Richmond sophomore cornerback Markus Vinson broke up a pass intended for Virginia's Tavares Kelly Saturday at Scott Stadium. JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH▲
BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
1 hr ago
In an uncommon twist, the University of Richmond came out of its game against an FBS opponent in better physical shape than it entered.
The Spiders did not suffer serious injuries in Saturday night’s 42-13 loss at Virginia, and UR coach Russ Huesman projected he will get some players back this week who were unavailable because of injuries.
Richmond finished with 34 rushing yards. Missing was Xavier Goodall, a junior from Henrico High who led the Spiders in rushing last season (452 yards). Goodall suffered a knee injury late in preseason practice.
“He’s probably the one that may not be ready to play [Saturday] against Fordham, but we’ll get [other players] back,”said Huesman.
Richmond’s only touchdown at U.Va. came on an interception and 72-yard return by linebacker Dale Matthews. Two field goals “is not good enough offensively, and [the Spiders] know that,” said Huesman. “We’ll figure out ways to get them in really good positions. Virginia had eight starters back from a pretty good defense last year.”
Junior quarterback Kevin Johnson, redshirted last year, completed 11 of 28 for 194 yards and threw a pair of interceptions.
“What we have to do moving forward is just get behind Kevin, support Kev, and we all need to do better with the details, details in our routes, details in our plays, details in the run game, especially,” said Tyler Wilkins, a senior from L.C. Bird High who made four catches for 75 yards. “We just have to finish plays, and finish drives."
The visit of Fordham (0-1) on Saturday (6 p.m.) will be the second meeting of the programs after a historic tie on Oct. 21, 1995. The Spiders and Rams, playing in Bronx, N.Y., finished 3-3. In competition involving an FCS scholarship program, Richmond played the last tie game prior to the 1996 NCAA implementation of overtime for all divisions.
Some FCS leagues played OT in 1995. In FCS non-conference games, OT wasn't used. UR was in the Yankee Conference, which did play OT. Fordham is in the Patriot League.
Jack Coffey Field was essentially the outfield of the Rams' baseball diamond, and also used by other Fordham sports. The playing surface, replaced in 2005 by artificial turf, didn't have much grass by the time the Spiders arrived. Hard rain quickly turned the field to mud and deep puddles. Jason Gabrels, who was Richmond’s quarterback, ran on one of the game's first plays.
"I was at the bottom of the pile, underwater," he recalled years later. "I honestly thought I was going to drown getting tackled in a football game."
An official spotted the ball after one play and it floated a few yards. Puddle location factored into play-calling. Fordham kicked a first-quarter field goal. Richmond kicked one in the fourth.
"This day and that field were not made for man nor beast," UR coach Jim Reid said after the game.
The Rams, picked to finish third in the Patriot League, were beaten 34-10 at Charlotte Saturday. The game that finished at 11:26 p.m., after lightning delays. Fordham allowed 488 yards. Charlotte was seven for 15 on third-down opportunities
