University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Renew Rivalry with JMU
10/08/2001 | Football
The second leg of a three-game roadtrip continues Saturday for the Richmond Spiders (0-4, 0-2) when they travel to Harrisonburg for an Atlantic 10 game with James Madison (1-4, 0-4). Both teams will be hungry for the taste of victory. Richmond dropped a 14-3 decision at Maine last week, while the Dukes suffered a heartbreaking 45-44 double-overtime setback at undefeated Villanova.
Here are some notes for Saturday's game...
If Richmond Wins Today It Will Be...
In-State Rivals... When the Spiders and Dukes battle on Oct. 13 it will mark the second of three meetings this season for Richmond against another Virginia-based school ... The Spider lost 17-16 at Virginia on Sept. 1 and host William & Mary on Nov. 17 ... During head coach Jim Reid's tenure, Richmond is 9-9 against in-state rivals: James Madison (4-2), Virginia (0-2), VMI (3-1) and William & Mary (2-4) ... The Spiders played all four of these Virginia schools in 1997, winning against VMI and James Madison.
Another Interception for Hill... Senior cornerback Jason Hill snagged his first interception of the season at Maine (Oct. 6) ... It marked the seventh pick of his career and moved him within two of Richmond's top-10 for career interceptions ... Former Spider Jeff Nixon (1975-78) holds Richmond's all-time record with 23 career interceptions.
Moving into October... During the Jim Reid's era, the Spiders have compiled a 14-10-1 record during the month of October ... The record includes a perfect 4-0 month during the 1998 season ... Richmond played three of the four games on the road, identical to this season ... Richmond was 3-1 during October 2000.
Spider Nation... After four games this season, the Richmond Spiders rush totals are highly ranked in the nation ... Richmond's rush offense averages 208.3 yards/game, 18th nationally ... Georgia Southern leads all of I-AA with 381.8 yards/game on the ground ... Richmond's rush defense allows just 114.0 yards per game, 39th nationally ... Pennsylvania yields a I-AA low 42.3 rushing yards/game ... Junior Doug Kirschner ranks 28th with 1.0 field goals per game.
The Athletic Training Table... The Spiders have been hit by an injury bug this season ... After four games, two starters and two second-string players have been lost for the season ... Seniors David Giles (starting safety), D'Arcy Wills (backup quarterback) and Randy Witham (starting defensive end), along with junior Tom Propst (backup offensive line) have suffered season-ending injuries ... Numerous other Spiders have missed games because of injury.
Last Game...Where's the Tribe?... For the first time since 1995, Richmond will not complete the regular season against long-time rival William & Mary ... The Spiders and Tribe have played in UR's last regular season game in 18 of the last 19 years and 31 of the last 33 seasons ... Richmond has closed its regular season with William & Mary 73 times throughout history. The Spiders will visit Massachusetts Friday November 23 at noon in a game rescheduled from September 15.
This Date in UR Football... Richmond is 3-6 all-time on October 13 ... The last time a Spider team played on Oct. 13 came in 1990 when UR lost at Boston University, 28-14 ... Richmond's last win came in 1984 when the Spiders won at UMass, 24-7.
Gustus Keeps... For the third consecutive game senior quarterback Sean Gustus led the Spiders in rushing attempts at Maine (Oct. 6) ... The Oxon Hill, Md., native ran 27 times against the Black Bears, which followed 23 rushes against Villanova (Sept. 29) and 18 at Vanderbilt (Sept. 22) ... His career high for rushing attempts in a game is 32, at Rhode Island on November 4, 2000.
A Quarterback Leading the Ground Attack... A Spider quarterback has led the team in rushing attempts in each of the last six games ... Senior D'Arcy Wills recorded a team-high 11 carries against UVA to open this season (Sept. 1) and senior Sean Gustus ran a team-high 18 times at Vanderbilt (Sept. 22), 23 times vs. Villanova (Sept. 29) and 27 times at Maine (Oct. 6) ... Dating back to last year, Gustus ran a team-high 24 times at Montana (Dec. 2) while Wills ran a team-high 14 times against Youngstown State (Nov. 25) ... A quarterback led the team in rushing attempts eight times last season (Gustus 7, Wills 1).
Last Time at 0-4... The last time Richmond started the season 0-4 was in 1983 ... The Spiders finished 3-8 that fall ... UR won 32-0 against James Madison on Nov. 5 of that year ... The Spiders five-game losing streak, dating back to last season, is the longest since the 1996 season when Richmond lost its last seven contests.
Jeff Sagarin's View on the Schedule... According to the Jeff Sagarin ratings on USA Today, the Spiders own the nation's 60th toughest schedule ... The UR slate is ranked the second toughest among I-AA members (Massachusetts/51).
Road Warriors... Richmond plays seven of its 11 games on the road this season ... The last time the Spiders had seven road games was in 1998 ... Richmond claimed the Atlantic 10 crown that season with a 9-3 record and advanced to the I-AA playoffs.
On the Road Again... Richmond was scheduled to open the 2001 campaign with three road trips (Virginia, Massachusetts, and Vanderbilt) ... The last time the Spiders opened a season with three consecutive road games was in 1997 (Massachusetts, Colgate and Virginia) ... Richmond went 2-1 during that stretch.
Notes from the Maine Game...Junior linebacker Jason Hill intercepted a Maine pass, Richmond began its drive at the Maine 18 ... The interception was the first of the season for Hill, the seventh of his career ... Richmond lost two yards before Kirchner missed a 37-yard field goal ... The Spiders three points was their lowest point total since Oct. 26, 1996 when they lost 20-3 against Villanova ... The last time Richmond did not score a touchdown in a game was Sept. 5, 1998 when the Spiders lost 7-6 at Rutgers.
The Spider Sportsline with Coach Jim Reid's...Join Coach Reid and the "Voice of the Spiders" Bob Black at Extra Billy's Restaurant 5205 West Broad Street in Richmond for The Spider Sportsline, Wednesday night from 7-8. Extra Billy's serves up the food and drink - including specials throughout the night - while Coach Reid, the audience and callers serve up the Spider football talk. The show will be broadcast live on WRNL-AM (910) and posted on RichmondSpiders.com Thursday.
