Robert Morris will open the 2023 conference portion of their schedule this weekend as they look to bounce back after a defeat to end the non-conference portion of their schedule.

The Colonials are coming off a 35-10 loss against the Howard Bison. RMU gave up 21 points in the second quarter to go into halftime at 21-7. Coming out for the second half, Howard could hold RMU to only 3 points in the second half.

Going into conference play, the Colonials still have some questions that need to be answered, like the run game and who will step up to be the team’s starting running back. Another big question is whether the expansive receiver room can help if Noah Robinson doesn’t have a big game.

The Howard Bison seemed to have a game plan going into their matchup with the Colonials, as they held Noah Robinson to only 25 receiving yards on five receptions. Going into conference play, they need another option in the receiving room.

One bright spot, though, has been the tight ends. Chaese Jackson was the team’s leading receiver versus Howard, going for 76 yards on seven receptions and catching the team’s lone touchdown. Landen Lucas also contributed one catch for eight yards.

The story going into conference play will be the run game for the Colonials; on the season, RMU is averaging 3.1 yards per attempt. Although the average yards per game is 100.6, RMU only has two rushing touchdowns. Look for the run game of the Colonials to take a big step forward heading into conference play, as the team will need them to make it a dual-threat offense.

Opening up conference play versus Gardner-Webb will be challenging for Robert Morris as the two teams have met twice in their history, with the Bulldogs coming out victorious in both tries.

RMU will open conference play on the road against Gardner-Webb this Saturday, Oct. 7, with kickoff set for 4:00 p.m.