Rapid Recap: Richmond 32 - Towson 48

Final Score: Richmond 48 - Towson 32

What Happened: Terrance West led Towson to a 48-32 victory over the Spiders. Richmond could not contain the FCS' leading rusher, who had 272 rushing yards, 4 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. After Richmond failed to score on its opening series, West took his second carry 79 yards, which set up his 6-yard touchdown reception. Richmond scored three first-half touchdowns, two Strauss passes and an 6-yard run from Broadus, but Towson broke the game open with 20 second-quarter points. Christian Carpenter returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown near the end of the first half to give the Tigers the momentum and a 27-18 lead at the half. A fumble returned for a touchdown from Telvion Clark early in the 4th quarter put Towson up 41-18 and put the game out of reach. Both teams played some backups for much of the 4th quarter. Shane Savage caught his second touchdown pass of the game from Kyle Lauletta with 38 seconds remaining, which gave Richmond its first offensive touchdown of the half.

Spider Positives: Not a whole lot went well for the Spiders today. Stephen Barnette, who had 148 yards on 11 receptions, was Richmond's best offensive option. Shane Savage, filling in for Ben Edwards, had 9 receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Richmond's passing offense was sharp in the first half. Strauss, who threw 209 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, kept the Spiders in the game early on. Richmond used David Broadus in a wildcat formation that had success against the Tigers' defense. Although he threw an interception, Broadus had 35 rushing yards and a touchdown on six attempts. Seth Fisher had one of his best games for the Spiders, running for 44 yards on 8 carries.

Spider Negatives: Terrance West is a great player, but Richmond's run defense has to play much better to give the Spiders a chance to win. Towson had 569 total yards against the Spiders defense, and a good chunk of the yards came from big plays. Towson has a fantastic offense, but Richmond's defense was not on its game today. Turnovers plagued the Spiders today. Strauss' interception that was returned for a touchdown late in the second quarter turned a close game into a big lead for the Tigers. Clark's fumble return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter ended Richmond's hope for a comeback. These type of mistakes cannot happen against good teams. The Spiders will need to solidify its defense, which has shown it can be be great, and cut down on mistakes, such as turnovers and penalties, if it hopes to turn its season around.

Up Next: Richmond will look for its first conference win when it takes on Albany at Robins Stadium next Saturday.

Contact staff writer Jack Nicholson at jack.nicholson@richmond.edu

Follow him on twitter at @URJackNicholson