The University of Rhode Island football team extended its winning streak to seven games and tied the best start in program history with a resilient, 37-28 victory over Monmouth University on Saturday.
The Rams are reaching new heights this season as they are off to an 8-1 start for the first time since 1984. The 1985 season was the last time they clinched a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth, something this team continues to make strides towards achieving.
“It’s special right now, you’re 8-1, I mean c’mon, who would’ve ever thought Rhode Island would ever be 8-1,” URI Head Coach Jim Fleming said. “We still have a lot to accomplish, don’t stop now.”
Things weren’t easy on Saturday, though. The explosive Monmouth offense, averaging over 40 points per game heading in, shined early with three touchdowns on their first four possessions of the game to take a 21-10 lead. Fifth-year running back Sone Ntoh led the charge for the Hawks with his conference-leading 19th and 20th rushing touchdowns of the season.
The Rams strung together a four-play, 62-yard drive in the final two minutes of the half. The drive was capped off by a 29-yard touchdown from third-year quarterback Devin Farrell to fifth-year wide receiver Tommy Smith to cut the lead to 21-17.
Following an interception on the Rams first play from scrimmage, Farrell finished the first half by completing 10 of his next 11 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Just three plays after a disastrous double-reverse flea flicker attempt by Rhode Island that resulted in a fumble early in the second half, Monmouth capitalized with fourth-year quarterback Derek Robertson finding second-year wide receiver Tra Neal on a slant for a touchdown to take a 28-17 lead. The Rams responded when fifth-year running back Malik Grant broke free for a 16-yard touchdown to cut the deficit back to four with 1:44 left in the third quarter.
“We talk about every team having a breaking point and we pride ourselves on not being broken,” Fleming said. “You had some really good answers offensively today, bad things happened and then we’d be able to get a stop on defense and go all the way down the field and score.”
URI had its fair share of chances to take the lead as they crossed midfield on every one of their drives in the second half. However, a blocked field goal, two turnovers and a turnover on downs kept the score at 28-24 until the final moments of the game.
With 1:20 left, the Rams finally broke through when Farell found third-year wide receiver Marquis Buchanan over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown, taking their first lead of the game at 31-28. This was the critical moment in a breakout day for Buchanan, who set a career-high in both receptions (12) and receiving yards (171) while scoring two touchdowns.
“When you’re getting targeted a lot, you gotta make the plays when they come towards you,” Buchanan said. “I know we were losing, so I knew every time the ball came out I had to make a play.”
The Hawks had time to try and send the game to overtime, but third-year linebacker AJ Pena recovered the ball after a strip sack with 33 seconds left to preserve the lead. A last-ditch effort on a lateral play for Monmouth resulted in fourth-year defensive back Fredrick Mallay scooping up the ball for a touchdown as the clock struck zeroes to secure the 37-28 victory for Rhode Island, who scored 20 unanswered points to close it out.
“You would love to be able to come out of the gates and have an easy fourth quarter someday, but I just don’t think that’s in the cards,” Fleming said. “I think you’re playing good people every week and you have to be able to go the distance and our kids can do that.”
Fourth quarters are where Rhode Island has continued to make a name for itself this season with Saturday marking the fifth time it has won a game where they trailed in the fourth quarter. The win also keeps the Rams undefeated in FCS play and at the top of the Coastal Athletic Association standings, along with the University of Richmond.
Next up, Rhode Island will seek to get its ninth win for the first time in 39 years when they travel to take on the University of Delaware at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The game can be streamed on FloSports.