Not a huge surprise, but just picked up my first college football publication of the year (athlon) for beach reading. No FSC previews except for a Top 25. That Top 25 included 6 CAA Schools (JMU, UNH, Nova, Stony B., Elon and the Rocco's) but no UR.
2018 Season
- Thread starter PhillySpider
- Start date
Not too surprising with Lauletta gone but we are not the 7th best team in this league. We will be competing for the league title and a spot in the play-offs.
Not surprised either Lauletta is a tough lossmobil, but I too don't think that's the way it will play out. In fact teams are likely going to have to adjust their defense against us with more mobile QBs.
I can understand why the preseason publications have us ranked in the middle of the pack and I also understand why some folks might find that to be too low.
To me, the biggest challenge is this schedule. Below is the schedule with some commentary...
Sept. 1 at UVA. >>Let's be honest. Beating them up there twice is a row is probably too much to ask.
Sept. 8 Fordham >>Should be a win but not a cakewalk by any means.
Sept. 15 Saint Francis (Pa.) >>This, hopefully, will be an opportunity to get some backups some playing time.
Sept. 22 at Stony Brook >> Heading up to Long Island is never easy. The Seawolves have always been a difficult matchup for us.
Sept. 29 JMU >> They've lost 2 games over the last few seasons. They have some losses to graduation like we did, but most likely a top 5 team in the country.
Oct. 6 Delaware >>We catch the Hens coming off our emotional JMU game ... and Delaware comes off a bye ... not ideal.
Oct. 13 at Albany >>Never an easy trip up there.
Oct. 20 at Elon >>This was a good team last year and Cignetti has momentum
Oct. 27 BYE
Nov. 3 Villanova >>We've had their number lately but can we expect that to continue
Nov. 10 Maine >>Should be a win but never easy.
Nov. 17 at William & Mary >>Rivalry game down there to even the overall series.
The thing that troubles me is the first 5 CAA games right out of the chute. In my mind, we are 5-3 when we get to our BYE in the absolute best case scenario. Then we need 2 out of our least three to be one of the final teams in the bracket.
To me, the biggest challenge is this schedule. Below is the schedule with some commentary...
Sept. 1 at UVA. >>Let's be honest. Beating them up there twice is a row is probably too much to ask.
Sept. 8 Fordham >>Should be a win but not a cakewalk by any means.
Sept. 15 Saint Francis (Pa.) >>This, hopefully, will be an opportunity to get some backups some playing time.
Sept. 22 at Stony Brook >> Heading up to Long Island is never easy. The Seawolves have always been a difficult matchup for us.
Sept. 29 JMU >> They've lost 2 games over the last few seasons. They have some losses to graduation like we did, but most likely a top 5 team in the country.
Oct. 6 Delaware >>We catch the Hens coming off our emotional JMU game ... and Delaware comes off a bye ... not ideal.
Oct. 13 at Albany >>Never an easy trip up there.
Oct. 20 at Elon >>This was a good team last year and Cignetti has momentum
Oct. 27 BYE
Nov. 3 Villanova >>We've had their number lately but can we expect that to continue
Nov. 10 Maine >>Should be a win but never easy.
Nov. 17 at William & Mary >>Rivalry game down there to even the overall series.
The thing that troubles me is the first 5 CAA games right out of the chute. In my mind, we are 5-3 when we get to our BYE in the absolute best case scenario. Then we need 2 out of our least three to be one of the final teams in the bracket.
Moliva - nice summary. I certainly do wish that the bye was the week before Elon instead of the week after. We will have to grow up in a hurry this year.
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^^Yes, that would make a difference.
Anyone know why we catch JMU so early this year? Just flip flopping that one back to it's typical early November and moving Maine up to September would have been a big help too.
Anyone know why we catch JMU so early this year? Just flip flopping that one back to it's typical early November and moving Maine up to September would have been a big help too.
We were sixth in the league last year with Lauletta. It's not an unreasonable projection. All the Top 25 teams except Villanova finished ahead of us last year.
JMU has historically been an October game for us. Personally, I prefer it - we seem to fare better against them when we play earlier in the season.
I don 't recall playing them in September before, though.
JMU has historically been an October game for us. Personally, I prefer it - we seem to fare better against them when we play earlier in the season.
I don 't recall playing them in September before, though.
2 Transfers only.DB from Wake and LS from Cal.
Our OL and DL remain in short supply and lack depth.Not a good situation.Restrictive UR transfer admission rules likely a constraint for any new additions.Unless Russ thinks we are playing true frosh-Joe More OL,Aidan Murray DL.-which is very likely.
Unaware of NCAA flexible redshirt rule change to date which we could most certainly use.
#2 QB Mancuso needs to build confidence and readiness.RPO offense can cause more than QB knicks and bruises for #1KJ.
Our OL and DL remain in short supply and lack depth.Not a good situation.Restrictive UR transfer admission rules likely a constraint for any new additions.Unless Russ thinks we are playing true frosh-Joe More OL,Aidan Murray DL.-which is very likely.
Unaware of NCAA flexible redshirt rule change to date which we could most certainly use.
#2 QB Mancuso needs to build confidence and readiness.RPO offense can cause more than QB knicks and bruises for #1KJ.
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I am hoping our defense will be as good or better than it was at the end of last year. Remember, in the beginning of the year we were a bad defensive team. As the year went on the defense really improved. Offensively, yes, we have to replace KL which won’t be easy. That said, KJ doesn’t have to be Kyle for this team to be successful. His legs will allow us to run more of a true spread, which will hopefully open things up down the field for Kevin. That’s my optimistic view, but one I think could play out. The lack of depth on both lines is a concern.
Agree the OL with a lot of new bodies will be the key. DL up the middle is real strong and DEs will be the?
The optimism for our team is great, but the bottom line, at least in my view, is we lost perhaps our best QB ever, our offensive line will be young and inexperienced, and the defense has yet to be proven. Really like Coach Huesman and all he represents, but cannot see us as a contender for the CAA championship. Hope I am wrong.
If we stay fairly injury free at key positions where we are not deep then we should be a real strong second
half team. The earlier part of the year with the new bodies is what concerns me. I knew we would beat UVA
last time due to fact we had the experience and the skilled players to do it and they were learning a new system.
This year will be more telling of where we are and how far we need to go. We ran on UVA last time, can we do the same
this time. We stopped their run last time, can we do the same this time. The trenches will dictate this game.
half team. The earlier part of the year with the new bodies is what concerns me. I knew we would beat UVA
last time due to fact we had the experience and the skilled players to do it and they were learning a new system.
This year will be more telling of where we are and how far we need to go. We ran on UVA last time, can we do the same
this time. We stopped their run last time, can we do the same this time. The trenches will dictate this game.
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I like the talent that we have on the lines on both sides of the ball. Our starting Front 4 on defense might be as good as it's been in some years. The lack of depth there is the real problem. If one or two guys go down - and they always do - it gets thin very quickly.
Need one or two freshmen on the DL to be ready to play right away, which isn't overly fair to them but it is the reality.
Need one or two freshmen on the DL to be ready to play right away, which isn't overly fair to them but it is the reality.
Good news is Uva only has 5 lineman I think ornsome absurdly low number. We stay healthy I think this is a playoff team. Outside of 07-09 we have never had a terrible amount of depth on the lines.
Agree Mo, but depth on DL has never been a strength of ours. I remember when we lost to App State like 54-35 in 2007 and we had both DEs out, a linebacker and strong safety and my ASU friends kept saying in 2008 they would do the same that our defense always gave up a lot. Well in 2008 those same players that were out in 2007, played in 2008 and we know what happened that game.
In 2007 we ended up playing a lot of underclassmen with little experience against one of the best FCS QBs ever. I don't know what to expect from the DE position thou. Mo, who is going to standout at the DE positions?
My friend Homer Rice from Georgia Tech mentions in one of his books that schools with high academic standards are always going to have a hard time getting the best defensive linemen, since those personality types usually are not great students. That is why we need depth - depth to make the starters better in practice, and depth in case our starters in the DLine are injured. Look at how many DL guys we are bringing in this year in the upcoming freshman class. Coach Huesman told me that it was on purpose.
I checked JMU's scores throughout the last two seasons - when we held them to 20 points in last year's game, we did what only three other teams have done in two years. We got better - so this year, we can react, instead of thinking about what to do. When we shut out Villanova last year, we turned the corner.
IMHO, we have an ace in the hole with Scott Brincks, our strength coach. He'll put more bulk on our linemen. I mean, sometimes it just comes down to a physics problem. Our DL last year had guys 275, 265, etc.; Elon had OL guys who were 301, 308, and 351. If you are just a John Deere lawn mower, sometimes it's hard to stop a tractor.
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I think the Ulla's comments above are more applicable to the BB team yet he minimizes the BB teams shortcomings and sees them as a contender??????
9legs, quite different. It takes far fewer players to win games in basketball compared to football. Moreover, we have a coach who has won basketball games at UR vs. one who has yet to do jack in football. Hope we win many games in football, but to date the record is less than impressive.
"I have seen these guys eating in D Hall and working out and they all look NFL-ready right now. Roll Spide!"
Mo, I eat there nearly every day. You are right in that our athletes, regardless of the sport, can put it away. Not to mention that this old guy likes the food as well. Try passing up the dessert bar. Roll Spide!
Huesman has yet to do “jack”? Could you please explain. He was the defensive coordinator during our national championship campaign and he took an irrelevant Chattanooga team and made them relevant in the FCS landscape with multiple playoff appearances.
Mooney has won basketball games by the mere fact he’s been here for over a decade. His overall winning percentage as a head coach at UR is slightly better than average (record of .548) in the 12 years he’s coaching here. Huesman has a record of (.545) the one year he has been here as a head coach. Also to compare apples to apples. Mooney had a record of 13-17 and 8-22 in his first two years here. If in 11 years Huesman still has this winning percentage without winning a national championship then we can say he’s done squat.
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17, I really like our football coach, but to date as the head coach at UR, his record is not impressive.
"Its amazing how on this football board, we can't bother to have a conversation about anything without it becoming a referendum on the coach."
Ulla is more than a Little bitter since he has stood by Mooney and the roundball program for all these years and look what shape they’re in today.Transferring his angst to the gridiron Board is quite sad.
We are all hoping that Mooney achieves a better than .370 winning percentage for the upcoming season,but we doubt it.Ulla’s angst and his continuing abundance of optimism will remain unabated for all that is roundball related.By attempting to lower the bar for football and its expectations,he’s trying to transfer his obvious misery to create the illusion of a basketball equivalency.Poor guy,you gotta feel sorry for him and all that he’s been through and more of it yet to come.
We are all hoping that Mooney achieves a better than .370 winning percentage for the upcoming season,but we doubt it.Ulla’s angst and his continuing abundance of optimism will remain unabated for all that is roundball related.By attempting to lower the bar for football and its expectations,he’s trying to transfer his obvious misery to create the illusion of a basketball equivalency.Poor guy,you gotta feel sorry for him and all that he’s been through and more of it yet to come.
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32, honestly I feel that Coach Huesman says all the right things and may end up doing a great job, but to date his first year was less than impressive. And no, I am not bringing my basketball feelings to to the football board. Moreover, while I was not a big fan of Rocco, he had proven himself at UR and I think I recall that when he faced our new coach head last year, Rocco won. Look, I will be at every game supporting our guys 100%, it’s just at this point I am uncertain what to expect.
Unfortunately, as far as players, we have " far fewer" than the "far fewer needed" to be an upper echelon bb program !
I was thinking about this, with the exception of women’s swim and dive team, has there been an athletic program at UR that has done more with less than the Richmond football team?
Think about it. Prior to the new upgrade facilities that will be finalized this summer and winter, the football team didn’t have that nice of locker rooms, weight room, etc. to appeal to recruits. Especially when our rivals all had those things. It is also very hard to recruit football players in order maintain a strong FCS program because all the 4/5 stars will go to Power 5, and the 2/3 stars will go to lower FBS schools. We really have to go find diamond in the rough guys and develop them. Also, we’re playing in the best conference of FCS every year with 6 teams in the preseason top 25 and we also play a P5 team. That is not an easy schedule at all to be successful in. Also, with academics and recruiting, it is much easier for basketball to get academic exceptions for 1-2 recruits a year than it is for football to get 15 recruits. Additionally, you can get lucky in basketball and strike gold with a KA or Harper type player and make NCAA. For football, it really is an entire team effort to be successful (look at Lauletta his pst year).
Don’t get me wrong, Richmond basketball is my favorite sport and the one I think we should invest in the most as a school (which we’ve been doing and rightfully so). However, it is short of amazing what our football team has done for the last decade. And yet, with all the obstacles they have to overcome, we still expect this team to compete for national championships. Clawson, London, Rocco, and Huesman have done a great job with our team, all things considered, and deserve recognition for that.
Think about it. Prior to the new upgrade facilities that will be finalized this summer and winter, the football team didn’t have that nice of locker rooms, weight room, etc. to appeal to recruits. Especially when our rivals all had those things. It is also very hard to recruit football players in order maintain a strong FCS program because all the 4/5 stars will go to Power 5, and the 2/3 stars will go to lower FBS schools. We really have to go find diamond in the rough guys and develop them. Also, we’re playing in the best conference of FCS every year with 6 teams in the preseason top 25 and we also play a P5 team. That is not an easy schedule at all to be successful in. Also, with academics and recruiting, it is much easier for basketball to get academic exceptions for 1-2 recruits a year than it is for football to get 15 recruits. Additionally, you can get lucky in basketball and strike gold with a KA or Harper type player and make NCAA. For football, it really is an entire team effort to be successful (look at Lauletta his pst year).
Don’t get me wrong, Richmond basketball is my favorite sport and the one I think we should invest in the most as a school (which we’ve been doing and rightfully so). However, it is short of amazing what our football team has done for the last decade. And yet, with all the obstacles they have to overcome, we still expect this team to compete for national championships. Clawson, London, Rocco, and Huesman have done a great job with our team, all things considered, and deserve recognition for that.
One of the problems on the d line is depth (maybe even more than on the Oline) many teams play 6 to 8 players keeping them fresh and aggressive.
I kind of agree, one year is not a good measuring stick. We'll see. Hmmm let me see what was Mooney's first year like?
I just glad to see you can be a skeptic on something.
I agree with Ulla, a sub-55% winning percentage is unimpressive.
Also, losing to Delaware is unacceptable.
Also, losing to Delaware is unacceptable.
New offense,New defense,1.5 months(Dec 16 to Feb 1) to recruit for incoming class.Spring ball hit March until May,all the while recruiting for Class no.2 which was signed 30 days at the end of regular season(Nov 20–>Dec 20).
I think you belong on the basketball board.At least bring over some knowledge here next time,please.Ignorance is bliss.Mooney could definitely use anyone’s help in finding decent Johnny’s and Joe’s,and keeping them.
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In the early years of the rivalry we play some games in September. Something like 1985ish.
You're upset that his first season he win's 6 out of 11? Huesman didn't have anything to do with the Rocco debacle. He's simply a new coach. Give him a couple of years then make some assessment.
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