The Wildcats struggled in their loss to Richmond. Their offense was unable to produce anything all day, coming up with a scant 163 total yards in the shutout.

Sixty of those yards came off a reception by sophomore tight end Simon Bingelis’s lone reception in the contest. The defense did not play much better, yielding 175 rushing yards and 259 passing yards to the high powered Richmond offense.

Looking ahead to next week, the Wildcats visit floundering Rhode Island. The last-place Rams suffered a 38-3 blowout at the hands of James Madison University last week at home. Yet despite their 2-7 record, the Rams pulled off a 31–14 win against Albany. Albany defeated the Wildcats, 19–10, earlier this year.

Even with their poor record, the Rams have produced solid offensive efforts all season with nearly 340 yards of total offense per game. By comparison the Wildcats average just under 300 yards per game.

The Wildcats’ secondary will have their hands full as the Rams bring two solid receivers in Aaron Parker (44 receptions, 758 yards, seven touchdowns) and Marven Beauvais (38 receptions, 538 yards, four touchdowns), along with talented receiving running back Harold Cooper (26 receptions, 182 yards).

Likewise, the Rams’ ground game is solid, averaging just over 100 yards per game. The entire Wildcat defensive is in for a test. The Rams do struggle with penalties, giving up 114 yards on 14 penalties last week, for a total of 760 yards on 78 penalties this year. If the Wildcats defense can stay disciplined and not commit any costly penalties of their own, the Rams will only hurt themselves.

On the flip side, the Rams have struggled in run defense all season, allowing 161.7 yards per contest from scrimmage and 185 yards against JMU. Furthermore, the Wildcat passing game will have a chance to really open up as the Rams’ secondary allows 236.9 yards a game to opposing teams. As long as the Wildcats are able to stay penalty free, the offense should put up perhaps some of the biggest numbers of their season.

Kickoff is set for noon this Saturday at Meade Stadium in Kingston.