Date: Saturday August 30, 2025
Time: 12:00 PM (ET)
TV: ESPN+
The Quick Hits
The dice fell in a very peculiar way for the #25 Richmond Spiders (0-0) over the last nine months. Last year Richmond unexpectedly saw its 2024 season come to an early end at the hands of Lehigh (0-0) in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Now, nine months later to the day, they begin their 2025 campaign facing that very same bunch but this time there’s a different flavor to the matchup as both the Spiders and Mountain Hawks share a conference. Richmond’s offseason move to the Patriot League means
this game could end up being a de facto league championship right off the bat as both squads are the two favorites.
Lehigh, like their new conference foes, check into this season ranked in the Top 25 but they come in at #14 and enter as the team to beat in the Patriot. With a handful of big names returning on both sides of the ball, the Mountain Hawks seem poised to run it back to the postseason but this opening game will be a major hurdle right out of the gates. Whoever wins here will have a big leg up in the race to the postseason again and, now that they’re in the same league, it certainly seems like only one of the two will make it out. To say the very least, this game is massive.
The Coaches
Richmond head coach Russ Huesman knows how to win and has done a lot of it with both the Spiders and Chattanooga. Huesman got hired back in 2017 and has led Richmond to three straight playoff trips and two consecutive CAA titles. Now he’ll look to grab a third in his new league. Huesman is 52-36 overall with the team and has not had a losing season this decade.
For Lehigh it will be third-year head man Kevin Cahill calling the shots. Cahill did a tremendous job, taking the Mountain Hawks from 2-9 to 9-4 in his first two seasons and earning his first conference championship along the way last year. The 46-year old previously served as an assistant at Yale, Maine, Murray State and UT Martin before landing in Lower Saucon. Another strong season could very well result in a Patriot League Coach of the Year honor along with some national recognition.
Richmond Offense vs. Lehigh Defense
It will be senior Kyle Wickersham leading the Spiders offense from under center now that Camden Coleman is out. Wickersham got the nod last year and played in three games before getting sidelined with an injury. Now that he’s back, though, Richmond’s passing attack should be solid once more. When he played for a whole season in 2023, Wickersham threw for 1,405 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 73% of his passes. When he’s on, Wickersham is one of the more accurate passers in the FCS.
There will be some uncertainty at receiver, though, as the Spiders did lose top pass-catchers Landon Ellis and Nick Degennaro. Ja’Vion Griffin will the leading receiver as far as returners go and he’ll be thrust into a greater role this year. A season ago Griffin hauled in 22 passes for 315 yards and found the end zone once. Richmond will need him to step up in 2025, however, if it wants to maintain a multi-dimensional offense.
He will be joined in the receiving corps by a pair of incoming transfers. Ex-Maryland wideout Jaiden Fair and former Fordham standout Joey Duggan came aboard this offseason. Duggan did not play much last year for the Rams and Fair also did not see action for the Terps.
Lehigh will look to combat that passing attack with star safety Nick Peltekian. Statistically Peltekian was one of the best in the conference last year, picking off four passes and logging 74 tackles. He earned first-team All-Conference honors and opted to come back for his senior season which is huge for the Mountain Hawks’ secondary. He is more than able to make Wickersham pay for mistakes through the air.
Up front, though, is where Lehigh can really shine and that’s because they’ll have one of the best defensive lineman in the country coming off the ball in Matt Spatny. Spatny was a Buck Buchanan contender last season after posting 11.5 tackles for loss, amazingly all of which were sacks as well. He is a terror to opposing backfields and if Richmond’s O line isn’t ready, Spatny will take this game into his own hands. The good news for the Spiders? That line returns three starters.
One of Spatny’s biggest targets will be running back Andrew King. King, too, is a youngster that will see a heavier workload this year. Zach Palmer-Smith took the brunt of the carries in 2024 but he’s now at ULM and King is the leading returning rusher with 278 yards and two touchdowns from a season ago.
Lehigh Offense vs. Richmond Defense
While Richmond faces a lot of question marks on its offense, Lehigh is in a very different boat. The Mountain Hawks bring back their top two running backs from last year in Luke Yoder and Jaden Green meaning it’s safe to say the rushing attack will again feature heavily for Cahill’s squad. Yoder rumbled for 10 TDs last year and was a 1,000-yard rusher while Green was right behind him with another 10 scores and 777 yards. The duo is one of the best one-two punches out there and both should see the ball often on Saturday.
Spiders linebacker Carter Glassmyer will be tasked with dealing with that tandem. Glassmyer was a significant contributor last year, getting in on 67 stops, five tackles for loss and three sacks all while recovering two fumbles and forcing another. He and defensive end Camden Byrd will need to be at their best against Yoder and Green. That might end up being the matchup that decides this game when all is said and done.
Lehigh quarterback Hayden Johnson, though, will also be a deciding factor and, if he can pick up where he left off last year, the Mountain Hawks will be in good hands. Johnson threw for over 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Most notably, when he played these Spiders in the playoffs, Johnson delivered a 77.8% completion percentage.
Much like he’ll have his top running backs again, Johnson will also have his favorite passing target back. Receiver Geoffrey Jamiel led the Mountain Hawks last year with 768 yards and eight touchdowns. He is a game changer and Richmond knows it all too well. Jamiel had his best game of the season last year against the Spider, snagging 10 passes for 137 yards and a score in their last meeting.
Prediction
If Richmond wants to win this game it will need the relative inexperience it has on offense right now to be a non-factor. Wickersham is more than capable of winning games but this Lehigh defense is not going to be a cakewalk. Spatny will make his plays. The Spiders job is to limit the damage and, while the offensive line should be able to hold up fairly well, it’s still a tall order. On the other side, the Mountain Hawks have a ton of talent that came back. Yoder, Green, Johnson and company are going to prove to be just a bit too much for a the Richmond defense when it comes right down to it. Being at home should also help greatly. Lehigh comes out on top to kick off Patriot League play.
Score Prediction: Richmond: 24 – Lehigh: 28
