The University of Rhode Island football team avoided its first three-game losing streak while also extending its 12-game home winning streak with a 38-27 win over the University of New Hampshire on Saturday.
Both of Rhody’s offensive drives in the first quarter ended in three-and-outs. The subsequent punt on the first drive by Rhody fifth-year punter James Allen only went 27 yards, setting UNH up inside Rhody territory at the 47-yard line. The Wildcats took three minutes to drive down the field and take a quick 7-0 lead following a five-yard touchdown from fourth-year running back Myles Thomason.
Following a second three-and-out, URI’s punt was blocked by UNH second-year wide receiver Ryan Blagg, setting the Wildcats up inside the red zone. The Rhody defense eventually forced a fourth down, and UNH second-year kicker Nick Reed lined up for a 29-yard field goal. The kick missed wide left, keeping the score at 7-0 in favor of New Hampshire and setting the Rams up at their own 19-yard line.
URI capitalized on the miss by UNH by driving 79 yards downfield, capping the drive off with a three-yard touchdown by fifth-year running back Antwain Littleton Jr., tying the game at seven apiece.
Fifth-year kicker Garth White would nail a 45-yard field goal through the uprights on the next URI possession to give the Rams their first lead of the game, 10-7. The field goal was the longest by a Ram since third-year Ty Groff hit a 47-yard field goal in November 2023 against Towson University.
UNH regained a 14-10 lead thanks to a 20-yard touchdown reception by fifth-year receiver Chase Wilson on the following drive. URI then executed a two-minute drill on the following possession, as fifth-year graduate transfer running back Brendon Barrow broke off a 28-yard touchdown rush for the 17-14 lead going into halftime. This was Barrow’s first career touchdown and the first 20+-yard rushing touchdown by a Ram since Malik Grant ’24 on Nov. 16, 2024 against the University at Albany.
“I think we operated really well down the field,” URI Head Coach Jim Fleming said. “I thought we had a couple extra efforts to try and get the ball out of bounds. So, I thought that [the two-minute drill] was managed extremely well.”
The third quarter, similarly to the first, was dominated by the Wildcats. UNH put up 13 unanswered points while forcing an interception and a three-and-out on the only two drives of the quarter for URI. UNH third-year tight end Peyton Strickland scored a touchdown on a play-action pass on fourth-and-goal, giving the Wildcats a 21-17 lead. Then, UNH made a 46-yard field goal and a 31-yard field goal on back-to-back drives to end the quarter with a 27-17 lead.
The fourth quarter completely flipped the script in favor of the Rams. On their first drive of the quarter, facing a third-and-12, fourth-year receiver Marquis Buchanan made his first catch of the game for 27 yards. Buchanan returned to the game in the second half after leaving at the end of the first quarter with a back injury. The next play, Barrow ran 19 yards for his second touchdown of the day to cut the UNH lead to three. Barrow would finish the day with 111 yards, more than he previously had in his entire collegiate career prior to this game, on 14 attempts and two touchdowns.
Both teams struggled to move the ball anywhere for the next three drives, as they combined for just one first down.
On URI’s final drive of the fourth quarter, as the clock ticked toward the two-minute timeout, fourth-year quarterback Devin Farrell ran a fake reverse handoff, then juked UNH fourth-year defensive end Zach Garron. UNH second-year defensive end Jordan Mcallister came up behind Farrell and attempted to tackle him, but Farrell was able to shake him off while simultaneously juking UNH second-year linebacker Trevor Barry. Farrell then dove into the end zone for the 31-27 URI lead.
UNH had one last chance to take the lead and the win with two minutes left. On second-and-eight near midfield, URI third-year linebacker Moses Meus strip-sacked Vezza. The ball was recovered by second-year linebacker Rohan Davy, who sprinted 45 yards downfield for the touchdown to secure the 38-27 win for the Rams. The fumble recovery, along with a sack in the first quarter, earned Davy Coastal Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“Coming into the game, I treated it like any other game,” Davy said. “There was a real emphasis on going back to who we are and really finding ourselves.”
URI will continue its streak of six straight conference games to end the season as it takes on UAlbany on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will stream on FloCollege, and a radio broadcast will be available on The Varsity Network.
