MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The (RV) Washington University in St. Louis football team had a statement win to open the 2026 season, defeating Rhodes 73-0. The 73 points marks the third-most ever scored by the Bears and the most since WashU scored 77 points in 1997.
The Bears got right to work after forcing a Rhodes punt on the Lynx's opening drive. On the first play of WashU's drive, senior quarterback
Levi Moore connected with senior
Drew Bomar for a 47-yard touchdown pass. Junior
Matias Adrogue converted the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
WashU forced another punt from the Lynx and set off on another scoring drive. The six-play drive culminated in a short pass from Moore to Bomar, who ran it for a 41-yard touchdown. Adrogue's kick was good, putting the Bears ahead 14-0 with 7:54 on the clock in the first quarter.
Another Rhodes punt put the ball in the Bears' hands again. WashU went on a three-play drive that ended in sophomore
Brayden Lewis scoring on a five-yard run. Adrogue's kick put WashU up 21-0 with 5:36 remaining in the first.
The Bears began their next scoring drive with 1:15 left in the first quarter and finished it out in the second quarter. The eight-play drive was finished off by Moore who ran it in for a three-yard touchdown. Adrogue followed with the extra point, extending WashU's lead to 28-0.
On Rhodes next drive, senior
Joy Chane intercepted Taylor Haas' pass at the 35, returning it for 49 yards to the 16.
The Bears put together a three-play scoring drive in which Lewis scored his second touchdown of the day on a nine-yard run. Adrogue hit the extra-point kick for a 35-0 lead.
WashU's defense held the Lynx to their own 30 on the next drive, resulting in another punt.
Following a seven-play drive, Moore ran the ball for the final yard and a touchdown. Adrogue's kick was good for a 42-0 advantage.
The Bears closed out the second quarter with one more touchdown on a five-play drive. Moore connected with sophomore
Avery Lazard for an 18-yard touchdown pass with just 30 seconds left on the clock. Adrogue converted the extra point, sending WashU into halftime up 49-0.
WashU had the ball to start the second half. After reaching the 14, Adrogue lined up for a 31-yard field goal and hit it, making it a 52-0 ball game with just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
After the Lynx turned the ball over on downs, WashU put together a three-play scoring drive. Junior quarterback
Alexander Singh connected with junior
Ryan Bienstock for a 47-yard touchdown pass. First-year
Caden An converted the extra-point kick for a 59-0 Bears' lead.
The Bears' next drive, spanning the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, resulted in an 11-play touchdown. Sophomore
Karsten Cornell finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run. An's kick was good for a 66-0 lead with 11:56 left in the game.
WashU's final scoring drive began with 10:55 left in the game and totaled seven plays, culminating in an eight-yard touchdown from first-year
Cole Neupaver. An converted the extra-point kick for the Bears' 73-0 lead.
As a team, WashU finished with 617 yards of total offense (300 passing, 317 rushing), while holding Rhodes to 165 (108 passing, 57 rushing).
Moore went 10-for-14, recording 212 yards with three passing touchdowns. He also had 21 rushing yards on four attempts with two rushing touchdowns.
Cornell led the rushing game with 108 yards on 17 attempts, scoring one touchdown. Senior
Matthew Kinoshita had 76 yards on nine attempts and Neupaver had 65 yards on nine attempts with one touchdown. Lewis finished with 47 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns.
Bomar led the receivers with 92 yards on three catches with two touchdowns. Lazard finished with 51 yards on two catches with a touchdown and Bienstock had 47 yards on one catch with one touchdown.
Defensively, first-year
Gavin Conjar had five solo tackles to lead the Bears. Senior
Spencer Snipe had four total tackles (3 solo, 1 assist) with 1.0 tackles-for-loss. Junior
Thomas Telesco finished with four solo tackles.
The Bears return to Francis Olympic Field for the 2026 home opener next Saturday, Sept. 12 when they welcome DePauw at 1 p.m.. The game, which marks the first conference game for WashU since becoming a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference this season, will also serve as alumni day for the program.
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