I left the video on silent and pulled up Ungerer and Black on my phone. Three days of listening to those
Flo announcers was all I could take.

Got mine today, who is going?

No joke, for teams to have to travel to a place to play for what appears to be maybe 20 people, some of whom appear to be the guys wiping the sweat off the floor or otherwise working the event, the games to be broadcast on a $30 site - is this the worst MTE event in college basketball? I understand there are (potentially) worse fields, but most of those appear to be hosted by one of the teams. So you have to figure they can draw more than 20 people for those games. Additionally, a D2 team is the host and not by some master plan, but by necessity to actually make the games happen. The venue holds 7000. Their website has a picture of Caitlin Clark on it.

It was extremely bad when it was theoretical a few weeks ago. Somehow it is even worse in reality.

Anyone able to have a feel for some of the new recruits that look like they may have some playing time
from the get go? I’m thinking particularly on the lines.

OK, let's get our guesses in for opening night starting five:

Guard - D. Hunt
Guard - B. Artis
Forward - AP
Forward - Dusan
Center - Walz


Guard 1 - Hunt seems to be the man by all indications
Guard 2 - I think this could go any number of ways. Could easily see Tyne or GW3 in there. Thinking B. Artis with most D1 experience leads early, Tyne has the Richmond experience/loyalty factor, and maybe GW3 is playing best in practice and gets the nod.
Forward - Could see a healthy Roche here, Tanner maybe - who knows. Hoping AP is so good he wins it day 1.
Forward - I feel like Dusan is heavy favorite here, with his experience, production/skill and size. Even if 100% don't see Soulis on game 1 starting. Beagle or Walz long shots IMO as will be splitting center role mostly I think.
Center - Could see this go either way I feel - but I like Walz' upward trajectory and 2 years behind him in the system for Day 1.

Seems like a season in which we could have four different starters a few weeks in, or later in the season, or maybe it varies week to week an match up. Who are your leaders for Game 1?

Having fun ragging on my CT in-laws while they were watching Uconn lose to Memphis largely due to Ts. How sad and embarrassing to the University to be so unsportsmanlike! Uconn transfer Apostolos Roumoglou cost us our first game this year. Is Uconn a technical foul factory? Let's make a bold statement and say we'll never accept another Uconn player because they're such thugs.

Looking to go to 2-0 against D2 competition. The Panthers are currently 0-2 against D2 or lower competition.

Spiders 76 Panthers 58.

Disclaimer: I realize not everyone on the forum likes following former Spiders, but some of us still find it interesting to keep up with the rest of their college careers.

Former Spiders:

• Marcus Randolph – Now a senior at St. Peter's, Marcus started 19 of 32 games last season, averaging 6.5 points per game. He’s likely to maintain a starting role this year.
• Isaiah Wilson – Senior at Winthrop. After starting the first two games last year, Isaiah suffered a season-ending injury. His profile still lists him as a senior, suggesting no medical redshirt was applied for. Wishing him a full recovery.
• Aiden Noyes – Redshirt junior at Belmont, returning to the Robins Center on 12/14. Expect him to receive a different reception compared to last year's transfer return.
• Jason Nelson – Redshirt junior at Youngstown State. He won’t be returning to the Robins Center this year. Personally, I hope Jason finds his stride and makes a significant impact during his final two seasons.
• Trevor Smith – Now a sophomore at Hampton. With the move to a lower division, hopefully, Trevor secures a starting role.
• Malcolm Dread – Redshirt junior at Mt. Saint Mary’s. Last season, he only appeared in 7 games, averaging less than 1 point per game.
• Andre Weir – The 6'9", 270 lb senior is now at Kennesaw State after several years at FGCU, where injuries sidelined him for most of last season.
• Dji Bailey - Given he is a UR graduate, I assume we'll continue to use his dedicated thread for ongoing updates as we did last year for TB.

Family Connections:

• Jarin Stevenson - Sophomore at Bama. Assume he may start this year but we'll see.
• Curtis Blair III - Redshirt freshman at Liberty.
• BB Washington – A freshman at FGCU and brother of George Washington III. He’ll be playing at the Robins Center on 12/28.
• Nikolas Gustavson – Brother Gus, a redshirt sophomore at D2 UT-Tyler. He was previously at North Alabama (D1, Atlantic South) but didn’t seem to play there.

Suspect I missed a couple folks and will edit the above based on comments.

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there's a lot of football to be played by the Spiders and Indians between now and November 23, but wouldn't it be something if this game had CAA Championship implications for the third year in a row?...obviously things have to go well for both squads, but playing almost identical CAA schedules it could happen again!

I need to get the name of this rivalry straight...it's been played 134 times according to the UR Football Record Book...the Spiders retook the all time lead with last year's dramatic win...UR now leads 65-64-5...most publications call it "The Oldest Rivalry in the South", but I believe even non UVA fans acknowledge that the Cavs played UNC before our series with the Indians began in 1898...there is no question that the series is the "Most Played Rivalry in the South"...we've played the Indians 134 times...Virginia has played North Carolina a measly 128 times...UR v. W&M is the 4th most played rivalry in D-1 football...

Coach London believes the Tribe are ready to bounce back from last year's disappointing season...he's especially optimistic about his offense...they return nine starters, three of which were voted All CAA Preseason...included are star RB Bronson Yoder who leads a set of players at the skilled positions that London says are the best since he arrived on The Reservation! QB Darius Wilson also returns for his 4th season as a starter...the Indians will have to fill some big holes on the defensive side with less experienced players and newcomers...

with William and Mary picked to finish 4th and the Spiders 2nd this could be another classic battle perfect for this historic rivalry...what could be better than a late November afternoon at The Brick House as the CAA era of Richmond football comes to a close!

once again this season it's been my pleasure to put together the Opponents Countdown, but I'm sure glad it's over...it's time for some real football...I'm hopeful and optimistic that Spiders fans are going to have a lot to enjoy in the next 13 weeks...get your UR mojo going and support the program any way you can!

enjoy the Countdown!

Go Spiders!

No words.No nothing.After our side of bracket fully announced,gathering was abruptly over.

Cheerleaders performed great.

Anyone want to share their thoughts on the state of it?

The losses of App St, JMU, Coastal Carolina, GA Southern, ODU, UMASS, (And now Delaware) has really left a competitive void for east coast FCS football to where its viewed as a level below the top tiers of FCS football. The CAA clearly isn't respected along with the Patriot League. As much as I detest leaving the CAA for the PL, it is now a weaker conference with our exit and should make the Patriot League stronger assuming we can keep up the current standards of the program up and running. With the Ivy league potentially adding a FCS playoff berth, hopefully that will help swing the pendulum a bit, but I worry about it weakening the appeal of the Patriot League. What's the future of the CAA? Do some of the America East schools break off and form their own conference?

What's annoying to me is that as of this week there were 3 full A10 members with ranked FCS football programs as of this week, and somehow we couldn't come together with the other CAA affiliate members like ranked Villanova and ranked New Hampshire to start our own conference.

Great day to be a Spider. Physical domination of our state rival and finishing undefeated in the CAA. Great crowd and great performance by our team today. Tomorrow will speak volumes of what the national scene thinks of the CAA. Hoping for a bye and top 8 seed. This team deserves it. 10 game winning streak and beating whoever we play should be enough but we will see. Physical domination today by both lines and a shutout of the team that wants to be like us but just can’t get it done!

2-2 Maine lost to Duke by 34 and beat Brown by 2. Thinking winning team only needs 65 tomorrow night. Hopefully, it's us.

App State is 2-2 but 0-2 against D1.

Spiders 80-55.

All this team needs to do is to go 1-0 in every game from now on. They have the skill and the strength of character to do it. They will play anyone, anywhere. This team has overcome adversity, insults, and attacks. They are hungry. They are excited. They are ready. Bring it on.

Go 1-0.

If Delaware beats Rhode Island and UR beats Campbell this weekend, UR will have sole possession of first place in the CAA.

Anyone heard if we have a full house, or are there some more recruits to come?

Last 21 games we are 16-5 against the griffins. They are officially the Spider's bitch.

A big fat disgusting home loss coming up next Friday! I can hardly wait. Hopefully we’ll mix in a pathetic loss to Rhode Island first, just for good measure, but I particularly enjoy getting crushed by the Lambs on our own court. What’s it like rooting for a team that shows up for important games? I wish I knew.

1) Mooney - Poor messaging and lack of urgency. This seems to be a carry over from the last win last season to secure the A10 co-regular season. Sideline demeanor seems lax compared to when he has a good team that he thinks should win. Last year he was prowling sideline and on the ref ALL game every game.
2) Portal misses, I was too dumb to look up the old portal threads, but we seemed to land shooters/offensive guys as opposed to all around players this time. We had that one guy tartgetted as Dji replacement, plus Matt Knowling who were were in the final group for, but NIL money won the day I guess - who knows. Beagle looks solid, but not real steady with the ball. But Neako and Glou look very one dimensional as forwards so far.
3) Defense - just looks poor so far, can't keep guys in front of us. Wide open shooters. Shutter to see what good comp does to us.
4) Offense - still holding out hope here - but guys have to do it in games. I mean we have not been playing a very high comp level, so hard to see how it picks up against A10 competition. Hoping the lights goes on and something clicks, but just not great so far.

Worst "portal era" Mooney fears coming to light so far - inability to adapt to talent and adapt.

thinking 80s fan and PQ are holding out payments the way guys are playing.

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after another dramatic win at Hampton any doubts I had that this Spiders team is special have disappeared...I was dismal after the Wofford loss...puzzled after the indifferent play at Delaware State and incredulous when we played A&T a one score game...but those days are gone...I busting out and full of Spiders mojo now!

the team has turned into CAA Champions and earned an FCS Playoff bid for the third year in a row...the only thing standing in the way of an undefeated, outright Championship exit from the CAA is our historic rival the William and Mary Tribe...Hollywood couldn't have written a better script...so many times during our CAA years this game versus the Indians has had Championship and Playoff implications for one, or both teams...the Spiders have done well often...

a veteran Spiders player described the games versus the Tribe as always "chippy'...I think that's a synonym for intense?...I hope this one is no different...our team is used to it and has seemed to play its best in the most challenging situations...that's how we got here...big plays at the most important times...finding different ways to win each week

radio analyst Chris Anderson commented in a Times-Dispatch story earlier in the week that his 1998 Richmond Championship team's trademark was its demeanor “There’s a coolness, there’s a calmness that somebody’s going to make a play.”...this describes this year's Spiders...someone has always stepped up to make plays at the most important time...that may be the difference again on Saturday...

it's already been a great season with hopefully much more to enjoy straight ahead...be thankful that we've had a chance to enjoy it and the great 17 year ride in the CAA!...an FCS National Championship, several CAA Championships and multiple FCS Playoff bids...that's pretty damn good!

don't look now, but I think I heard the late Tom Petty doing a sound check!

enjoy the special Prologue episode and remember the always popular and loud Spider Gang Senior Day Shout Out will take place in parking lot 61 at about 10:45AM Saturday...if you need to warm up your leather lungs, refill your Spider mojo or just have some fun come on by to thank those Richmond players who will be playing their last regular season game!

Go Spiders!

Didn’t see a thread, so I guess I’m starting it. Spiders up 10–3 just 2 minutes in and W&M is forced to call timeout. Spider offense with their ball movement and shooting is just so hard to stop.

1. Will Harper Gd, Gonzaga College, HS, Bowie, MD, 6'5"
2. Donovan Richardson, Gd, Steward School, Richmond, VA 6'6"
3. Aiden Argabright, PG, John MS, Richmond, VA 6'0"

In honor of the historic rivalry between the Spiders and Indians, I have reached back into the Spider Gang archives to put together a souvenir commemorating some of the finer moments of our CAA years rivalry.

It's amateur video from the dawn of the digital age to today’s smartphone technology. These highlights were the best combination of entertainment and quality I could find. I hope they will remind fans of the great UR/W&M rivalry and some of the Spiders finest moments.

Scroll through and find your favorite. It’s sure to get your mojo going for Saturday!

We’ll start with what I think was one of the Spiders toughest and best regular season wins ever. It was the 2009 13-10 defensive slugfest won by an incredible walk off FG. It was a jam packed City Stadium at its absolute best.

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Next up 2014 on the Reservation. It was an extremely cold night game. The Spiders needed a win to go back to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2009 after being robbed in 2012. Seth Fisher’s TD and a Michael Straus to Reggie Diggs TD pass did the Indians in!

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There was quite a celebration that night in the freezing cold parking lot at W&M Hall.

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In 2015, Kyle Lauletta’s first season as a starter, the Spiders had dropped two in a row coming into this game with W&M. In a slugfest Richmond prevailed and won a piece of the CAA Championship for the first time since 2012.

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2017, the beginning of the Russ Huesman era, brought the W&M game that was Kyle Lauletta’s grand finale. After the heartbreaking injury in the 2016 game, Lauletta goes out a winner against the Tribe ironically on a QB sneak.

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After several difficult seasons and COVID, the 2021 game represented the beginning of the Spiders turnaround. This only TD in the defensive battle on the Reservation got the Spiders a hard fought 10-6 win and a 6-5 winning season.

Caleb Drake may have bobbled this TD longer than any one I’ve seen!

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2023 with the CAA Championship on the line once again, the Spiders overcame one of the worst calls in the historic series history to survive 27-26 on the final play of the game. The win gave Richmond its first CAA Championship since 2015!

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This is the bogus PI call: Login to view embedded media
These amateur highlights just scratch the surface of how many great memories there have been in the CAA years of this rivalry. Almost every year there have been CAA Championship and FCS Playoff implications for at least one team and many times both.

Saturday’s final match up as CAA rivals will once again have those Championship and Playoff implications. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the game takes its place as in the archives of great UR/W&M memories! Get ready for another great battle!

Go Spiders!

I was rooting for the guy to succeed, not as a Jets fan, but as a Spider.

That said, it was the right move. They are a dumpster fire.