Richmond returns to the site of our 2007 Quarterfinal victory, where in 2025 both teams need a win. The winner gets to 1-1 and picks up a little momentum in non-conference play, while the loser falls to 0-2 and effectively sees their season crumble before them.

Wofford Terriers

Wofford played an even uglier game than we did to open the season. On the road at South Carolina State, the Terriers had 142 yards on offense, less than 3 yards/play, and a whopping 15 points entirely from their defense/special teams. Like us, this is a very different looking team from a year ago that regressed in areas due to roster turnover. Gone is star QB Amari Odom, as are a majority of the 2024 defensive starters. This will not be a game that helps our Strength of Schedule or playoff resume. We need to reset quickly and hope a non-conference win on the road can help this team build confidence.

0-1 start

A familiar hole but a very unfamiliar situation. This time is much different than 2023 and 2024.

In both 2023 and 2024 the change to our offensive approach was forced on us. An injury to Wickersham before Stony Brook forced Jackson Hardy, Ashten Snelsire, and Cam Coleman into action the following weeks. Only then did we break out of our shell and see our gameplan take a 180° turn. When Wickersham returned, we kept that mindset and it resulted in a different looking and much more productive October/November. 2024 was similar – after Kyle’s injury against Charleston Southern it was Cam Coleman again and the different style QB forced us to change.

2025 has to be different. We must actively initiate the change. Coach Huesman opened his Wednesday comments stating “we’ve got to get good at what we do” before adding “we’re just going to have to open it up and go and play.” Those comments hint at both improving our current approach while also expanding the playbook, so what that really looks like remains to be seen. The Spiders of past seasons have been too slow to adjust and there’s no time to spare given this year’s schedule. With the lack of quality games remaining there’s no slips up from now until Holy Cross – and even then we probably need to beat Holy Cross. Someone or something has to break this early season mold of keeping things safe and playing not to lose. Hearing that in an interview and seeing it unfold in the game are drastically different.

Odds

Early line opened at -5.5 but now has Spiders -6.5 with a total O/U of 40.5 for a projected score of Richmond 24-17.

Spiders on Offense

Finishing drives – We were in Lehigh territory plenty and did nothing with it. South Carolina State had a similar fate against this Wofford defense. In nine of their 12 drives they reached plus territory (Wofford’s side of the field), including their first seven drives of the game. The result of those first seven drives? Just nine points – 3/4 on FG attempts, a turnover on downs, and multiple sacks that forced punts. If you’re struggling on offense the last thing you can do is come away empty once you finally get something clicking. After not having a drive longer than 37 yards we must find that next gear to complete drives. Playing in opposing territory is great but field position only takes you so far.

Andrew King – Will we see #8 tomorrow? King played just three snaps against Lehigh, sent in motion as a misdirection decoy each time. King’s lack of snaps make more sense after seeing our inside focused ground game, however he could provide a burst as a change of pace running back. Our RB2 last year, King nearly averaged 6 YPC and was responsible for a number of big plays. Whether it’s running the ball or providing a spark in the passing game, I’m hopeful we see King play a much bigger role.

Offensive line shuffle – “We’re going to kind of shuffle some guys around on the offensive line, try to get our best 5 in there.” – Coach Huesman in Wednesday’s post-practice interview. Last weekend’s performance is enough to justify changes however it results in multiple guys playing a spot they haven’t practiced at much. The departure of Mason Imbt threw a wrench in our plans at guard but otherwise the starters didn’t fluctuate throughout spring/fall camp. Coach Huesman didn’t reveal the starting 5 (so I won’t either) however there’s now even more intrigue attached to this group entering week 2.

With our “new” offensive line comes another opponent with a variety of blitz looks. In their opening game, Wofford blitzed on 28% of drop backs. Out of their base 3-4 defense we’ll see linebackers blitzing from both edges along with some inside pressure sprinkled in. It was too much for SCST too handle, leading to five sacks, eight TFLs, and countless more pressures. You know they’re going to keep the pressure high based on our week 1 film.

Lehigh game

A couple things stood out rewatching the Lehigh game:

RPOs – The staff talked about these leading up to the season and we saw a few early in the game but couldn’t execute. Two examples below.

Here we have the numbers outside and Wickersham gets it to Clarke on the edge, but a missed blocks ultimately leads to no gain.

A similar look later in the half but this time we miss the numbers advantage outside. The game moves faster than pictures but this was a spot to pull the ball and potentially get it wide for an easy gain.

Middle of the field – More interesting was where we didn’t see RPOs or more passing patterns. A lot of our run looks saw 8 Lehigh defenders coming downhill near the line of scrimmage yet we never had our receivers trying to get into space behind them. So much of what we did attacked the flats that I’m curious if we have RPO or play action wrinkles to open up vertical throwing lanes behind linebackers.

Even on traditional passing downs too many plays looked like the below – Lehigh bringing 5+ defenders with all receivers outside the hashes, only working back to the middle very late in the route.

Given our protection issues I’m hoping we can find throws for Wickersham that are quicker, more north/south, and don’t require him to throw it all the way to the numbers.

Spiders on Defense

Not much to say after Wofford failed to score an offensive touchdown. New QB Jayden Whitaker completed only 6 of 21 passes, while the O-line allowed three sacks and managed just 2.6 YPC. This needs to be a game where our defense dominates from start to finish.

Quick drives – I would love for our defense to help the offense by getting the possession count up. Going back to 2024 we’ve played four straight games without reaching 10 offensive possessions (Hampton – 8, W&M – 8, Lehigh – 9, Lehigh -9). For reference, the average across college football last year was 12 possessions/game. Whether it’s slower tempo teams or a bunch of 10+ play drives, a low possession game isn’t in our favor. Defense is our strength so I’d gladly put them out there three more times each game if it meant three more chances for our offense. If the UR defense can get Wofford off the field quickly it could spur some offensive production.

Penalties – 79 penalty yards are the most we’ve had since the Albany playoff game in 2023. This has gotten a lot of talk but I’m not worried after one game. Senior captain Scott Hummel probably isn’t picking up unsportsmanlike flags each week. One PI call was borderline, and Lee Bruner IV was smart to take 15 yards to save a touchdown in the 2nd half. If we continue to sit at 70+ penalty yards I’ll sound the alarm but a younger secondary contributing to most of this in week 1 doesn’t have me concerned yet.

Pressure – Not much pressure from our D-line against Lehigh. They ran it a bunch and got the ball out fairly quickly, however one sack and three TFLs is extremely low for our guys. Tomorrow should be different – after South Carolina State forced three sacks, eight TFLs, and 12 pressures our D-line will be looking to get after it, especially against Wofford’s right side. Two new starters up front for the Terriers at RG and RT and that’s where most of their issues were. Those two spots allowed a majority of the pressures/QB hits and got no push in the run game. Expect Cam Byrd to be a problem for the right side of the Wofford offensive line.

Special Teams

An eventful opening game for the Wofford special teams:

• 89-yard kickoff return for a TD
• Blocked punt resulting in a TD
• Three missed field goals, including two potential game winners in the 4th quarter

The only reason Wofford nearly beat SCST was due to big plays from their return teams so our KOC and punt units need strong games. Will McManus was excellent on kickoffs, averaging over 65 yards/kick. Ned Gray also had a solid first collegiate game, pinning three punts inside the 20. If those two continue to kick well we should be fine.

Wofford might not be able to make a field goal but I think we can? Really I just want to see either Alsheskie or Bonser given a chance. Let McManus focus on kickoffs and give one of our “true” kickers a chance to go win the job.

Next Post

Game 2 – 2025: Wofford recap – Monday, September 8th