NOTE: Opinions in this piece do not value Colonial Sports Network as a whole. This article is meant to break down the team’s performance as a whole throughout the season by giving them letter grades.
As Robert Morris rolls out of the bye week portion of their schedule, the Colonials have now played a total of seven games, with two of those being played in the Big South-OVC. Robert Morris entered the bye week with a record of 2-5 and on the back of three losses in a row.
With that said, let us look at a report card for RMU’s first half of the season.
Pass Offense (C)
This is based on last season’s offense, which has seen improvement this year. Starting the season, the Colonials named Tyler Szalkowski the team’s starter in Week 1, going into a matchup with Air Force.
Unfortunately, Szalkowski’s first appearance only lasted one full quarter as he had to exit with injury. He only made his return in week seven against Bryant.
With Szalkowski going down with injury, the team has turned to quarterback Anthony Chiccitt. Chiccit started the season as the backup, but he has taken advantage of the opportunity he has been given.
Chiccitt’s performance against Air Force can be excused as he came in as a backup and did not have full reps as the team’s starter. So, when judged on how Anthony Chiccitt has played for the rest of the first half, he has played well for three games.
Since then, he has cooled off and, as a result, got pulled last week on the road versus Bryant.
So far this season, his overall stats are better than last year, completing 65.8% of his passes for a total of 1,285 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has only thrown two interceptions all year. Overall, his stats are not bad. They have just been inconsistent throughout the season. So far this year, he plays well one week, then cools off and does not produce the following week.
The team needed to find some consistency from last season, where they had a constant rotation of quarterbacks, never truly finding one strong one throughout the season. This season has been entirely different, as they have seen that consistent starter.
In his first start of the season against rival Saint Francis, Chiccitt went 22-for-28 for 290 yards and three touchdown passes and threw no interceptions. Looking at his first start, he set a benchmark on what he can do under center.
Carrying some success into the next matchup on the road versus a formidable opponent in Youngstown State, Chiccitt went 19-for-31 for 171 yards and threw for two touchdowns.
In one of his most successful games this season versus Lynchburg, Anthony Chiccitt, in only one half, went 11-for-16 for 252 yards, tossing four touchdowns and once again not throwing an interception.
In all, when looking at the first three starts from quarterback Anthony Chiccitt, nothing but optimism seems right about how this season can go for the Colonials.
Unfortunately, in the last three weeks and entering conference play, the offense has struggled.
RUSH OFFENSE (F)
This has been the biggest concern for the Robert Morris offense. The Colonials rank 111 out of 122 teams in rushing offense so far this season, tallying just 659 yards on the ground through the first seven games of the season. They are averaging a measly 2.79 yards per attempt.
The team as a whole has yet to find that one consistent back who will get a bulk of the carries and get the team the yards they need to be successful.
Cyrus Bonsu has been the most used back, playing in all seven games so far and having 53 attempts at rushing the ball.
In those attempts, he is averaging 3.9 yards for a total of 207 yards on the season. Bonsu is only averaging 29.57 yards per game.
Kimon O’Sullivan is the team’s second-most-used running back, appearing in six games for the Colonials. In his six games, O’Sullivan has gone for 127 yards in 39 attempts, averaging 3.3 per attempt. O’Sullivan had his best game versus Lynchburg where, on 13 attempts, he went for 50 yards.
In their most recent game against Bryant, head coach Bernard Clark Jr. turned to redshirt sophomore DJ Moyer, who had the most carries and went for 60 yards on the ground.
The Colonials will need to find some consistency in the run game, and it starts with finding the number one guy who is going to get the majority of the carries for this team.
To be successful, they will need to have this run game going so that the quarterback isn’t relied upon all the time to produce the points and the yards.
PASS DEFENSE (C)
Robert Morris ranks 23rd in passing yards allowed in the FCS. Opponents of RMU are averaging 8.88 yards per attempt. When teams get those completions, they are averaging 13.27 yards per completion.
The pass defense of the Colonials is giving up 183.9 yards per game. This team has been very inconsistent offensively, meaning often they have shut down plays and get stops. That said, they also give up a lot of chunk plays where teams can gain yards on them.
The positive side of that inconsistency is that the defense has forced five interceptions to be thrown. This is proof that the aspect of the defense has been positive.
RUSH DEFENSE (D+)
The whole defense together has been pretty average, as well as inconsistent. Put, good at times but bad at times as well.
So far this season, Robert Morris ranks 67th in rushing defense, right in the middle of the pack. In seven games, this team has given up 1,127 rushing yards on 247 attempts. In those attempts, other teams are averaging 4.56 yards per play.
On the flip side, the Colonials have given up 21 rushing touchdowns, which ranks 100th in the nation. This team has given up too many rushing touchdowns to be competitive in games.
STAR STUDENT: NOAH ROBINSON
Even though he has cooled off over the last couple of weeks, Robinson has still been the Colonials’ primary offensive weapon. He is leading the team in yards with 482 and tied for the team lead in receiving touchdowns with four.
Robinson has seen his numbers come down these last few weeks with minimal yards and targets due to teams double-teaming him.
Regardless, Robinson has the potential always to be explosive. Just earlier this season, he had three weeks in a row with over 100 yards receiving.
UPCOMING
The Colonials will continue conference play when they return from the bye as they take on Tennessee Tech for the first time in the team’s history.
