University of Richmond Athletics
Saturday, November 9
Villanova, PA
1:00 PM
University of Richmond
at
Villanova
Photo by: Scott Brown
Football Hits the Road Saturday To No. 18 Villanova
11/08/2019 | Football
RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond football team continues its streak of games against nationally-ranked opponents in Colonial Athletic Association play Saturday when the Spiders travel to the Keystone State to face off against No. 18 Villanova. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.
The game will be broadcast on www.FloFootball.com as part of the CAA's broadcast package. The FloFootball streaming is a paid service with special pricing for CAA fans of $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month). Fans can sign up for the service by clicking HERE.
Additionally, the game will be audio broadcast on ESPN Richmond 99.5 FM/950 AM and TuneIn with Bob Black, Chris Anderson and Matt Smith on the call. Full game notes are available in the links to the right and are brought to you by Owen & Owens.
The Spiders enter Saturday's game winners of four-straight in CAA play, including three wins over nationally ranked opponents. Richmond has posted wins at No. 18 Maine, at No. 19 Delaware and No. 20 Stony Brook over the past four league games to move into second place in the CAA with a 4-1 league mark with three regular season games remaining.
Villanova enters the game with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-3 mark in league play. The Wildcats opened the year on a six-game winning streak and rose as high as fifth in the nation this season but have dropped three-straight tight games with losses to No. 2 James Madison, Stony Brook and New Hampshire.
Redshirt junior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.) leads the Spiders into the game Saturday as the reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Week. Mancuso has accounted for 18 touchdowns this season, 10 passing and eight rushing. He has completed 109-of-166 for 1,540 yards through the air and leads the team with 499 yards rushing on 86 carries. He ranks second in the CAA in total offense per game with 291.3 yards of total offense in his seven games at quarterback this year.
Graduate transfer wide receivers Keyston Fuller (Griffin, Ga.) and Charlie Fessler (Erie, Pa.) have led the way as pass catchers this year. Fuller leads the team with 851 yards receiving on 44 catches and is second in the CAA with eight receiving touchdowns. Fessler leads the team with 51 catches for 642 yards and is coming off a career-high 11-catch performance against the Seawolves.
Defensively, the Spiders are coming off one of their strongest games of the year, limiting Stony Brook to just 72 yards rushing and scoreless in the second half. The Spiders are second in the CAA in sacks led by senior defensive lineman Maurice Jackson (Levittown, Pa.) who has a team-high 7.0 sacks while redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Kobie Turner (Clifton, Va.) is second with 5.5 sacks.
The linebacking duo of junior Tyler Dressler (Covington, Va.) and freshman Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) lead the team in tackles with 78 and 76 respectively. Dressler ranks second in the CAA in tackles per game at 9.8 while Wheeler is seventh at 8.4 . Richmond is the only team with two players ranked in the top 10 in the conference and it marks the first time since 2014 that the Spiders have two linebackers with over 75 tackles in a season (Omar Howard and Eric Wright).
Saturday's game marks the 37th meeting between Richmond and Villanova. The teams have met five-straight years and have face off against each other in 30 out of the last 33 years with the only times not playing each other coming in 2002, 2011 and 2013. The Spiders are just 13-23 all-time against the Wildcats but have won four out of the last six meetings, including two out of the last three at Villanova. Last year, Richmond suffered a 45-21 loss to the Wildcats at Robins Stadium. The Spiders committed seven turnovers in the loss with two fumbles lost and five interceptions. Villanova returned two of the interceptions back for touchdowns after the Spiders made it a 20-14 game in the third quarter. The Wildcats would score 25-straight from that point to pull away and take advantage of the turnovers.
The last time Richmond traveled to Villanova was in 2017 and the Spiders posted a 22-0 victory over the 20th-ranked Wildcats. The Spiders' defense allowed just 163 yards of total offense by Villanova in the shutout victory while sacking the quarterback four times.
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The game will be broadcast on www.FloFootball.com as part of the CAA's broadcast package. The FloFootball streaming is a paid service with special pricing for CAA fans of $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month). Fans can sign up for the service by clicking HERE.
Additionally, the game will be audio broadcast on ESPN Richmond 99.5 FM/950 AM and TuneIn with Bob Black, Chris Anderson and Matt Smith on the call. Full game notes are available in the links to the right and are brought to you by Owen & Owens.
The Spiders enter Saturday's game winners of four-straight in CAA play, including three wins over nationally ranked opponents. Richmond has posted wins at No. 18 Maine, at No. 19 Delaware and No. 20 Stony Brook over the past four league games to move into second place in the CAA with a 4-1 league mark with three regular season games remaining.
Villanova enters the game with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-3 mark in league play. The Wildcats opened the year on a six-game winning streak and rose as high as fifth in the nation this season but have dropped three-straight tight games with losses to No. 2 James Madison, Stony Brook and New Hampshire.
Redshirt junior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.) leads the Spiders into the game Saturday as the reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Week. Mancuso has accounted for 18 touchdowns this season, 10 passing and eight rushing. He has completed 109-of-166 for 1,540 yards through the air and leads the team with 499 yards rushing on 86 carries. He ranks second in the CAA in total offense per game with 291.3 yards of total offense in his seven games at quarterback this year.
Graduate transfer wide receivers Keyston Fuller (Griffin, Ga.) and Charlie Fessler (Erie, Pa.) have led the way as pass catchers this year. Fuller leads the team with 851 yards receiving on 44 catches and is second in the CAA with eight receiving touchdowns. Fessler leads the team with 51 catches for 642 yards and is coming off a career-high 11-catch performance against the Seawolves.
Defensively, the Spiders are coming off one of their strongest games of the year, limiting Stony Brook to just 72 yards rushing and scoreless in the second half. The Spiders are second in the CAA in sacks led by senior defensive lineman Maurice Jackson (Levittown, Pa.) who has a team-high 7.0 sacks while redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Kobie Turner (Clifton, Va.) is second with 5.5 sacks.
The linebacking duo of junior Tyler Dressler (Covington, Va.) and freshman Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) lead the team in tackles with 78 and 76 respectively. Dressler ranks second in the CAA in tackles per game at 9.8 while Wheeler is seventh at 8.4 . Richmond is the only team with two players ranked in the top 10 in the conference and it marks the first time since 2014 that the Spiders have two linebackers with over 75 tackles in a season (Omar Howard and Eric Wright).
Saturday's game marks the 37th meeting between Richmond and Villanova. The teams have met five-straight years and have face off against each other in 30 out of the last 33 years with the only times not playing each other coming in 2002, 2011 and 2013. The Spiders are just 13-23 all-time against the Wildcats but have won four out of the last six meetings, including two out of the last three at Villanova. Last year, Richmond suffered a 45-21 loss to the Wildcats at Robins Stadium. The Spiders committed seven turnovers in the loss with two fumbles lost and five interceptions. Villanova returned two of the interceptions back for touchdowns after the Spiders made it a 20-14 game in the third quarter. The Wildcats would score 25-straight from that point to pull away and take advantage of the turnovers.
The last time Richmond traveled to Villanova was in 2017 and the Spiders posted a 22-0 victory over the 20th-ranked Wildcats. The Spiders' defense allowed just 163 yards of total offense by Villanova in the shutout victory while sacking the quarterback four times.
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