Durham N.H.- Following their biggest win in five years, The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (6-2, 5-0) got themselves a much-needed break as they still remain on top of the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) leaderboards.

Last weekend, the Wildcats put on a show for UNH’s Family Weekend when they dominated Elon 40-22. There was no questioning that this was a true statement to the rest of the CAA and even to the FCS as they now rank at #17 in the stats perform poll(#21 in the coaches poll). 

Junior running back Dylan Laube who had an electric performance (22 rushes for 147 yards and 1 TD) spoke on the incredible team win. 

“Our offensive confidence was huge. Defensively, we played super well, it was so satisfying watching them go around and just play ball. Special teams wise, coach McLaughlin schemes up so well,” Laube said, “Overall, in all three phases, I think we outplayed them in every single aspect.”

Stats going into the bye week: 

Sophomore quarterback Max Brosmer has excelled to this point passing 156 for 248 for 1724 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has thrown only five interceptions in eight games which ties him for the fourth-lowest in the CAA. 

It’s no surprise that Laube is the top rusher for the ‘Cats thus far. He’s rushed the ball 145 times for 720 yards and seven touchdowns. His longest rush was a 77-yard touchdown to close the game out against Elon. 

On the receiving end of things redshirt freshman, Joey Corcoran still leads the cats with 33 receptions for 389 yards and two touchdowns despite not playing against Elon. Corcoran is expected to play this weekend vs. #14 Richmond (6-2, 4-1). 

The ‘Cats leading tackler is graduate student safety Pop Bush (38 total, 19 assisted, and 19 solos). He also has four and a half tackles for a loss, one sack, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. 

Sophomore defensive end Dylan Ruiz is the Wildcats’ sack leader with nine for 31 yards. He is accompanied by sophomore defensive end Josiah Silver who has seven and a half for 42 yards. 

Junior safety Joe Eichman has only played in four of eight games but he leads the team with three interceptions. 

Redshirt freshman kicker Nick Mazzie has made 6 of 7 (85.71%) field goals through eight games. He has hit a perfect 5 for 5 from 20-29 yards and has a long of 42 yards. 

https://unhwildcats.com/sports/football/stats?path=football

Sophomore safety Noah Palm spoke earlier this week and highlighted how the bye week treated the team. 

“The off week was definitely a good week to get healthier. We had a great yoga session with one of the coach’s wives,” Palm said, “We had a couple days of practice to not let us get in a slump and I think that was great.” 

This break took place the latest the Wildcats have seen it since 2019. But this year it worked out as it takes place before what junior offensive lineman Osho Omoyeni considers to be the biggest game of the season. 

“We’re looking into the biggest game of the season so far,” Omoyeni said, “I know we’ve been saying that the last couple of weeks but I think it reigns true for sure this week with playoff and conference implications.”

UNH will travel down to Richmond, Virginia this weekend to play the red-hot Spiders. They are ranked #14 in the country following three consecutive wins over #16/17 Villanova (20-10), Hampton (41-10), and Maine (31-21).  

Richmond’s top strength is what all teams hope for… their quarterback. Graduate Student Reece Udinski has completed 239 of 310 passes for 2287 yards and 19 touchdowns in eight games; he’s been intercepted three times. Udinski also leads the team with four rushing touchdowns, two of which he scored last week vs. Maine, which contributed to his award-winning performance. His stat-line of 26-33 (78.8%) for 368 yards with two passing and rushing touchdowns led Udinski to claim CAA Football Offensive Player of the Week.  

Udinski ranks on top of the CAA leaderboards for completion percentage with 77.1 %. To make that statistic even more impressive, he also leads the conference in pass attempts (310). 

UNH head coach Rick Santos isn’t taking Udinski’s talent lightly. 

“You gotta be careful with a veteran quarterback like this,” Santos expressed, “If you pressure him too much he kind of understands what you’re gonna do, he’s gonna get the ball out…We have to play complementary football in terms of the guys at the third level making sure to make it difficult for what it looks like for him [Udinski] presnap and then give the guys up front a little extra time to rush him.”

Richmond has three players with over 400 total receiving yards. Graduate student wide receiver Jakob Herres leads the talented Spider receiving core with a total of 642 yards on 46 receptions for an average of 13.96 yards per catch and 80.25 receiving yards per game. He has three touchdowns and his longest reception of the year was a 63-yard gain.   

Not far behind Herres are redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jasiah Williams and graduate student Leroy Henley. Willaims leads the teams in receptions with 62 racking up 499 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Henley has recorded 41 receptions for 457 receiving yards and a team-leading six touchdowns. 

The Spider defense is led by redshirt junior Tristan Wheeler, who has a team-high of 75 total tackles with 35 solo stops. His impressive stat line consists of eight tackles for loss (21 yards), two sacks (nine yards), one interception, three breakups, and three quarterback hurries. 

Richmond’s turnover differential is very strong as their defense has 12 takeaways (eight interceptions, four fumble recoveries) while the offense has six giveaways (three INTs, three fumbles lost). 

Senior defensive tackle Niko Kvietkus’s proclaimed “revenge tour” will continue this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as the Wildcats look to gain some retribution after the Spiders beat them last year 35-21. Can’t make it down to Richmond to watch the game? You can stream all the action on Flo Football where the #17 ‘Cats will look to continue their perfect conference record against the #14 Spiders.