Four November games await a healthier Richmond squad. Some key pieces will return from injury to hopefully ignite a strong finish to the 2025 season.

Fordham Rams

Fordham earned a rare Patriot League at-large bid in 2022 but failed to build beyond that. A 6-5 season in 2023 followed by a 2-10 campaign in 2024 has the Rams back in the basement this season, sitting at 1-7 with problems on both sides of the ball. Statistically they’re the worst offense and the worst defense in the league. Scoring just 16 PPG while allowing nearly 38, Fordham should not be a team we struggle with. I know this season hasn’t gone to plan but this is as easy of an opponent to face exiting a bye week.

Regarding injuries, Coach Huesman said Kyle Wickersham will start at QB, while Ashten Snelsire “may be available” as he continues to recover. Jaiden Fair is listed on the two-deep, while Quanye Veney is not. Carter Glassmyer, despite battling a number of injuries, should be “feeling as good as he ever has [all season],” so all things considered we’re as close to full strength as most teams would be in November.

November stretch

A different feel to November in 2025. Richmond has been in the midst of CAA and playoff battles the last three years, so knowing that William & Mary will be our final game is fortunately something we haven’t been used to. Still, I would not expect to see anything different from the Spiders tomorrow. You can question plenty of things but this group’s effort is not one of them. Not only has this program played well in November no matter our record, we’ve been excellent coming off a bye week.

Since 2021, UR is 11-1 in regular season November games. An insane run the last four seasons and seeing that continue is important no matter our playoff standing. We’ve also seen recent success exiting the bye week. The last three seasons Richmond is 3-0 with an average margin of victory of 14 points after an extra week of preparation.

Odds

Spiders are 9.5 point favorites with a total of 49.5. Projected score is Richmond 30-20.

Spiders on Offense

Fordham is allowing 34 PPG against FCS opponents, with every opponent scoring at least 21 points. They’ve allowed 30+ points in four of seven FCS contests and we’re in desperate need of a 30-point game. The Spiders have only reached that mark against VMI and we’ve shown too many flashes to not get there against Patriot League competition. The Rams have been pretty good in run defense but really struggle against the pass. I’d like to see an energized passing attack coming off the bye week.

Personnel – Jaiden Fair (presumably) returns tomorrow, a big boost to our WR corps. His absence made way for Isaiah Dawson to take over, so the #1 thing I’m watching for is how we use each guy. Dawson is listed as the starter at slot, with Fair behind him, however I can’t imagine we won’t see both on the field together.

The total targets & carries through eight games paint a good picture of what our offense has been. Two main receivers with a heavy dose of rushing attempts, especially from both QBs. With a healthier roster, and the positives from recent weeks, I’d love to see this balance itself out to close the season.

The last three weeks Ja’Vion Griffin (154 yards) and Isaiah Dawson (222 yards) have played great. I want both to remain just as involved while still working in Jaiden Fair and Andreas Hill. More options doesn’t mean we should spread the same production around to more guys, it means we should increase their overall usage. I liked the passing distribution Wickersham had against Holy Cross and I’m hoping our self-scout during the week off leads to getting our best players the ball more often.

Secondary – Our approach should focus on our receivers because no one gives up more passing yards/game than Fordham. Literally no one. Dead last in the FCS at 316 YPG, the Rams simply cannot defend the pass. They’ve given up 300+ yards in half their games, never allowing less than 240 yards through the air.

Lehigh is very much a run first offense but they had a nice gameplan last weekend in the Bronx. They racked up 271 passing yards compared to just 158 rushing yards, focusing on working the ball downfield against this vulnerable secondary. This is a great opportunity for the UR offense to show the full depth of our WR room and have a big day through the air.

Redzone – Not a strong point for either unit. The Fordham defense is 102nd in the FCS in redzone TD %, allowing touchdowns on 73% of opponent attempts. The Spiders offense continues to struggle, scoring TDs on just 45% of opportunities (113th in FCS). Something has to give and we really need a game to break our way in the redzone. It cost us against Holy Cross and it’s substantially lowering our scoring ceiling.

Spiders on Defense

The UR defense has a chance to reset and find their usual form these last four games. Overall things have still been good – we’re allowing under 20 PPG against FCS competition and still rank fairly high in most areas, however the last three games haven’t been as steady (27 PPG and 149 rushing YPG). On paper Fordham is the perfect opponent to kick off the month. Scoring just 16 PPG in Patriot League play, they’ve only hit 20+ points in two contests. Still, this team can be dangerous throwing the ball, led by quarterback Gunnar Smith. Defending an extremely spread-out passing attack that loves to get the ball in space, the Spiders need to tackle well and cover sideline to sideline to get November off to a good start.

Defensive line – The snap counts through eight games remain relatively the same. Fitz would be at roughly 75% had he not missed the Bucknell game – besides that no real surprises.

Fordham has one of the weakest O-lines in the FCS. The Rams run for only 82 YPG (123rd in FCS), eclipsing 100 yards in just two of eight games. Things don’t get better in pass protection, allowing 3.9 sacks/game (2nd to last in FCS). Simply put we need to control the trenches tomorrow – despite throwing the ball well, negative plays continually put the Rams behind the sticks and are the main cause of their scoring struggles. They’ve had an O-line shuffle of their own, rotating a few options at tackle with not much success. Starting tackles have allowed 15 sacks so we need a much better game from our defensive ends. Our four DEs combined for just one sack the past three weeks – that needs to drastically improve.

Receivers – Really balanced WR room from the Rams. Four guys have over 200 yards, as Gunnar Smith does a great job of spreading the ball around. Slot receivers remain a big part of what they do, led by #9 Jack Freeburg (most yards & targets). Cumulatively, slot receivers have seven of Fordham’s 10 receiving touchdowns, along with over 40% of all targets. This is an area we’ve done well defending thanks to Tayshaun Burney.

There are some fantastic slot receivers in the Patriot League (thankfully we don’t have to face Isaiah Dawson). Treyvhon Saunders (Colgate) got hurt early but two of the PL’s top slot receivers were held to their worst games against the Spiders. Lehigh’s Geoffrey Jamiel (68 yards) and Bucknell’s TJ Cadden (25 yards) had their lowest season outputs against any FCS foe when facing the UR defense. A lot goes into this but having Burney on the field fulltime is a big factor. There’s a tradeoff, as playing a more permanent nickel defense has surely hurt our run defense, but it has improved our ability to slow down top wide receivers.

Special Teams

Richmond has a huge special teams advantage across the board.

Their weakest area is kickoff coverage. Fordham ranks 123rd in the FCS (4th to last) in return yards allowed, giving up nearly 27 yards/return. We’re slightly above average in return yardage (57th in FCS) but have rattled off some big plays. They only have nine touchbacks so there aren’t many options to kick away from Dawson. Excellent opportunity for #10 to break another big one.

The Rams have also given up three blocks (two punts, one FG) in just eight games, as their protection continues to struggle. Who returns punts tomorrow will be interesting – Ja’Vion Griffin and Jaiden Fair both show as potential starters on the two-deep. Fair was excellent the first two weeks with Griffin making his mark the last two. No wrong choice here.

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Game 9 – 2025: Fordham recap – Monday, November 3rd