in another of the mysteries of CAA football scheduling the Spiders have only played Towson once (2021) since 2017!...it's a shame too, because we've won three in a row and six of the last eight going back to the 2008 season...the Tigers come to The Brick House for this year's Homecoming festivities...
the game begins what has been Championship/FCS Playoff November for the last two seasons...beginning with the 2021 season Richmond is 9-1 in games played in November...I expect all coaches want their teams playing their best at the most important time of the season...Coach Huesman and his staff have had the Spiders there since 2021!
On Media Day Towson was picked to finish 9th in the conference...the Tigers showed some life last season under new coach Pete Shinnick (I wonder if he's the son of former Baltimore Colts linebacker Don Shinnick?)...they finished 5-6, 4-4 CAA tied with five other teams at 4-4...ha! that can only happen in the CAA!
Shinnick expects his Tigers to have improved significantly in their 2nd season in his scheme...the 2024 expectations are highest for the Tigers offense which returns pretty much intact...Towson averaged roughly 30 points per game in the CAA wins last season. They return a QB who passed for 15 TDs, a stable of RBs one who ran for 800 yards and scored 10 TDs, and All CAA Tight End and four Offensive linemen...Coach Shinnick looks forward to seeing what his offense can do...
Towson's first five games are brutal...they include BCS Cincinnati and FCS powerhouse North Dakota State on the road...also in this stretch are games against CAA favorite Villanova and expected Championship contender W&M...if the Tigers survive this stretch Richmond should be the best team they face in their final seven games!...they could make a CAA run!
there's usually at least one surprise team in the CAA each season...Towson could well be that squad this year...but this is November and the Spiders have owned it lately...I expect we'll need to start it off again with another impressive win to protect any Championship hopes of our own...we know what it takes to win in November....this figures to be a good CAA battle!
enjoy the Countdown!
Go Spiders!