University of Richmond Athletics
Saturday, March 6
Richmond, Va.
1:00 PM
University of Richmond
vs
William & Mary
Photo by: Spiders Athletics
Football Opens Season Saturday With The Capital Cup
03/05/2021 | Football
RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond football team will open an unprecedented spring season Saturday afternoon with the 131st meeting of "The South's Oldest Rivalry" with The Capital Cup against rival William & Mary. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Robins Stadium.
The University of Richmond is allowing 1,000 fans in attendance in response to the amended Executive Order from the Governor's office. All tickets have been claimed and no tickets are available day of the game. Saturday's contest will be televised on NBC Sports Washington and will be streamed on FloFootball (subscription required). Bob Black and Chris Anderson will be on the call. Additionally, the game will be radio broadcast on ESPN Richmond with Robert Fish and Matt Smith on the call.
The unique spring season will season the Spiders play six games in the Colonial Athletic Association South Division. Richmond will have home-and-home series against the Tribe, James Madison and Elon. This season, the Spiders open and close the regular season with The Capital Cup.
The two programs first faced off against each other Nov. 19, 1898 and have met at least once every year since then except for three years -- 1900, 1902 and 1943. This year marks the 77th-straight year that the Spiders and Tribe have met on the football field (1944-2019). The teams have been remarkably even over the long haul with William & Mary holding a slight advantage at 62-63-5 after the Tribe's victory last season at Robins Stadium. Despite the loss last year, Richmond has won seven out of the last nine meetings. Richmond is 38-42-4 all-time against the Tribe in Richmond but the Spiders have won four out of the last five in the series at home at Robins Stadium.
This spring's unique schedule will have The Capital Cup played twice in the same season for just the ninth time in series history. The two teams met twice in 2015, albeit once in the regular season and once in the NCAA FCS Playoffs with the Spiders winning both contests. The teams met three times in 1919 and twice in 1917, 1916, 1915, 1914, 1913, 1906 and 1905. The Spiders are a combined 15-2-2 in years where The Capital Cup has been played multiple times.
Senior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.) leads the offense into the spring season after passing for 2,128 yards and throwing for 13 touchdowns. Mancuso also led all CAA quarterbacks on the ground, rushing for 647 yards and 10 scores. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Isaac Brown (Winchester, Va.) is the top pass catcher returning after snagging 32 passes last season.
Defensively, redshirt junior defensive lineman Kobie Turner (Clifton, Va.) leads the team up front. Turner was a preseason All-American selection this season after he led all CAA defensive lineman in tackles with 71 on the year, including a team-high 14.5 tackles for loss. He also added a career-high 7.0 sacks while starting all 12 games for the Spiders.
Senior linebacker Tristan Wheeler (Covington, Va.) also earned preseason All-America honors. Dressler was a First Team All-CAA honor last season, becoming the first Spider linebacker to earn First Team honors since Omar Howard in 2016. He led the team with 104 tackles, ranking second in the CAA despite missing a game due to an injury. He led the CAA at 9.5 tackles per game, ranking 25th in the nation. He joined fellow linebacker Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) as the first Spider linebacking duo to each reach 100 tackles in a season since 2007.
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The University of Richmond is allowing 1,000 fans in attendance in response to the amended Executive Order from the Governor's office. All tickets have been claimed and no tickets are available day of the game. Saturday's contest will be televised on NBC Sports Washington and will be streamed on FloFootball (subscription required). Bob Black and Chris Anderson will be on the call. Additionally, the game will be radio broadcast on ESPN Richmond with Robert Fish and Matt Smith on the call.
The unique spring season will season the Spiders play six games in the Colonial Athletic Association South Division. Richmond will have home-and-home series against the Tribe, James Madison and Elon. This season, the Spiders open and close the regular season with The Capital Cup.
The two programs first faced off against each other Nov. 19, 1898 and have met at least once every year since then except for three years -- 1900, 1902 and 1943. This year marks the 77th-straight year that the Spiders and Tribe have met on the football field (1944-2019). The teams have been remarkably even over the long haul with William & Mary holding a slight advantage at 62-63-5 after the Tribe's victory last season at Robins Stadium. Despite the loss last year, Richmond has won seven out of the last nine meetings. Richmond is 38-42-4 all-time against the Tribe in Richmond but the Spiders have won four out of the last five in the series at home at Robins Stadium.
This spring's unique schedule will have The Capital Cup played twice in the same season for just the ninth time in series history. The two teams met twice in 2015, albeit once in the regular season and once in the NCAA FCS Playoffs with the Spiders winning both contests. The teams met three times in 1919 and twice in 1917, 1916, 1915, 1914, 1913, 1906 and 1905. The Spiders are a combined 15-2-2 in years where The Capital Cup has been played multiple times.
Senior quarterback Joe Mancuso (Blairsville, Ga.) leads the offense into the spring season after passing for 2,128 yards and throwing for 13 touchdowns. Mancuso also led all CAA quarterbacks on the ground, rushing for 647 yards and 10 scores. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Isaac Brown (Winchester, Va.) is the top pass catcher returning after snagging 32 passes last season.
Defensively, redshirt junior defensive lineman Kobie Turner (Clifton, Va.) leads the team up front. Turner was a preseason All-American selection this season after he led all CAA defensive lineman in tackles with 71 on the year, including a team-high 14.5 tackles for loss. He also added a career-high 7.0 sacks while starting all 12 games for the Spiders.
Senior linebacker Tristan Wheeler (Covington, Va.) also earned preseason All-America honors. Dressler was a First Team All-CAA honor last season, becoming the first Spider linebacker to earn First Team honors since Omar Howard in 2016. He led the team with 104 tackles, ranking second in the CAA despite missing a game due to an injury. He led the CAA at 9.5 tackles per game, ranking 25th in the nation. He joined fellow linebacker Tristan Wheeler (Bethlehem, Pa.) as the first Spider linebacking duo to each reach 100 tackles in a season since 2007.
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