Richmond is still in search of our first Patriot League win. A 33-28 loss to Bucknell drops the Spiders to 3-3 (0-2) and leaves us in a very weird spot halfway through the season.

Drives

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

Game thoughts

Patriot League – An 0-2 start is not the statement I was hoping we’d make in the first year of our new conference. Last year we won a bunch of one-possession games in the CAA, this year we have two one-possession Patriot losses. Simply put, the young Spiders need to find ways to win games. Despite being 0-2 the Spiders’ talent is in no way outmatched – that’s not a consolation prize but it was a valid concern after the offseason turnover. Our next opponent, Colgate, has two narrow losses to CAA playoff contenders Villanova and Monmouth so we’ll get an even better idea of where we stand. Right now it’s about improving all phases and finding some momentum for the 2nd half of the season.

Putting teams away – You can’t let teams hang around. Richmond had multiple chances to take two-score leads but couldn’t convert either.

The defense got a 4th down stop in Bucknell territory near the end of the 1st half. Offense had plenty of time and great field position, yet between a holding penalty and a botched field goal attempt we walked away empty handed.

Then in the 4th quarter, after Bucknell missed a 43-yard field goal, we got all the way down to the 10-yard line but couldn’t convert 4th & 1. The Bison scored points after each of those drives, swinging the direction of the game back in their favor rather than UR having a two-score lead. It’s those opportunities that you can’t miss in close games and sadly we didn’t convert either.

Coach Huesman said after the game that he probably should’ve kicked the field goal – that may be him taking on more of the loss as the head coach because I think going for it was the right call. Like he said, we couldn’t stop them and getting 3 points probably wasn’t going to be enough. We can debate all day whether you should be in shotgun, if the QB should be running, etc. Ultimately I liked his aggressiveness and with an extra yard we win.

Injuries – Matei Fitz was out with an illness. Credit to him for giving it a go but after a few plays he clearly wasn’t right. D’Angelo Stocker, Lee Bruner IV, and Jordan Allen all missed time in the secondary. With that we saw R-Fr. Kyree Richardson and true freshman Devin Geronomi play more than expected. Add in Carter Glassmyer not being 100% plus Quanye Veney leaving with an arm (elbow I think?) injury and the Spiders played plenty of guys. I imagine Gabe Carbajal & Jaiden Fair are close to returning so getting those two back will be a huge boost in the near future.

Offense

9 drives | 55 snaps – 4 TDs, 4 turnovers [1 on downs], 1 FG attempt

This is a difficult one to describe. On one hand we got to see an entirely new offense. Not because of the scoring (we’re supposed to score against Bucknell) but in our approach. Teams add plays and make adjustments every week but this was effectively an overhaul. We got Snelsire out of the pocket, utilized the entire field, and most importantly weren’t overly run centric.

• 1st down | 59% pass, 41% run
• 2nd down | 38% pass, 62% run

Great balance on 1st & 2nd down, resulting in a near 50/50 split for the game. The Spiders weren’t predictable and it made us much tougher to defend, a huge factor in our sustained drives. We averaged over 9 yards/play on 1st down, 6 yards/play on 2nd down, which in turned yielded a very efficient day on 3rd down (75% conversions).

On the other hand, turnovers. We never punted but didn’t score on half of our trips because of turnovers. Throw one less pick and convert a 4th & 1 and we likely win by 14 points. No one expected a perfect game but so many self-inflicted wounds are nearly impossible to overcome. In the end it’s about the totals on the scoreboard however I won’t let that completely negate the spark our offense showed.

Ashten Snelsire – A wild day for Snelsire. He made some fantastic throws, avoided a couple sacks with his legs, and continually marched the offense down the field. In nine drives, six of them spanned 60+ yards. The biggest hurdle for our offense was stringing together plays/possessions and we were able to do that over the weekend.

Bucknell was giving up 450+ yards against FCS teams so the Spiders nearly putting up 500 isn’t crazy. How we did it was refreshing – a complete 180 from the early season UR offense, with more than half of our throws being 16+ yards downfield. Eight of our nine drives featured a pass throw in the deepest bucket, as we feasted on Bucknell’s weak coverage and Snelsire’s early accuracy.

We did see his inexperience in a couple of the INTs. I know he really regrets the last one but I’m still shocked we were throwing the ball there. +20 yard line, 1:40 left – we almost had too much time to be throwing the ball. With Foster-Powell having a career day that’s likely the decision we are second guessing the most.

I said before the game that I wanted us to let Snelsire play through the mistakes and we did just that. Interceptions are never easy to swallow however I’m glad the offense stayed aggressive throughout rather than taking the ball out of his hands. For a guy who only had 43 career pass attempts entering the game, Snelsire absolutely answered the call.

Redzone – The stats are weird in this game. The Spiders were 0/4 in the redzone. No need to repeat myself, as three of these were turnovers along with the missed field goal. What’s strange is we scored all four of our TDs from either the 24 or 25 yard line. If you look at the high redzone (15-25 yard lines) we were 4/6, with low redzone (inside 15) 0/2. That breakdown is good for nothing other than showing how often we moved the ball into opponent’s territory. We were way too sloppy but the 0/4 showing in the box score is slightly misleading.

Aziz Foster-Powell – Jamaal Brown and Andrew King had 100-yard games already, now the full trio has joined the 100-yard party after Foster-Powell went for 108 on just eight carries. He continually broke tackles and had success running inside and wide. Also playing special teams, #3 continues to show his versatility and how impactful reliable options at RB can be.

Isaiah Dawson – I probably need to have an Isaiah Dawson section each game. Six catches, 144 yards, and two TDs for the R-Fr. I wanted to see him more involved in the true passing game and #10 showed that very few secondaries can guard him. He hauled in multiple passes in tight coverage, displaying even more of his skillset. He was predominately a screen/swing guy throughout September and this offense will only improve the more we find Dawson downfield.

Defense

9 drives | 76 snaps – 4 TDs, 3 FG attempts, 1 punt, 1 turnover on downs

Shocking. Absolutely nothing went right. The Bison had five drives of 60+ yards and never went 3 & out. We didn’t get off the field on 3rd down (9/16 allowed) and it led to us playing a ton of snaps. Bucknell clearly saw something in watching the Howard film and put it to good use. Very rarely have we seen the Spiders not dictate the game up front but that’s exactly how we got beat.

Defensive line – Uncharacteristically bad day for the guys up front. Very little pressure and very little resistance in the run game. Bucknell knew how to attack us and didn’t waste any time. Despite averaging just over 100 yards/game on the ground they ran the ball seven straight times to open the game. Their 1st quarter rushing gashed us early and set the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.

212 yards on the ground is their best output this season. They picked up almost 5 YPC and maintained steady drives for 60 minutes. This is where not having Matei Fitz really hurt. #5’s value was fully on display in his absence, as we had to go deeper into our rotation with less success. Losing one defensive tackle shouldn’t lead to that poor of a day up front however I do think things go differently with Fitz front and center.

Passing game – Bucknell’s QB comes as advertised. Great awareness, great timing, and put some passes in perfect spots. Our best bet at countering that was a disruptive pass rush, however that never materialized. The lack of pressure off the edge was very surprising and we’re in trouble if that continues. The Bucknell O-line looked nothing like the group that allowed 19 sacks in the five games prior, forcing the Spiders to blitz more than we wanted. Once we brought more blitzes he found guys open in 1-on-1 matchups, leading to a 2nd half spike in passing yards. His passing chart looks solid as well, finding three different receivers for chunk plays and having a big day with his favor target Sam Milligan (11 catches, 133 yards). Ultimately it was one big domino effect and we never broke the chain.

Linebackers – Peyton Seelmann had 20 tackles, as the sophomore has tallied 36 tackles the past two games. Very happy with a younger Spider taking over a big role and playing well. Carter Glassmyer and Blake Houser rotated at Sam linebacker. Glassmyer is not at full strength yet managed 10 tackles and a TFL. The rise of Blake Houser has allowed us to give Glassmyer more breaks – Houser was used sparingly the first few weeks but has racked up plenty of snaps recently. Another young Spider, the R-Fr. is showing the value of depth and how much guys can improve as the season progresses.

Special Teams

Will McManus continues to excel in the kickoff game. Two touchbacks and very little return yardage due to good hangtime alongside great coverage. It wasn’t surprising to see Bucknell kick away from Isaiah Dawson after a 36-yard return to open the game. I’m curious if we see more opponents try this and how we counter that.

Our punter literally didn’t play and Bucknell’s only punt bounced into the endzone for a touchback. If it weren’t for the bad snap on the field goal it would have been another clean special teams day across the board. That was a significant play but it doesn’t worry me moving forward.

Next Post

Game 7 – 2025: Colgate preview – Friday, October 10th