For the first time since 2022, the Richmond Spiders are 1-0 against FCS competition to start the season.

Game thoughts

A refreshing 1st quarter for Richmond fans. Quick stops on defense and efficient TDs from the offense were exactly what we wanted to see in Week 1. Saturday was fun but I do want to keep things in perspective — if we’re serious about being a Patriot League contender, that’s exactly what we should be doing against a rebuilding Bucknell squad. I’ll never argue with being up 28-0 at halftime after how we’ve opened seasons in recent years, but that was nothing more than a good first step towards a much bigger goal.

Injuries – The SAM linebacker spot feels cursed right now. Glassmyer is out. Allen is out. And now true freshman Quintin McCray is out after injuring his hand/wrist on the opening kickoff. He didn’t even get to play a defensive snap, with the Spiders having to turn to Jackson Thorne for the entirety of the game. I’m not sure of the severity but I was really hoping to see #7 get some game action until either Glassmyer or Allen returns.

Lee Bruner IV left after only 15 snaps but remained somewhat active on the sidelines. That did allow us to see the Geronomis play alongside each other at the safety spots however I’m hoping Bruner IV will be back out there soon.

Offensively, receiver Justin Rice was dressed but did not play. He sat out some practices towards the end of camp so this wasn’t overly surprising.  I would guess we’ll have #14 back soon.

Field Position – Richmond dictated the game with field position in the 1st half. Defensively, we held Bucknell to five 3-and-outs. With that, the Bison did not run a play in Richmond territory in the 1st half. Our defense was swarming and never let them get into a rhythm. The UR offense took advantage of this, igniting our fast start by running 72% of our 1st half plays in Bison territory and totaling 28 points. Neither side of the ball let up in the first 30 minutes and I’m hopeful that sets the tone for the season.

Penalties – 10 penalties for 110 yards is ugly. Too many pre-snap penalties but also three unsportsmanlike/unnecessary roughness flags. That’s an issue the 2025 Spiders struggled with as well, so it was disappointing to see that reappear in 2026.

Don’t let off the gas – This was something we saw from the 2024 Spiders a bit too often. Great starts, a lull in the middle, and then (usually) closing the game strong. Plenty to be excited about given that 1st half but there’s no reason that lead should’ve shrunk to 14 points in the 2nd half. Especially when we play better competition, I want the Spiders to showcase an ability to play complete, 60-minute games.

Offense

Drive Chart

14 possessions – 63 total snaps

Notes

The offense started red hot but cooled off just as quickly in the 3rd quarter. It by no means overshadows the 1st-half success, but it is disappointing that we didn’t get one or two more scores to truly put the game away. There are some younger guys that NEED game experience – I’m glad Jack Callaghan got to play but handing it off three times isn’t how you develop your QB2.

Aziz Foster-Powell – Another excellent showing for Aziz against the Bison. 108 yards on 15 touches, including two TDs. 89 of those yards came after contact, as Foster-Powell forced eight missed tackles (honestly felt like it was more than that) and was rarely brought down by one defender. Add in 38 yards receiving and #3 showed just how much of a weapon he can be.

I liked how all three running backs ran the ball. We showed some counter schemes, some power, some zone — even though our rushing attack was mostly between the tackles there was some nice variety to how we got it done. The trio of Foster-Powell, Creamer, and Brown combined for nearly 6 YPC, keeping the offense on schedule and highlighting a solid Week 1 for our O-line. That group had a great fall camp and it flowed into our opening game.

Ashten Snelsire – “He’s composed back there… Yeah, we can win with Ashten.” I think that quote from Coach Huesman summarizes this game well. Was the offense flawless? Of course not, but seeing a good mixture in the passing game, all while establishing the run, shows we have a formula to win.

One thing I liked was how much freedom Snelsire was given at the line of scrimmage. Numerous checks from #18 allowed him to change the play and use his football IQ up until the snap.

No arguments with his box score either. Left a few throws out there, mostly in the intermediate zones, but overall a solid start to 2026.

Passing chart – I love and hate this week’s passing chart.

On one hand, Jacob Huesman did not hesitate to use the middle of the field. That’s a good sign in Week 1, as are the number of downfield shots that we took. Yet you can’t look at the heat map and not be drawn to the high volume of passes behind the line of scrimmage.

One-third of our pass attempts were thrown behind the line of scrimmage. On those nine attempts, we gained a total of 10 yards, with six of those passes going for zero or negative yardage. Too many drives came to a screeching halt thanks to a nonproductive screen play, a script we’re far too familiar with. The plays are slow-developing, at least one was dangerously close to being a turnover, and they tend to slow our momentum. It felt like these coincided with the Spiders going conservative, which we saw didn’t work out. In the 3rd quarter alone, Richmond ran 15 plays for just 40 yards, resulting in three punts and one fumble.

This is why Saturday was somewhat conflicting. The drastic differences in the 1st and 2nd halves gave a glimpse of why this offense can absolutely work, but also why our identity must continue evolving.

Wide Receivers – The passing chart stands out for two guys in particular:

Bryce Allen had a fantastic collegiate debut, going for 106 yards and 2 TDs on just four receptions. Four of his five targets were 10+ yards downfield, as we took advantage of the big-bodied receiver to generate chunk plays. Love seeing a true freshman make an impact.

The inverse of that was Jaiden Fair. Sadly I don’t need to give you the full graphic, as 100% of his “production” came behind the line of scrimmage.

Four receptions for negative seven yards. I won’t come to any conclusions after one game, but someone please reassure me we aren’t going to relegate #2 to a pure YAC receiver.

Redzone – No incompletions. No negative plays. No penalties. No field-goal attempts. The 2026 Spiders are off to a perfect redzone start, going 4/4 with four TDs. Snelsire was 4/4 for 43 yards and 2 TDs, with Foster-Powell finding the end zone twice. Carson Derey had his first collegiate TD on a great modern-day triple-option concept, giving Snelsire the option to hand to Foster-Powell, dump it to the tight end in the flat, or run it if both options are covered. There were audible gasps from the Robins Stadium crowd when the Spiders went under center, as the staff mixed in the right blend of creativity to finish off drives.

Defense

Drive Chart

14 drives – 60 total snaps

Notes

Nothing worked for the Bison over the weekend. You can see in the drive chart above, most possessions didn’t last very long or cover much ground. Two scoring drives in the 2nd half made the game closer than it should’ve been, but there’s not an opponent on our schedule I wouldn’t be ok giving up just 14 points to.

Defensive Line – Cam Byrd was the best player on the field Saturday night. He’ll be the best player on the field next weekend against Howard, and quite frankly he’s going to be better than most guys out there when we line up against FBS NC State in two weeks. #6 is simply at a different level and it’s a treat to watch. I was curious how he would be in the opening game — expectations are extremely high for Byrd, and with his other captains out seemingly more pressure was on him than ever. Yet I’m not sure if I’ve seen someone look so loose and have so much fun throughout a game. That translated to the box score, with Cam recording three sacks, a QB hurry, and a pass deflection.

The effort from the entire D-line is worth noting. Daniel Sellers was disruptive, recording two pass deflections, with TJ Baldwin and Braxton Lassiter consistently clogging the middle. Bucknell never got anything going on the ground — the Bison gained just 32 yards (1.1 YPC), with their longest rushing gain being just nine yards. Our success up front wasn’t surprising, but the rotations weren’t exactly what I expected.

Jack Reece, Jefferson Serkfem, and Moses Bailey only played three snaps (the final drive of the game). Outside of that, we rotated three DEs and three DTs. I’m surprised Byrd played that often given our big lead, but he can obviously handle the load. Lassiter playing 80% of the snaps is what stands out the most. We’ve clearly identified a DT that can play the majority of snaps, and if he can stay in that 75—80% range you may see a three-man rotation become the norm.

Getting off the field – We dictated the game with field position but we also did it by winning every down. Keep in mind, 80 of Bucknell’s 187 yards of offense (43%) came on two plays. Without those, they never had a drive go further than 15 yards. Thanks to great 1st and 2nd down defense, the Spiders were set up for success on 3rd down.

On 1st down, Bucknell averaged 2.1 yards/play. 2nd down was no different, also averaging just 2.1 yards/play. What that left was plenty of 3rd-and-longs, with 60% of their 3rd downs being 3rd & 8 or longer. That resulted in our defense holding them to 3/15 on 3rd down, the exact formula we wanted to see play out.

Special Teams

A pleasantly boring day on special teams. Jackson Bonser looked great on kickoffs, kicking to both sides of the field and usually getting the ball inside the 5-yard line (with a couple getting into the end zone). Kyle Bitsko was perfect on PATs and we had no issues in the return game.

Ned Gray was the big winner. 45 yards/punt, with three going 50+ yards and three downed inside the 20. He also only allowed one of his eight punts to be returned. Showing an even stronger leg than last year while still generating great hang time was an excellent start for #37.

Next Post

2026 — Game 2: Howard Preview — Friday, September 4th