Things didn’t get off to a good start for Joe Walton and the Robert Morris Colonials as they were blanked 52-0 by defending FCS Champion North Dakota State in the season opener for both teams. But while it would be nice to chalk that one up as a learning experience and move on, things don’t get any easier for RMU this week.
Facing a very tough schedule out of the gate, Robert Morris returns home Saturday afternoon for their home opener against defending NEC Conference champs Albany.
One glaring weakness from the Colonials opener was the lack of offense RMU showed as he NDSU defense held Robert Morris to 88 yards of total offense. The Bison recovered three fumbles and an interception of the Colonials’ Matt Layman, who was 10 of 21 for only 66 yards, before he eventually was forced to leave the game with an injury.
To make matters worse, RMU had only five total first downs and gained only 22 yards on the ground, averaging a mere 0.8 yards per carry.
While the Great Danes, who are coming off a 40-23 season-opening win against Colgate, will prove to be another tough test, Walton and his coaching staff have got to see a little more production from their young offense.
If the Colonials average only 1.7 yards per offensive play as they did against NDSU, it could be another very long afternoon for Walton and company.
That will be tough to without senior quarterback Jeff Sinclair, who was suspended for the Colonials first two games of the season for breaking team rules. If Layman can’t go on Saturday, Walton will likely have to turn to freshman Derik Abbott, who was 0-for-1 in place of Layman on Saturday.
One thing that could help take the pressure off the young quarterbacks is some presence of a rushing attack. Junior Evan Taylor got the majority of the workload against NDSU, but rushed for only 44 yards on 18 attempts.
It won’t be easy though as Albany was the only NEC team to win their opener as seniors Drew Smith and Ocieka Bakou garnered the Northeast Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week honors, respectively. Smith led Albany with a career-high 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, his19th 100-plus yard rushing game. Bakou blocked a pair of punts which turned into nine points for the Great Danes.
To have any chance against Albany, the RMU offense is going to have to find a way to sustain drives and maybe find some big plays along the way.
If they don’t, the Colonials could find themselves in a quick 0-2 hole before they know what hit them.
Photo Credit: Robert Morris
