Truly the definition of a gutsy win by this Richmond squad. The 2nd half felt like we were trying to find 11 guys to play each down, as the injuries mounted quickly for both teams. Ultimately the Spiders move to 1-0 in the CAA, grab a road win, and end the 10-year drought on Long Island.

Drives

1st half drives on the left, 2nd half drives on the right

Offense

15 drives – 6 punts (40%), 5 turnovers (34%), 2 TDs (13%), 2 FGs (13%)

Insanely difficult to grade this offense as the story of the day was who wasn’t on the field. It started with a late scratch of QB Kyle Wickersham and ended with multiple more starters sitting on the sidelines for the 2nd half. Between that and the weather it was bound to be an ugly day in terms of moving the ball.

Injuries – Was hard to keep track throughout the game so I’ll recap here:

• Wickersham – DNP. From everything I heard it was a late decision (Friday/Saturday) so it didn’t give us much time to gameplan.
• Gavin Lamp & Cade Salyers – Both went down in the 1st half and did not return. Tough losing two O-line starters
• Jackson Hardy – Couldn’t tell exactly but I’m guessing concussion – was on the sidelines for the 2nd half and seemed fine physically.

O-line shuffle isn’t over – Not entirely our fault, as there’s bound to be some shuffling when a starting tackle and guard go down, however we played multiple guys at left tackle in place of Lamp. Both Gabe Carbajal and Trey Gray got playing time, with Gray finishing out the game. We also saw Hummel and Gouveia continue to work at guard, so entering week 5 we’ll likely be searching for another starting 5 upfront. The good news is Parker Mitchell seems to have settled into RT fairly well. The right side of the line remains the strong side as most of our better runs came from running behind Elia, Coll, and Mitchell.

Run game was underwhelming – Numbers wise things turned out ok – 195 yards on 47 carries (4.1 YPC) against a good run defense and in run heavy conditions. QB runs were effective however the consistency from our running backs wasn’t there. 32 carries between Smith & Howard, with the below results:

• Gaining 3 yards or less – 22 (69%)
• Gaining 4 yards or more – 10 (31%)

Don’t get me wrong, Savon broke a few key runs that changed the direction of the game, but nearly 70% of our runs being 3 yards or less won’t cut it. We had 1st & Goal from the 1, failed three straight tries, got a penalty and a fresh set of downs, and failed three more times. Still sticking with almost exclusively inside runs and Stony Brook shot through a lot of gaps in anticipation of that. Expecting to see some change from what we’ve done but the QB situation makes that tricky.

Managing backup QBs – I think everyone felt the frustration of the conservative play calling in the 2nd half, but when you’re on your 3rd string QB and you just saw three 1st half INTs it’s easy to keep handing it off. What surprised me was how long we let that go despite Snelsire looking beyond capable of running the offense. Sure, the pick-6 nearly gave the Seawolves the win, however we were only letting him throw on 3rd & long which is even more difficult for a backup QB. Here’s the play calling breakdown in the 2nd half:

• 1st down – 12 runs, 2 passes
• 2nd down – 7 runs, 4 passes

No context to these as distance, position on the field, etc. all play factors, but if you’re going to let Ashten throw it on 3rd down you might as well give him a few shots on 1st. Stony Brook was all over this pretty quickly and adjusted well, as evidenced by the number of short/no gain running plays we had. When we finally let him throw it early he did great, going 3-4 for 29 yards on the final drive with all three completions on 1st or 2nd down. For a guy who hadn’t played in a collegiate game before Saturday he did a great job handling the moment and bouncing back from a pick-6. Hoping a full week of practice will get us more comfortable with our options and allow for more creativity on early downs.

Stop forgetting about DeGennaro – A recurring segment on these recaps. Four catches on the day, drew a big PI call, and caught what should’ve been a 30+ yard play had the officials not blown it dead for offsides (still not sure why we didn’t get a free play). We won’t face an opponent in the CAA that can cover #11 1-on-1 until maybe William & Mary, yet we can’t get his targets number in the double digits. I know the weather and QB issues were the primary factors Saturday but if you aren’t sold on your QB, ensuring he throws to your #1 guy can’t hurt you too bad. Glad to see we finally got him on a deep post and hoping that inspires us to work the ball downfield his way even more.

Defense

14 drives – 7 punts (50%), 4 turnovers [1 on down] (29%), 2 FGs (14%), 1 TD (7%)

Coach Huesman wasn’t too pleased with the Spiders defense after last week’s game and it seems his message was well received. One of the strongest defensive performances we’ve seen from this group, as they were continually called upon and answered each and every time throughout a nervy 2nd half.

Injuries – Sadly this group needs an injury section as well.

• Jeremiah Grant – DNP (prior injury)
• Bryson Parker – DNP (prior injury)
• Zander Barnett – went down with a shoulder, got it looked at and adjusted, came back in, then left for good. #90 left it all out there Saturday, a gutsy individual effort by Barnett.

Run defense – Stony Brook was held to 3.1 YPC and only 96 net yards rushing. For a team that doesn’t throw it too well holding them under 100 yards was huge towards getting the W. Four TFLs and one sack aren’t anything too exciting but the overall disruption was tremendous. Three QB hurries, three forced turnovers, and four deflections. Our defense outplayed their offense in every facet and clearly got the message Coach Huesman communicated after last week’s game.

Guys we saw more of – Can’t call these guys backups but with lineup changes and injuries a few had their roles increased Saturday. Mikey Jarmolowich continues to impress, snagging a critical INT, along with seven tackles from his safety spot. Wayne Galloway did well in his first start of the year, with five tackles, one TFL, and two deflections. Camden Byrd continued to see his role increase with both Grant and Barnett out. Hasn’t had a game where the box score numbers pop but filling the spot well.

3rd down/red zone defense – Spider D stood strong in key areas – they held the Seawolves to:

• 1/13 on 3rd down
• 0/1 on 4th down
• Zero TDs on three redzone trips

Our offense didn’t this group many favors in the 1st half yet this defense kept the game within reach during the first few drives. Stony Brook had two scoring drives that started on our side of the field, along with the pick-6, so essentially this defense gave up 6 points. The 4th down stop flipped the field as the Spiders were fighting into the wind and each redzone stop proved pivotal by the time this one was over.

Special Teams

What a job by this kickoff coverage unit. Five kickoff returns for Stony Brook, amassing only 55 yards. McManus couldn’t boot it too far with the rainy/windy conditions yet this coverage unit came screaming down the field time and time again. Don’t think there was a return for Stony Brook that didn’t involve a big hit as the Spiders were confident, aggressive, and effective on Saturday.

I’m also trying to remember when a blocked PAT went in UR’s favor, as there are unfortunately too many memories of tight losses due to kicking issues. Matthew Traynor changed the entire direction of the game with an incredible block, as #22 was central to numerous special teams plays on Saturday.

The other kicking units were strong too – the snap/hold operation was superb given the environment. Again, it seems small, but it’s so easy for something to go wrong so credit to Catanzarite and Trusler. For a while it was a punting competition between Aaron Trusler and Clayton Taylor, with the two combining for five punts inside the 20 (Taylor had three inside the 5). Our kick returns were ok, with a nice 23-yard return, however the average still fell short of 20 yards. That’s me being picky though, as overall this was a nice stride forward. I can assure you this won’t be the last CAA game where strong special teams plays prove beneficial in the end.

Moving Forward

Great to snag a road CAA win early on, and we should have a great shot to enter the Rhody game at 4-2. The question is at what cost did that win come, as there’s so many scenarios for the next few weeks depending on what QBs and other positions we have available. I’ll try and stay up to date as much as I can so the Hampton preview is with relevant info however we likely won’t know a ton until Saturday.

Next Post

Hampton preview (Friday morning)