No Division I team - FCS or FBS - has thrown more interceptions than Richmond (17 in nine games)
Richmond coach Russ Huesman
JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH
William & Mary’s Jimmye Laycock has coached in the Yankee Conference, the Atlantic 10 Conference and the CAA. It’s been basically the same FCS league with different names since W&M became a member in 1993. Laycock, in his 39th and final season as coach of his alma mater, doesn’t need to rummage around his office each August trying to find the keys to success.
“You can look at quarterback play, and you can look at turnovers,” he said Monday. “Take those two things, and if you get good quarterback play and you’re not turning the ball over, then you’ve got a pretty good chance to win. On the reverse side, it’s hard to overcome.”
The University of Richmond is on the reverse side, and it has been hard to overcome. No team in Division I – FCS or FBS – has thrown more interceptions (17) than the Spiders (3-6, 1-5 CAA). There are 124 FCS teams and UR ranks No. 122 in turnover margin (minus-11). The Spiders have a minus-16 turnover margin in six CAA games.
Richmond, which plays No. 16 Maine (6-3, 5-1 CAA) Saturday at Robins Stadium, committed seven turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles) in last weekend’s 45-21 loss to Villanova. Two interceptions were returned for touchdowns. In six league games, UR has thrown 15 interceptions. No other CAA team has more than eight.
Against Villanova, starter Joe Mancuso threw three interceptions in 15 pass attempts before leaving with a concussion. Back-up Kevin Johnson, in his first game back since suffering a concussion on Sept. 29, threw two INTs in three pass attempts.
"We threw it right to them," said UR coach Russ Huesman. "Right to them. You can't do that."
Reid Chenault came in and did not throw an interception in 10 attempts. Huesman said Monday he was unsure who would start at quarterback Saturday (Mancuso won't play), but he was sure that he would respond to this rash of INTs by changing the way Richmond operates in the days leading into games.
Huesman said he told his offensive assistants, “It’s got to start in practice. Throwing an interception in practice is unacceptable. And sometimes we don’t hold them accountable in practice with the quarterback position because he’s your guy, he’s your quarterback. And you say, ‘We’re going to go with it. Ah, he threw a pick. Well, that’s practice.’ Or he overthrew it here. It should have been a pick. ‘That’s practice.’
“We can’t accept that. We have to demand that we never throw an interception in practice. We throw a bunch of them in practice, so I’m not surprised it happens in the game.”
Passing figures to be a chore against Maine, which shares the CAA lead with Delaware (7-2, 5-1 CAA). The Black Bears average 4.1 sacks, which ranks second in the FCS. In part because of the yards lost on those sacks, Maine has allowed only 69 rushing yards per game in CAA competition.
