Another week, another one-possession football game. Richmond wins its fourth one-possession game of the year, squeaking by Fordham to avoid the Patriot League cellar.

Drives

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

Game thoughts

November football – This program continues to deliver in November. Now 12-1 in regular season games since 2021, it may be ugly but we’re stacking wins late in the year. That was a pretty energized sideline throughout the 2nd half, as it’s evident these guys will keep playing hard for all 12 games.

Field Position – Despite being a close game it sort of always felt like we had that under control. A big part of that was our dominating defense consistently winning (and keeping) field position. Only two of Fordham’s drives got past the UR 45-yard line. The UR offense had five drives start at midfield or better, as we seemingly played on their half of the field the entire day. Despite great field position, the Rams remained in the fight due to redzone efficiency. Two possessions and two TDs for Fordham, as we couldn’t get a redzone stop for the second straight game. Our offense wasn’t any better, reaching the redzone five times but walking away with just two TDs.

True freshmen – Jeremiah Washington got a few drives at corner in the 2nd half. That was his fourth game so I’d imagine he’s done for the year. We also saw Jackson Thorne (linebacker) for the first time on kickoff coverage, as the Spiders continue to sprinkle in true freshmen and take advantage of the 4-game redshirt rule.

Offense

12 drives – 67 snaps | 6 punts, 3 FG attempts, 2 TDs, 1 turnover

Two touchdowns on 12 possessions against that defense is extremely disappointing. I was optimistic we’d see a fresh look from the Spider offense however a lot of the same issues unfortunately continued to plague us.

First two drives – It was another nice start from the UR offense – 10 points on our first two possessions with contributions from a lot of guys. We started the game with a great completion to Foster-Powell on a HB seam, threw the ball on early downs, and took advantage of Isaiah Dawson on the edge. Kyle Wickersham played really well, starting the game 9-9 and connecting with six different receivers during that stretch. We showed good variety in our first 21 plays, perfectly balancing the run and the pass to keep Fordham’s defense a step behind.

Then came the rest of our drives. Rewatching the game, it was funny to hear Bob Black and Chris Anderson confused at points, joking about the constant throws behind the line of scrimmage while also feeling like we tried to bleed the clock out way too early. I imagine many fans’ thoughts mirrored their commentary. I think they nailed it, as that’s a pretty good summary of where things went wrong – our predictability and our passing strategy kept us behind the sticks.

The Spiders got 1st down run-happy once again. 68% of 1st down calls were runs, as our balance didn’t last long. On those 1st down runs, half of them went for two yards or less. Don’t get me wrong, Aziz Foster-Powell broke a lot of tackles and ran the ball hard, but the consistency still isn’t there. To counter our inside running game we opted for a ton of throws behind the line of scrimmage.

Nine passes behind the LOS is a big jump from recent weeks. On those nine passes, Richmond gained just 14 total yards, as the bubble screens against Fordham’s blitz looks rarely worked. You can see from the passing chart that the middle of the field continues to be underutilized, instead forcing Kyle to make long throws that force our receivers to hold blocks and allow the defense time to rally to the ball. The early down running mixed with long throws to the outside isn’t doing Kyle, our receivers, or anyone on the offense any favors.

Ultimately the results were what we’ve seen in past weeks – 50% of our drives went 3 & out, our passing yards/attempt fell to 4.8, chunk plays were down, and we totaled less than 200 yards of offense on our final 10 possessions.

Running backs – The numbers don’t stand out (15 carries, 62 yards) but it’s impossible to not love Aziz Foster-Powell. Rarely going down after the first hit, #3 is clearly our RB1. I love that we’re also getting him involved in the passing game – six of his 10 receptions have come the past two games. Jamaal Brown and Andrew King have seen their touches disappear, combining for just six carries over the weekend.

Targets – Seven Spiders finished with receptions.

Glad we focused on getting Dawson the ball while still keeping Hill and Fair involved. Even Aidan Steinfeldt had a reception, our first from a tight end in a month. Only thing I hated was that Ja’Vion Griffin never got a target after the first drive. #5 has been too good to not keep him involved, especially after a great TD snag.

Defense

13 drives – 66 snaps | 7 punts, 4 turnovers [1 on downs], 2 TDs

14 points on 13 possessions is hard to beat as a defense, especially when one TD drive started just four yards from the endzone. Fordham had just 161 yards of offense, the second time we’ve held an opponent under 200 yards this season (Wofford). We dominated the line of scrimmage, forced turnovers, and made a statement exiting the bye week.

Chunk plays – Fordham’s offense hasn’t had a good running game all season, continually relying on big pass plays to move the ball. The Spiders allowed none of this in our matchup. The Rams had zero pass plays for 15+ yards. Even better, they only had three plays the entire game that went for 10+ yards. This was a game our defense was supposed to control but they went far beyond that. It was a vintage effort from Justin Wood’s defense and I would love this game to be a sign of what’s to come throughout November.

Defensive line – The Rams had one of the worst O-lines entering the game and things didn’t get any better after facing the UR D-line. Byrd, Hoilette, and Sellers combined for three sacks, along with three QB hurries and three forced fumbles. Throw in two TFLs for Matei Fitz and 12 tackles from a healthy Carter Glassmyer and our entire front played outstanding. The Rams weren’t able to get any traction running or throwing the ball and it started with us winning in the trenches.

Secondary – Really feels like our secondary is starting to come along. Richmond allowed only 91 passing yards for the second consecutive week and held an opponent under 100 passing yards for the third time this season (Howard). This was extra impressive since Fordham threw the ball 36 times – we’ve held run-first teams to low passing totals but doing it against one of the better passing attacks in the league was fun to watch.

Gunnar Smith did not complete a pass more than 15 yards downfield, with the entire secondary in great position throughout the afternoon. We’re still seeing more pass interference penalties than previous seasons but that’s a tradeoff with us being physical outside. Geronomi was flagged a couple times but I’ll happily accept that given his tight coverage and ability to run with any receiver.

Turnovers – The UR defense finally had their big turnover game. Three TOs forced by the Spiders, our first three turnover game since Towson in 2024. Lee Bruner IV was the star with two interceptions – the first leading to a touchdown and the second putting the game on ice. Both Lafayette and William & Mary do a great job of not turning the ball over so this the perfect time for the UR defense to get “takeaway happy.”

Special Teams

The exact opposite of how I thought the day would go. Jaiden Fair muffed his first punt return, as it felt like he misjudged the wind and overran it. McManus had a good day on kickoff but a missed tackle from the coverage unit allowed for a 62-yard return. Then there’s the two blocked field goals – Coach Huesman initially said he thought the first kick was low but in the postgame said our protection was poor. Seeing pressure coming from the inside and off the edge was alarming.

If one or two of those happen in a game it doesn’t feel that bad however everything occurring within 3 quarters was shocking. Just one of those days where everything goes wrong and we’re lucky it didn’t cost us. I’m hopeful this was an extreme outlier and we return to our normal form next weekend.

Next Post

Game 10 – 2025: Georgetown preview – Friday, November 7th