Strong Start Falls Short in 33-28 Loss at Bucknell

Saturday, October 4

Lewisburg, Pa.

Noon

University of Richmond

3-3 , 0-2

Bucknell

4-2 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Richmond

Bucknell

Photo by: McKenzie Yi

10/04/2025 | Football

Box Score

Lewisburg, Pa. — Despite reaching the end zone on its first three drives, featuring a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver, and racking up 494 yards of total offense without ever punting, the University of Richmond football team fell on the road to Bucknell in Patriot League action on Saturday, 33–28.

With the loss, Richmond dropped to 3–3 on the season and 0–2 in the Patriot League.

Quarterback Ashten Snelsire earned the starting role after Kyle Wickersham left last week's game with an injury, and he helped the Spiders explode out of the gate. Richmond scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions, as Snelsire threw for a career-high 307 yards, completing 16 of 27 passes with four touchdowns. However, he was intercepted three times, and the offense turned the ball over on downs twice. One of those turnovers on downs led to a Bucknell field goal, while a late-game interception resulted in a Bison touchdown on the ensuing drive.

Snelsire connected with Isaiah Dawson on a pair of long touchdown passes (24 and 25 yards) for Richmond's first two scores. On the third drive, Andrew King hauled in a tough 25-yard touchdown catch. Dawson, a consistent sparkplug for Richmond's offense this season, finished with six receptions for a career-high 144 yards, surpassing his previous best of 99 yards.

Joining him with a career performance, running back Aziz Foster-Powell rushed for 108 yards on just eight carries—an average of 13.5 yards per attempt—without losing a single yard all game.

The duo of Foster-Powell and Dawson gave Richmond its first 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in a single game since Oct. 14, 2000.

Bucknell had an answer for each of Richmond's first-half scores, with the two teams trading touchdowns on the game's first five drives. The Bison took their first lead in the third quarter with a two-yard touchdown run to go up 24–21, but Richmond responded immediately. Snelsire found Ja'Vion Griffin in the end zone for his first touchdown of the season, a 25-yard grab that gave the Spiders a 28–24 lead—ultimately their final points of the game.

Richmond turned the ball over on its final three possessions. A turnover on downs led to a Bucknell field goal that cut the deficit to 28–27. Snelsire was then intercepted with 3:52 remaining, and Bucknell capitalized with a go-ahead touchdown on the following drive.

Down by five with 2:13 left, Richmond quickly moved the ball from its own 30-yard line to the Bucknell 20. However, Snelsire was intercepted again, sealing the loss as Bucknell took over and ran out the clock.

In a game where the defense struggled to contain the Bison offense, which paced Richmond and put up an impressive 496 yards of total offense, linebacker Peyton Seelmann stepped up with a career-high 20 tackles, surpassing his previous best of 16 set just last week. 20 tackles is the most from a Spider since Tyler Dressler did the same against Maine in 2019. Bucknell quarterback Ralph Rucker IV was sacked twice, both times by Blake Houser.

Richmond looks to bounce back and earn its first Patriot League win next week when it travels to Colgate. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM.