Spiders Secure Second-Straight CAA Title, Earn Automatic Bid to FCS Playoffs With 24-21 Win Over Hampton

Saturday, November 16

Hampton, Va.

Noon

University of Richmond

9-2 , 7-0

Hampton

5-6 , 2-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Richmond

Hampton

Spiders Secure Second-Straight CAA Title, Earn Automatic Bid to FCS Playoffs With 24-21 Win Over Hampton

11/16/2024 | Football

Box Score

Hampton, Va. – For the second consecutive year, the University of Richmond football team stands at the top of the Coastal Athletic Association, thanks to a 24-21 victory over Hampton on Saturday at Armstrong Stadium.

The win secured at least a share of the CAA title for Richmond, marking the Spiders second CAA title in as many years. It also extended the team's win streak to nine games, the longest since 1998. The win, along with losses from Villanova and Stony Brook, earned Richmond the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, per the league's tiebreaker rules. The Spiders could be crowned outright champions with a win against William & Mary and a Rhode Island loss to Bryant next week.

Richmond will now head to the FCS Playoffs for the third consecutive year. The last time the Spiders made three straight playoff appearances was from 2014 to 2016. Prior to that, they achieved the feat in the 2007, 2008, and 2009 seasons. Richmond has now won back-to-back conference titles for just the second time in program history, also doing so in the Southern Conference in 1968 and 1969.

Zach Palmer-Smith had his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season, turning in 166 and two scores on 27 carries, and became the first Richmond player to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season since Jacobi Green (1,409 yards) in 2015. Palmer-Smith, who entered the game with 980 rushing yards, surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone on his very first carry—a 54-yard run on the Spiders' opening play from scrimmage.

The big run set up the Spiders' first score of the game—a three-yard touchdown by Palmer-Smith just three plays later, giving Richmond an early 7-0 lead at 13:04 in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, a Hampton player bobbled the ball, tipping it into the air where Chance Graves was able to recover it, giving Richmond possession at the Hampton 27-yard line.

Richmond quickly capitalized on the turnover, with Landon Ellis catching an eight-yard touchdown pass from Camden Coleman at 9:16 of the first quarter, pushing the lead to 14-0 before Richmond's defense ever took the field.

Hampton answered on its first offensive possession, capping a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a touchdown at 2:37 of the first quarter, making the score 14-7.

The Spiders went three-and-out to start the second quarter, prompting Aaron Trusler to come in and punt. However, Richmond pulled off a trick play, and Trusler took a direct snap, rushing for 13 yards to pick up a first down and keep the drive alive. The Spiders then went three-and-out again, but Trusler responded by pinning Hampton at its own one-yard line with a 50-yard punt downed by long snapper Brian Catanzarite.

From there, Hampton was unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs. Richmond took over at its 24-yard line, and true freshman kicker Sean O'Haire delivered a career-long-tying 47-yard field goal at 3:39 of the second quarter, increasing the Spiders' lead to 17-7.

At 12:54 in the third quarter, the Hampton quarterback bobbled a snap and fumbled on the handoff where Carter Glassmyer jumped on the ball to give Richmond possession on the Hampton 36. On Richmond's next drive, the Spiders fumbled on the Hampton 21-yard line. The Pirates capped their next drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-score game at 17-14 with 6:31 left in the third.

Glassmyer led the Spiders defense all game, turning in 15 tackles to become Richmond's first player with 15 or more tackles since Tristan Wheeler's 17 stops in the 2023 home opener against Morgan State.

Landon Ellis hauled in a tough 38-yard catch down the right sideline and advanced the ball 23 yards after the catch to the Hampton two yard-line and two plays later, Palmer-Smith punched in his second touchdown of the game and 12^th of the season to make it 24-14. The score brought the junior to No. 10 all-time on Richmond's single-season scoring list.

Hampton scored on its first drive of the fourth, finding the end zone at the end of a 16-play drive that took 7:05 off the game clock.

With the Spiders holding on to a one-score advantage, Richmond's offense marched down the field where it eventually turned the ball over on downs, but the drive wiped another 7:19 off the clock.

With 2:39 left in the game, the Spiders defense took the field one last time, when it came up big as Carsen Stocklinski recorded a sack on third down for a loss of 10 Hampton yards. The Pirates called timeout before the fourth-down play— an incomplete pass— fell short, giving Richmond the ball on its 35-yard line with 42 seconds left where it knelt in victory formation to secure the win.

The victory marks the first time in program history the Spiders have won back-to-back CAA titles.

The Spiders return home next Saturday, Nov. 23, to host rival William & Mary in the "Oldest Rivalry in the South" for the Capital Cup Presented by C&F Bank. Kickoff is set for noon at Robins Stadium. Richmond will honor its seniors during a special pregame Senior Day ceremony and will look to extend its lead in the historic series, which currently stands at 65–64–5.