DURHAM – There wasn’t one thing that went horribly wrong in New Hampshire’s 51-26 loss to Holy Cross last week. Instead, it was a little bit of everything – turnovers on special teams, poor blocking from the offense and a defense that gave up too many big plays.
“I don’t think we played particularly well last week and I don’t know what it was,” UNH Coach Sean McDonnell said. “This will be a major test for us to see if we bounce back and play football the way we’re capable of playing football, the New Hampshire style.”
The major test for the No. 15/16 Wildcats (2-1) is Saturday’s Homecoming game against Rhode Island (1-2). And the ’Cats are eager to erase last week’s memory.
“We’re ready to come back out and prove that we still are a good team that’s going to compete this year,” senior captain and running back Donald Goodrich said. “We’re very excited for this game. It’s Homecoming, it’s a CAA game, and like Coach Mac always pounds home, it’s the next one, something to be excited for always.”
Some of that excitement may have been lacking when UNH went to Holy Cross. The Wildcats were coming off two emotional wins to start the season – a one-point decision against their rivals from Maine in the opener and a 22-12 road victory against FBS foe Georgia Southern in a game moved to the University of Alabama Birmingham’s home field due to Hurricane Irma – and there may have been some letdown against the Crusaders.
“After beating Georgia Southern we were super excited about how the rest of the season was going to turn out and I think we just let our guard down,” redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jacob Bradshaw said. “We had the ability to beat that Holy Cross team and we made some mistakes. … You’re coming off a loss that you probably shouldn’t have lost, but you know that you can do better. So this week should be special.”
This will be the 91st meeting between UNH and URI, New Hampshire’s second oldest rivalry behind only Maine (106 meetings). The Wildcats have dominated the series with Rhode Island in recent years, winning six straight against the Rams and 12 of the last 13. But this Rhode Island team has a different look than its predecessors.
The Rams could have beaten their FBS opponent, Central Michigan, but missed a field goal in overtime and eventually fell, 30-27. Turnovers led to a 35-18 defeat against Stony Brook, but URI bounced back last week with a 17-10 win against defending Ivy League champion Harvard, the first win in school history against the Crimson.
“They’re better than they’ve been and they’ve been getting better over the last three years, been getting close,” McDonnell said.
When UNH and URI met last year, it was an eight-point game in the fourth quarter before New Hampshire quarterback Trevor Knight threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Neil O’Connor, and D’Andre Drummond-Mayrie returned a fumble for a touchdown for the final points in New Hampshire’s 39-17 win.
Knight was one of the bright spots for UNH last week as he went 26-for-45 for 310 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
“The quarterback is a real pain,” URI Coach Jim Fleming said of Knight. “He continues to move around and run around and do things when you think you got your hands on him. He has a way to get out of things like Houdini.”
URI will counter with an experienced defense that features some rangy defensive backs and a physical line led by defensive end Jose Duncan (four sacks, two forced fumbles).
The UNH defense played well in the first two games but got lit up by Holy Cross quarterback Peter Pujals (21-for-39, 367 yards, five touchdowns). URI quarterback Tyler Harris, a transfer from the University of Central Florida, is a similar size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) to Pujals and has some talent, but this will be just his fourth game as a starter at the collegiate level.
“They’re going to be lathered up and ready,” Fleming said of the Wildcats. “We’re the Homecoming game and we’re going into their den and we’ve got to make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders to win the football game.”
There’s a familiar name on the URI roster – freshman defensive back Henry Yianakopolos. The Hopkinton High graduate hasn’t played yet this year and chances are he’ll keep on the redshirt for this season, but don’t be surprised if he makes a name for himself down the road.
“Henry was on our radar, looked at us and looked at Rhode Island,” McDonnell said. “Very good athlete, talented kid … when you watch him on tape he was very raw and was going to get better as you saw it and I think the kid’s got big upside.”
The Wildcats will be without middle linebacker Jared Kuehl for a second straight week. Kuehl, a Plymouth High grad, injured his knee against Georgia Southern. Defensive end Josh Kania will also miss a second straight game with a shoulder injury.
The good injury news is that receiver Malik Love (hamstring) made it through the Holy Cross game and is expected to play against URI. Offensive lineman Nick Velte, who was injured in the opener against Maine, could return to action on Saturday.
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)