A drive to South Carolina plus a lightning delay made this a LONG road trip but it was all worth seeing the Spiders pick up win #1 on the season.

Drives

1st half on the top, 2nd half on the bottom

Game thoughts

Injuries – We won the game but lost plenty of key players. First is Sean Clarke, suffering a gruesome leg injury that stopped the game. Hard to imagine he’s not out for the season which puts a big hole at tight end. He had a great start to the game and without him we quickly saw a drop and multiple missed blocks. How well Aidan Steinfeldt and Ryan Campbell can step up will be critical.

Then it was Jaiden Fair, with a brace on his knee for the 2nd half after a collision on a punt return. An easier spot for us to fill, with Quanye Veney taking snaps in the slot in his place, however that’s two huge weapons out for an offense that’s already struggling to begin with. Hoping we get an update on Fair from Coach Huesman this week.

Penalties – Another game with penalty issues, as the Spiders amassed 97 yards on Saturday – holdings, blindside blocks, kick catch interference, really a bit of everything so far. Not committing penalties was a strength last year and we’re close to it being a weakness this year. Can’t expect to win close games when you’re always losing the penalty battle.

Possession count – We had eight first half possessions. The exact formula I thought could happen did, with our defense getting off the field quickly and giving our offense way more chances. As I’m sure you know, we did nothing with those chances. This was similar to the Lehigh game in that we had every opportunity to build a double-digit lead in the 1st half yet didn’t. Instead it was a 7-7 tie. Starting faster in games and taking advantage of early opportunities has to be addressed.

Offense

11 drives | 75 snaps – 8 punts, 2 TDs, 1 turnover

Good enough to win on Saturday yet nowhere close to where we need to be. It’s been frustrating to see the talent in small flashes without being able to put together drives.

Running game – Plenty of screenshots for me to post of us losing the line of scrimmage and not enough of us winning it. Plain and simple we’re getting beat up front. The O-line shuffle saw Anderson, Hummel, Gray, Fowler, and Hundley as your starting 5, with Godwin Burger working in a few drives at right tackle. Switching around that many O-line starters in week 2 is a wake-up call. I understand the Lehigh game went poorly but to swap out your center after one start means we’ve got a long way to go.

Even with the new lineup the results were the same. UR running backs averaged less than 2 YPC and we lost the early downs. 60% of our 1st downs and 59% of our 2nd downs went for 3 yards or less. For an offense trying to be steady we have too many negative/minimal plays to stay on schedule. We did manage to wear Wofford down, leading to both Wickersham and Foster-Powell getting the running game going late. Kyle’s power running remains an asset in short-yardage and late game situations but we’ve got to find a formula that works for 60 minutes.

I do want to give Trey Gray a shoutout – it’s not easy to work at tackle all spring/fall and then suddenly be asked to play center. He held up well given the circumstances and you could hear both him and Gabe Carbajal as vocal leaders on the sidelines. It’s not a situation anyone wanted but #73 held his own.

Wide receivers – Good showing from the receiver corps. Quanye Veney had some great catches, Ja’Vion Griffin was reliable in big spots, and we even saw Andreas Hill haul in his first collegiate reception on a crucial 4th down. Throw in Isaiah Dawson’s receptions/carries and we’re getting contributions from a lot of guys. This isn’t the same group without Jaiden Fair but they’ve made the most of their opportunities thus far.

1st quarter – We got a glimpse of what the “new Spiders” were supposed to be in the 1st quarter and it was exciting. I loved what we ran during our first four drives. We utilized the hard count to win free plays. The pass protection was solid. We showed play action on early downs. We got Isaiah Dawson on the edge to space out our running game. We used empty sets to give Wickersham quicker reads and get the ball to the middle of the field. And to cap off our best drive, we executed a running back screen to the elusive Andrew King to complete an eight play, 90-yard sequence.

*I’m counting all pop-passes to Isaiah Dawson as runs – they’re technically passes but we all know it’s a run*

Small sample size but our 20 1st quarter plays brought real hope. Over 100 yards of offense with good run/pass balance, leading to four plays of 10+ yards. We got Wickersham in a rhythm by stretching the field and then… it was gone.

Quarters 2-4 – It felt like the pick-6 Kyle threw to end the 1st quarter changed everything. After that we basically never threw the ball downfield again. There’s no denying the interception was bad – Wofford had two guys ready to take that to the house, however I can’t understand why one mistake immediately made us revert back to the safe/conservative/ ineffective approach. From then on it was a replay of the Lehigh game, with unsurprisingly the same results.

17 2nd half passes and over 80% of them were within 5 yards of the LOS. With the O-line holding up in protection this was our chance to develop the passing attack yet we took the “mistake free” approach the minute something went wrong. We switched to a run & WR-screen heavy team, keeping most of the offense behind the line of scrimmage.  Sure, we never turned the ball over again, but our yards/play plummeted. Richmond averaged 2 yards/play on 1st down and 3 yards/play on 2nd down the final three quarters (we were above 5 yards/play on both downs in the 1st quarter). Wofford had no issues stopping our lack of variety because they knew what was coming – literally. Ask anyone in the stands, you could hear their sideline calling out our plays on multiple occasions. Being that easy to scout in week 2 is disheartening.

I understand Wickersham’s interception threw away all of our 1st quarter progress however we have to be able to stomach mistakes. What other choice do we have? Right now this team cannot win by pushing teams around up front with a run-centric focus. “Opening things up” for one quarter won’t do us much good.

Defense

11 drives | 52 snaps – 8 punts, 2 FG attempts, 1 turnover on downs

Our defense stood strong to seal the win. This was a matchup we were supposed to dominate in but not allowing a TD is no easy task. This is a very different game with just one letdown on defense, so putting together 60 minutes of excellent football shouldn’t be overlooked.

Linebackers – Really like what both Tayshaun Burney and Peyton Seelmann have done early on. Burney continues to cover well in the Will/nickel role, nearly recording another INT. Seelmann added a deflection of his own, plus his first collegiate sack. Carter Glassmyer got so much of the attention in preseason it’s nice to see the other linebackers having good starts to the year.

3rd down – Can’t do much better as a defense than 0/11 on 3rd downs. We got Wofford off the field quickly and it led to just 52 snaps the entire game. Five of our 3rd down stops were 3rd & 5 or less as the defensive unit came up big in all situations.

Defensive line – I can’t say enough good things about our D-line, as this group won the day yet again.  The Terriers finished with just 47 rushing yards, thanks to four sacks and plenty of other disruption up front. Cam Byrd, Matei Fitz, and Donovan Hoilette all won on 20%+ of their pass rushes, combining for three sacks and lots of QB hurries. Wofford needed to run the ball to compete on offense and we never allowed them any traction. The big talent discrepancy made this an unfair matchup and it was fun to see their relentless pursuit throughout. The team speed the staff talked about hasn’t shown on the offensive side but the boys on defense are flying around.

Two games and two similar rotations. Clearly a three man rotation at DT and it’s encouraging that Baldwin is able to play 60% of snaps. Hoilette being healthy enough to play 83% is just as exciting. Glassmyer missed one drive due to a rolled ankle however we look set at linebacker/secondary. Still waiting to see if Kyree Richardson works in at corner.

Special Teams

No coverage issues for the Spiders. McManus drilled another touchback and Ned Gray continues to get solid hangtime on his punts. He hasn’t hit the big one like Trusler could do but his hangtime is avoiding returns entirely.

Jayden Alsheskie nailed both PATs, which is all we’re looking for right now. I’m still waiting to see who takes the next 35-yard field goal. Jackson Bonser is active on the sidelines but I think Huesman will give Alsheskie his chance.

Next Post

Game 3 – 2025: North Carolina preview – Friday, September 12th