The Spiders have some issues but winning ain’t one of them. 5-1 overall, 5-0 against the FCS, and 3-0 in Patriot League play puts Richmond in a nice spot at the midpoint of the regular season. We might not look like a playoff team yet, but we’re keeping ourselves in the picture, which is just as important given how our schedule sets up.
Game Thoughts
The Spiders grew up on Saturday. Down 24-7 with nothing going our way, we got to see the true character of this team — and it’s exactly what we’ve seen from this program in recent seasons. It’s a testament to the culture that this group continues to battle for 60 minutes, never panicking, but instead regrouping and fighting until the end. The same can’t be said for a fellow Patriot League school down in Williamsburg, who was also down 24-7 in the 2nd quarter but ultimately lost 41-14….
Penalties – Seven penalties for 87 yards, including two personal fouls and three pass interferences. We hadn’t had over 60 yards of penalties since the opening game (10 for 110 vs. Bucknell), and did ourselves no favors with some costly flags.
Turnovers – Another week of too many giveaways from the offense. Three more turnovers have us trending in the wrong direction — after just four through the first four games, we’ve had seven in the past two weeks. Thankfully, the defense continues to trend in the right direction, forcing multiple turnovers for the second consecutive game.
Also for the second straight week, the defense bowed up after the offense gave it away. Lafayette scored zero points off our three turnovers, including after a clutch 4th-down red zone stop in the 4th quarter. Over the past two weeks, we’ve turned the ball over seven times, but the defense has allowed just six total points off those giveaways (two FGs, zero TDs). Time and time again, the UR defense has answered the call when the offense has put it in a tough spot.
Offense
Good-looking drive chart for the offense. I know we made mistakes but we can’t overlook how many solid drives we put together. Without the red zone fumble, we would’ve had six scoring drives of 50+ yards. Yards and points were expected against a struggling Lafayette defense, however seeing the offense find a groove and carrying that into the 2nd half was very encouraging.
Entering Saturday, we had scored just two 2nd-half touchdowns all season. We found the end zone three times after halftime against Lafayette alone, finally avoiding the offensive drop-off we’ve seen so often this year. Our five consecutive scoring drives also marked our longest streak since Bryant in 2024 (six straight TDs).
Tight Ends – You thought the Spiders consistently throwing to one tight end was fun — how about TWO of them? For the first time since 2023 (William & Mary), two Richmond tight ends found the end zone in the same game, with Carson Derey opening the scoring and Sean Clarke hauling in the game-winner. #87 and #88 combined for 77 yards and two TDs, while Derey’s emergence continues to be one of the more encouraging developments on offense. He now has three touchdown receptions, tied with Bryce Allen for the team lead.
Offensive Line – With Luke Surrett at left guard in place of Kelsey Hundley, the boys up front didn’t miss a beat and put together another outstanding performance. Richmond ran for 250 yards, our first 200+ yard game of 2026, while allowing zero sacks for the second time this season. Aziz Foster-Powell topped 100 yards for the third time this year (113 yards, 1 TD), while Jamaal Brown added 57 yards on 13 carries. Regardless of who was getting the ball, there were plenty of holes up front, and the consistent ground game kept the offense ahead of the sticks. That showed up on 3rd down, where the Spiders were an excellent 10/16.
Ashten Snelsire – 24/38, 218 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs. An extremely up-and-down day for #18, who made some big throws down the stretch but also had too many mistakes. He still led this offense to 38 points, our highest output of the year — and a number that should raise the bar for what this offense expects from itself moving forward.
For me, the frustration goes beyond the turnovers, as the passing game just looks out of sync in general. The last INT is an obvious example of a throw that should simply never be made — he knows better than that — but rewatching the game, there are plenty of other plays that stand out. Some passes sail too high, while others go to a spot where the receiver isn’t. I do think a few are thrown to spots the receivers should be at, but there are also plenty Ashten would like back. Either way, the timing between Snelsire and his targets just feels off.
You can really see that in his connection with Bryce Allen. In the first two games, Allen caught eight of nine targets (89%). Over the last four, he’s caught just 17 of 43 (40%). That’s a pretty dramatic drop for a QB/WR connection that looked so natural early in the year, and it’s probably the clearest example of what has been missing from this passing game lately.
Where Snelsire continues to excel is with his legs. Eight carries for 69 yards extended several possessions, with six of those runs resulting in either a 1st down or a touchdown. These aren’t designed runs, either. His pocket presence remains a strength, and his escapability gives him another way to keep plays — and drives — alive when things break down.
That ability helped offset some of the mistakes Saturday, but five interceptions over the past two weeks simply isn’t sustainable. Richmond has managed to keep winning while the passing game works through these issues, and there are still plenty of moments where we see the QB who played so well to start the season. We just need those moments to become the norm again. This offense is only going to go as far as #18 takes us.
Defense
This felt like an extreme version of what we saw from the defense early in the season. The big-play issues were familiar, but this time the damage was much worse, as Lafayette became the first FCS opponent to put 30+ points on the board against us. The Leopards had five scoring drives averaging 68 yards, needing just four plays per drive to get there. They weren’t consistently sustaining drives — they were ripping off enough big plays that they didn’t have to, and it was almost enough to beat us.
To their credit, our unit stepped up when we needed it most, coming up with a huge red zone stop in the 4th quarter before adding a safety late. Those were two massive stops in key moments, but there were far too many breakdowns throughout the afternoon to feel good about the overall showing.
Chunk plays – This doesn’t need much explanation. The Leopards were explosive far too often against our defense, with just five plays accounting for 72% of their total yards. Three of those were runs, totaling 188 yards. Lafayette finished with 189 rushing yards on the day, meaning outside of those three plays, we essentially shut down their ground game. Unfortunately, those three still count and nearly did us in.
They also found some success attacking Jeremiah Washington, drawing a pass interference and connecting for gains of 43 and 31 yards with #4 in coverage. Given how the game was developing, I was surprised we didn’t rotate more at corner. Freshman Matt Holland started again, but saw limited action down the stretch despite some of the issues we were having on the outside.
Communication – The defense looked out of sorts for much of the afternoon. Too often, we seemed confused both pre- and post-snap. Lots of extended conversations after plays, as we could not get our gap assignments figured out. On both of Lafayette’s 70+ yard TD runs, their running back went untouched, a clear sign of communication problems.
Their final touchdown (above) was probably the best example of what went wrong. The Spiders’ initial alignment looks fine given the two TE look and the ball on the hash. But once the ball is snapped, everyone up front gaps inside while the safety takes multiple steps toward the receiver. The result is a wide-open rushing lane with nobody there to fill it. Like the other long TD runs, the play ended with Spiders pointing at each other, a pretty clear sign that all 11 guys weren’t on the same page. You simply shouldn’t give up a wide-open rushing lane on such a basic play, yet we saw it multiple times Saturday.
If you’re looking for a positive, Lafayette didn’t push us around or physically overwhelm us. Once again, I came away thinking we’re a significantly better football team than our opponent, despite what the final score might suggest. The bad news is that these types of communication breakdowns are happening in October. Week 0 or Week 1? Sure. Halfway through the regular season? Baffling.
Caleb Geronomi – The freshman continues to get better every week. #2 collected his first collegiate INT in the 1st quarter, while adding six tackles and a pass breakup. He’s filled the void left by Lee Bruner IV’s injury incredibly well, helping us navigate some early-season injuries at safety without much of a drop-off. Geronomi is by far the Spiders’ highest-rated player in coverage, while also proving to be a reliable tackler on the back end. For a true freshman, he’s quickly become someone we can trust back there. There were plenty of frustrations with the defense over the weekend, but I feel really good about having both Geronomis holding down the safety spots.
Special Teams
Ned Gray is a machine. Punts of 49, 57, and 64 yards flipped the field multiple times, including pinning Lafayette at the 2-yard line to set up our game-clinching safety. Even with one punt partially blocked and netting just 16 yards, Gray still averaged 46.5 yards/punt with two downed inside the 20. He’s been one of the most consistent weapons on this team all season.
The biggest concern for me is our kicking game. Bitsko’s 25-yard field goal was partially tipped, and even on PATs it looked like Lafayette was getting far too much push up front. We’ve already seen how important every point can become in these close games, so the protection has to be cleaner against Fordham.
I also want to give senior Jordan Wilkes a shoutout. #40 shed a double team and single-handedly stopped Lafayette’s fake punt in the 3rd quarter, giving the offense the ball before we took our first lead shortly afterward. Great recognition and discipline by the senior to make a game-changing play at a huge moment and keep the momentum completely on our side.
Next Post
2026 — Game 6: Fordham Preview – Friday, October 9th
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