Five 1st half trick plays, record setting days for multiple Spiders, and a memorable first collegiate start for Camden Coleman. The Spiders scored their most points of the season in route to a 42-31 victory over Maine.

Drives

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

Offense

12 drives – 6 TDs (50%), 4 punts (33%), 2 turnovers (17%)

It’s been a while since we had TDs on half of our drives, as the Robins Stadium crowd had plenty of exciting plays to cheer about this past weekend. I don’t think many people (myself included) had us eclipsing the 40 point mark, and it was great to see the offense pickup the defense for once.

Camden Coleman – You can’t say I didn’t warn you. Like, multiple times. He was my focal point of this spring as it was quite clear from the first practice this wasn’t a typical freshman. I had him winning the backup QB job entering the season, and while sticking with Hardy might’ve made sense it’s clear that this is Cam’s team for now. National Freshman of the Week, CAA Offensive Player of the Week, six TD passes in his first career start, over 350 yards, and looked super comfortable making checks at the line and truly commanding this offense. He’ll be the subject of every article about UR football you read this week so I won’t overdo this. He showed just how explosive this offense can be, which sadly brings about more questions than answers as we look back on September.

Where was this offense all along? – Unfortunately it was here the entire time. The biggest change from week 1 is the play-calling, not the personnel. Would Coleman have put up the same numbers he did Saturday if we called the same plays we did against Morgan State? Not even close. Is Wickersham viewed more highly in people’s minds if he was given the same creativity in the games he played? For sure. Six games in and we’ve got two QBs that have done all you can really ask for based on the plays run for them.

Coleman’s yards and TDs are up due to our willingness to throw it downfield, and Wickersham showed he has similar downfield ability against Delaware State. Both have showed nice accuracy with Wickersham not making many mistakes. Pretty crazy that we sit at 3-3 with QB seemingly the least of our concerns.

Each solid game we see from the QB position only makes Morgan State & Hampton hurt even more. Morgan State was the “can’t lose” game and we managed it accordingly. In an attempt to protect Wickersham we blocked his ability to go make plays, while Morgan State played fearlessly and didn’t back down from blitzing. And don’t get me started on Hampton – you’re willing to play Coleman on the 3rd & 5th drives, but not the 1st, 2nd, or 4th, yet seven days later he’s able to put up record setting number against Maine? It was the same “don’t make a mistake” mindset that got us in quick 17-0 hole, only to see Coleman shine once we turned him loose (albeit too late). It sadly took three losses for us to play with that urgency from the opening kick, and when we did, we didn’t take our foot off the gas and unsurprisingly saw the talent of the roster on full display.

It’s premature to reflect on the full season in mid-October but 2023 will likely be remembered for our inability to adjust timely. Had we let both QB’s talents shine from the beginning we’d be discussing how to manage the two heading into important November games with playoff implications, instead there’s already a glance to 2024 (although we probably still have a 1% playoff chance). That’s no reason to not enjoy the bright spots, and Coleman has offered us that the past two weeks. I’m excited to see how both these QBs perform in this more aggressive system in the final five games.

Chunk plays – The big play offense has arrived, led by the man we all expected to be front and center. DeGennaro continues to impress, this time grabbing three TDs and 113 yards on double-digit targets. The fact we had six players pull in a reception of 15+ yards shows how different this offense is from week 1 to week 6. Six receptions for tight-ends and three for true freshman WR Landon Ellis have both helped fill the void of some experienced receivers. Ja’Vion Griffin was out and Isaiah Wilson hasn’t seen a ton of snaps so guys in different roles finding ways to make their mark is an encouraging development so far.

Offensive Line – A fine game from this group. Not amazing, but effective. Maine is not good at generating pressure and we held them to zero sacks and only four TFLs. At this point it’s clear we aren’t the running team we’d thought we be this summer, which is disappointing but ok. Removing the three QB kneels we finished right at 3.5 YPC. Nothing to brag about against a poor Maine run defense however if the passing game keeps developing and we can get that number to even just 4 YPC we’ll be fine. No point in consistently saying that we should be running it better because at some point it just ain’t happening. With only five games left I doubt we’ll see any drastic changes so the focus likely shifts to pass protection and trying to catch teams off guard with the run, rather than emphasizing it.

Defense

13 drives – 5 punts (38%), 4 TDs (31%), 3 turnovers [1 on downs] (23%), 1 FG (8%)

Maine had 14 points and two well executed trick plays before most even got to their seats however this group settled in well after that. The recurring weak spot did show itself again which makes me feel uneasy about the upcoming weeks.

Run defense/D-line – Let’s start with the good. Maine ran for 11 yards. They were the worst running team in the CAA entering game and they made sure to solidify their spot after Saturday’s performance. It was on overall good day for our front, as 10 TFLs is something we’re becoming accustomed to.

We also got the pressure I was hoping to see. Donovan Hoilette recorded two sacks in his role as a 3rd down pass rusher which really gives this defense options. It’s great that he continues to contribute even with Galloway starting at LB now as #34 has too much versatility to not be on the field. Zander Barnett extended his sack lead by picking up another one, while Jeremiah Grant tallied two QB hurries. Teams are still primarily doubling Marlem Louis, so expect whoever lines up opposite #5 to have a great chance to win a 1-on-1 matchup.

Secondary – And now the not so good. Both Rankin Jr. and Graves were out so we saw both field corners start, with Stocker playing the boundary spot. I thought they played fairly well, with Stocker coming up with another INT. They got Banks a few times and the more concerning part was that we faced another team that had great success once they abandoned the run. Aside from Delaware last year we’ve had a lot of games where teams willing to throw it 40+ times don’t face much resistance. Maine played a solid game, but that’s not a 400+ yard passing offense they have.

Our scheme puts a lot of stress on the safeties and most of the yards they accumulated through the air were either over the middle or in a 1-on-1 safety matchup. Curious if we tweak anything to help them out, although with two corners currently out that might make it more difficult. We have a few teams left on the schedule that will be willing to put it up continually so how we adjust our scheme and groupings for that will be something to watch going forward.

Special Teams

• Kickoff return – pretty good
• Punt returns – good
• Kickoff coverage – pretty good
• Punting – excellent

Aaron Trusler continues to excel in this punting system, downing two more inside the 20 (including one at the 1-yard line). Still averaging over 40 yards per punt with 12 of his 33 inside the 20, and 22 of his 33 being fair caught. That has led to teams only having 12 return yards against us through six games, and this group continues to be the best special teams unit we have. I don’t know how the CAA offices decides punting honors but Trusler has played himself into that conversation.

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Rhode Island preview (Friday morning)