, and those have led to big runs.”
And those missed opportunities to bring down rushers have contributed to Florida A&M allowing 6.6 yards per play. Only Mississippi Valley State, Bethune-Cookman, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff have given up more yards per offensive snap in the conference.
“We work on our individual tackling constantly,” said Colzie. “Those are the things we have to continue to get better with because a lot of the things we have to do as a defense is in the open field.”
Looking ahead, it doesn’t get any easier for FAMU. The run defense will be tested this week versus a Southern opponent that piled up 295 yards in a 24-14 win over Alcorn State on Saturday.
“If we don’t improve on that (tackling), our yardage will stay in the upper 200s in yards. If we are better with that, our rushing yardage defense will improve,” said Colzie.
