By Jack McLoone
With 11:56 left in the fourth quarter, it looked as though Fordham had taken a 40-38 lead over Bryant University. But instead, there was a dramatic momentum shift. Graduate student quarterback Kevin Anderson hit junior wide receiver Jonathan Lumley for a 57-yard touchdown, but junior receiver Andrew Prince was called for a hold, bringing it back. What looked like a lead eventually turned into a 14-point swing and resulted in a 45-40 loss.
This was the first time the Rams have lost back-to-back games since 2011, when Fordham Football went 1-10.
Once again, the Rams were without their star running back, senior Chase Edmonds. He has now missed two straight games with an ankle injury.
While no one scored for the first 10 minutes of the game, there were three touchdowns in the span of 21 seconds. After a short rushing touchdown for Bryant at the 5:04 mark, junior defensive back Dylan Mabin took the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for the score. However, Bryant took the lead right back on their next possession, though they missed the pointafter, making it 13-7 with 4:43 left in the quarter.
The offense slowed back down until midway through the second quarter. Anderson found junior tight end Isaiah Searight for a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown, but junior kicker Kyle Facibene missed the extra point, tying the game at 13. Searight scored again on a short pass to make it 20-13 with just 30 seconds left in the half.
However, after allowing a huge return to the Bryant 40-yard line, the Rams committed two penalties – one a suspect roughing the passer call on graduate student defensive lineman Manny Adeyeye – which allowed Bryant to kick a field goal to end the half at 20-16.
“We need to not shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Adeyeye.
Both teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, so heading into the fourth quarter, Fordham still led 34-31. With 13:06 left in the fourth quarter, however, Bryant punched it in and took a 38-34 lead, which they never relinquished.
The next drive for Fordham was the aforementioned Prince penalty and Bryant took advantage to score a huge touchdown of their own. On third and 12 from their own 20, Fordham senior defensive back Marcus Hicks got beat down the sideline, and Bryant scored an 80-yard touchdown to go up 45-34 with 10:37 left to play.
Fordham scored on their next drive but simply took too long to do so. By the time Prince came down with the ball in the end zone there was only 3:24 left to play. The two-point conversion attempt to Searight was no good.
“We were trying to move fast, we just weren’t executing high enough,” said Anderson. “We were trying to take deep shots to hit so that it could be quick scores, we just weren’t executing. Little things that we weren’t doing that were getting us. I think that comes from not having all of our experienced guys out there.”
After the Bulldogs recovered the onside kick, they were able to get a first down and kneel the game out.
Anderson was on fire for the Rams in the game, going 27-41 for 366 yards and five touchdown passes. His fifth touchdown was the 69th of his career, matching John Skelton’s record for career touchdown passes. He was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week.
He threw one interception on the goal line on the Rams’ first possession.
On the ground, freshman Zach Davis, making his second start in Edmonds’ stead, had 112 yards on 20 carries, which is nothing to sniff at. That being said, one has to wonder what Edmonds could do against this Bryant defense if Davis did that well.
“That’s a game where Chase dominates,” said Anderson. “I personally believe he’s a 200-yard rusher in that kind of game.”
This setback puts Edmonds’ quest for the career rushing yards record in jeopardy, as he will have to average over 165 yards per game to reach Adrian Peterson’s 6,559-yard mark. Last season he averaged a career-high 163.5 yards per game.
The Fordham defense was lit up for the third time this season. While one can explain away Army and even last week’s Eastern Washington drubbing, this loss is much harder to justify. The Bulldogs hung 620 yards on Fordham, setting its school record for most yards in a game. The offense for Bryant seemed to be able to do whatever it wanted, punting just three times, and all in the first half.
“All in all, Bryant was beating us to the sideline with their reverses, sweeps and outside zone,” said Adeyeye. “Hats off to them they went into the locker room at the half and made the proper adjustments to be successful.”
The Fordham defense also simply did not finish drives; Bryant was 11-18 on third down and 3-4 on fourth down.
“We need to be more physical and tackle the ball carrier better,” said Adeyeye. “We’ve done a poor job the first four games with that and it has led to more points on the board.”
In addition, Fordham committed 10 penalties for a total of 75 yards, two of which wiped off touchdowns.
Now 1-3, Fordham is going to need to, in coach-speak, do some soul-searching if they hope to turn this season around. It starts with getting Edmonds back, hopefully soon, but he does not play defense.
The Rams are not quite in trouble in the Patriot League, thanks in part to conference play not having started yet. No teams have winning records, with Holy Cross and their Patriot League-foe Bucknell sitting atop the standings.
“We are optimistic,” said Adeyeye. “The Patriot League is still wide open and we are working on getting healthier down the stretch and overall playing better.”
Fordham’s next game is at home against Yale on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
