For the second straight week the Spiders square off against the Bison. This time it’s Howard, who will be looking for revenge after giving away the game at Robins Stadium last season.

Howard Bison

Also for the second straight week, the Spiders will face a new head coach. Howard enters 2026 under new head coach Ted White, a former Bison star quarterback. White’s tenure got off to a strong start with a 31–24 win over Alabama A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.

Despite being the 86th-rated FCS team per Massey Ratings, this is no gimme road win. Coach Huesman said they beat us at every spot last year, and this year’s matchup feels just as tricky. Of Howard’s 22 starters, 14 are seniors or 5th-year/grad students. They also have great size across the board — their O-line averages over 300 lbs., while three starters in the secondary are 6′ or taller. Play as poorly as we did last year and I doubt we get lucky again.

Odds

Opening line had the Spiders as 14.5-point favorites with a total of 46.5. Projected score is Richmond 31, Howard 16.

Two-Deep

Two things to note from the two-deep:

• We now list Quintin McCray OR Jackson Thorne to start at SAM. With McCray going down against Bucknell, his return against Howard seems up in the air.
• Lee Bruner IV is still listed as the starting free safety. No word from Coach Huesman during this week’s presser, so hopefully #19 is good to go.

Spiders on Offense

Howard was great in a few areas on defense last year. The Bison showed up at opportune times, ranking 13th in the FCS in 3rd down defense (33.6%) and 27th in redzone TDs allowed (55%); however they gave up plenty of yards on the ground (162 YPG, 4.6 YPC).  I know after a whopping 35 yards passing last season we’re all looking for a number far beyond that, but this is a game Richmond is going to win up front and with timely execution.

Consecutive scoring drives – The Spiders opened the season with three straight touchdowns. The fast start was great to see, but even more so was our offense stringing drives together. In 12 games last year, we only scored on three consecutive possessions twice. This was not an offense that built and sustained momentum, and while the 2nd half wasn’t what we hoped for, it was encouraging to see the offense find an early groove. Watching the Spiders put together another scoring streak tomorrow would be a sign this offense is capable of both establishing and maintaining a rhythm.

Offensive line – The UR O-line couldn’t have played much better against Bucknell. Great success running the ball + zero sacks allowed = a good day up front. It was a great first step and there’s no reason that shouldn’t continue tomorrow. The Bison were top 25 in sacks (2.4/game) and won the battle in the trenches in last year’s game, but didn’t have much success to begin 2026. They forced zero sacks and allowed A&M’s top running back to average more than 8 YPC. If the boys up front can put together another great showing, it would signal that this group has found the right combination and has the physicality to go along with it.

Tight ends – It’s not too often that coaches listen to fans but the staff must’ve heard all the comments about tight end usage. Going back to 2021, this past Saturday was tied for the most targets for UR tight ends with eight (2024 playoff game vs Lehigh).

Overall, this passing chart is more promising for a couple of reasons.

Three downfield targets in one game is no accident. We made sure to let Clarke work the entire field; now we just need to be better than 0/3. Also, a few of the shorter targets were redzone/option concepts. The touchdown to Derey is a good example, as that was a completion behind the line of scrimmage but gave him plenty of space thanks to the design.

If there truly was an emphasis on involving tight ends in the opener, that could carry into Week 2. Alabama A&M’s tight ends had success, hauling in five passes for 31 yards and multiple 1st downs, so this may be an opportunity to keep Clarke & Derey active.

Spiders on Defense

The entire defensive preview centers around Ja’Shawn Scroggins. Everything Howard does on offense runs through their QB: RPOs, options, sprint-outs — just a ton of variety from a QB who was the starter in 2024 and a backup in 2025. His 2024 numbers were great, showcasing an ability to throw the ball downfield (1,262 passing yards, 9 TDs) and beat you with his legs (446 rushing yards, 5 TDs). #6 will give the Spiders’ defense plenty to think about tomorrow.

Communication – The Bison offense is going to continually test the Spiders’ eyes and our pre-snap communication. When you’re facing a team with lots of read-option and RPO looks, all 11 guys must be on the same page. This is where not having Carter Glassmyer or Jordan Allen really hurts. No matter who starts at SAM, it will be an inexperienced Spider. Quintin McCray has literally one special teams snap under his belt, while Jackson Thorne has one game. Bucknell’s first touchdown was the result of Thorne not picking up the wheel route, a great reminder that just one misstep can potentially swing momentum. (I can’t mention that play and not also point out that Thorne had a great game overall, especially considering it was his 1st collegiate start, but the point stands).

Chunk plays – Howard was fueled by big plays in the passing game against A&M. Scroggins completed just 19 of 36 passes – he’s a career 50% passer, so the lower completion percentage wasn’t surprising. Yet he makes up for it by making each completion count. Tallying 315 yards through the air, Howard averaged over 16 yards/completion, with five receivers recording a catch of 20+ yards. We don’t have just one or two good receivers to worry about — our entire secondary will be tested for all four quarters against a deep receiving corps.

Defensive line – There’s never a game you can afford to play poorly in the trenches, but the Spiders’ D-line will be paramount to stopping the Bison. Howard’s O-line is big but failed to establish the run (2.9 YPC) or protect the QB (four sacks allowed) against A&M. Last season their O-line finished 117th in the FCS by allowing 3.2 sacks/game, with the Spiders recording four sacks and six hurries in our matchup. We’re already not a blitz-heavy team and I imagine we’ll lean on our D-line even more given the threats that Scroggins poses.

First, Scroggins is a great runner. He had 11 rushing attempts (excluding sacks) in the opener, recording four rushes of 10+ yards. This is a guy the Spiders need to keep contained, so we may steer away from bringing extra pressure and instead stay disciplined in our rush lanes with more eyes on the QB.

Second, Scroggins was excellent throwing against the blitz. Below are his splits against A&M:

• No blitz | 9/21 (43%) – 116 yards – 1 TD
• Blitzed | 10/15 (67%) – 200 yards – 2 TDs

This coincides with their big-play ability, as he burned the A&M secondary when they had less guys in coverage. We still have a younger secondary ourselves, and if Bruner IV isn’t 100% I doubt we want too many 1-on-1 situations against a QB who loves to go for the home run.

Special Teams

Howard recorded just one touchback on seven kickoffs last weekend. This will be our first chance to see what Jamaal Brown/Quanye Veney have to offer on KOR. Aside from Isaiah Dawson’s 99-yard TD against Lehigh, our KOR numbers ended up pretty bad. Removing that one return, we would’ve finished 102nd in the FCS in average return yardage, so I’m interested to see what adjustments we’ve made.

Howard’s punting wasn’t great against A&M, so expect Jaiden Fair to get a few more chances tomorrow. He was excellent against Bucknell, tallying returns of 23 and 18 yards. #2 is explosive with the ball in his hands, so I’d love to see him keep impacting the game on special teams.

Next Post

2026 — Game 2: Howard recap – Monday, September 7th