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North Carolina A&T's offense continues to struggle as they lose their third game in a row to Richmond, 33-10. The Aggies sit at the bottom of the CAA, just one win above the 0-7 Stony Brook Seawolves.
The offense, led by true freshman KJ White, recorded just 145 total yards. They came into the game with just 66 total first downs, the worst in the FCS. The defense and special teams kept them in the game, but the Aggies just could not capitalize on their opportunities.
Richmond started the game with quarterback Camden Colmeman, but Kyle Wickersham got a healthy amount of snaps too, especially in the second half. On their first possession, they easily moved the ball down the field. Wickersham checked in as the Spiders got into the red zone because of his ability to run. However, because the Aggies played the run against him so heavily, Wickersham had an easy touchdown to receiver Quanye Veney to take a 7-0 lead.
The Aggies went 3-and-out on their first possession, but a beautiful punt pinned the Spiders inside their own 10-yard line. Richmond couldn't get anything going, but they got the ball back with great field positioning due to a muffed punt from North Carolina A&T.
The good field positioning didn't amount to much, resulting in a field goal giving the Spiders a 10-0 lead.
White couldn't find much in the passing game, but his legs kept most of the Aggies' drives afloat. They started to make some progress, but penalties killed the drive.
Despite the floundering Aggie offense, the defense continued to show up. They totaled two sacks, an interception, and seven tackles for loss to keep the team within striking distance. They forced a Spider punt, but the offense couldn't get anything going. On a third and long, White scrambled to his right and threw the ball to a receiver. The ball tipped off his hands and into the waiting arms of Spider defensive back Jabril Hayes. Hayes took the interception back for a 48-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 17-0.
Although the Aggie offense couldn't get much going, the special teams nearly had them covered. On the ensuing kickoff, receiver Taymon Cooke housed a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown, his third of the year.
North Carolina A&T's defense got another stop, but the offense fell on its face again. To make matters worse, their punt got blocked and returned for a touchdown.
Richmond threatened to score again after another Aggie 3-and-out, but Coleman threw a laser to defensive back Avarion Cole in the red zone. At the end of the first half, White took a quarterback draw down the field and into field goal range. The Aggies made the kick, going into the half down 23-10.
For their first drive in the third quarter, the Spiders made Wickersham their full time quarterback, likely due to Coleman's interception. A Wickersham scramble got Richmond into field goal range, and they took a 26-10 advantage after the drive stalled.
On the Aggies second possession in the third quarter, they made it inside Richmond's 20-yard line for the first time. However, due to three straight tackle-for-losses, North Carolina A&T was forced to take the field goal. The 43-yard attempt swerved past the uprights, keeping the score at 26-10.
Throughout the rest of the third and into the fourth quarter, the two teams kept punting back and forth. The Aggies caught a lucky break with a muffed punt by Richmond, but White immediately threw an interception. North Carolina A&T got the ball back, but White threw his second interception, a pick-six, to seal the deal.
Richmond didn't get much done at all through the air. Before being pulled from the game, Camden Coleman threw for 88 yards on 13-20 passing and an interception. Kyle Wickersham went 7-9 for 34 passing yards.
Despite the lackluster game through the air, Wickersham went to work on the ground. He had 10 carries for 38 yards, including a 24 yard rush to get the Spiders into the red zone. Running back Savon Smith led both teams with 80 yards on 14 carries. Nick DeGennaro led all receivers with seven catches for 47 yards.
The Aggies offense was a mess, squandering the chances provided by the defense. KJ White had just 37 yards on 8-14 passing, including two interceptions. He was, however, North Carolina A&T's best rusher, taking 10 carries for 66 yards.
The Aggies head to Hampton, Virginia next to take on the Pirates at their homecoming.
