University of Richmond Athletics
No. 7 Spiders Head North For Marquee Match-up At No. 1 New Hampshire
Oct. 2, 2006
Spider Football Gameday Central
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The seventh-ranked Richmond Spiders head north to begin a two-game roadtrip Saturday, Oct. 7, at No. 1 New Hampshire. Kickoff at the Wildcats' Cowell Stadium is set for 12 p.m.
Bob Black (play-by-play), former Richmond defensive standout Jasmonn Coleman (analyst) and Matt Smith (sideline) will handle the radio call which can be heard in the Richmond area on ESPN Radio 950 AM and worldwide at RichmondSpiders.com. Pregame coverage begins at 11 a.m., with a special edition of the UR Bookstore Tailgate Show with Smith, followed by Black and Coleman at 11:30 a.m.
The contest will also be televised on CN-8 - part of the Comcast Cable Network -- throughout the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States, and worldwide at www.CN8.tv. Chris Carrino (play-by-play), Jon Ritchie (analyst) and Jeb Fisher (sideline) will handle the call, while Bob Allen produces.
The Spiders are coming off a 12-7 win over Northeastern in their Atlantic 10 season opener. The win marked the first A-10 home-opening win since 2002, and pushed Richmond to a 4-0 mark on the season for the first time since 1995.
Richmond is under the direction of third-year head coach Dave Clawson, who has compiled an eight-year career record of 45-41 and a 16-12 mark in his tenure at Richmond. Sean McDonnell is in his eighth season as the Wildcats' head coach. McDonnell has established a career mark of 48-38, all coming at New Hampshire.
QUICK OUTS...
-- Senior Adam Goloboski cracked the Richmond Top-10 in career tackles with his seven-stop effort Saturday against Northeastern. The Hereford, Md., native has 323 tackles in his four-year career and ranks tied for 10th on the Spiders' all-time list. He needs 16 tackles to pass Winston October's mark of 338 in ninth place, and 18 to pass both Jeff Edmiston's and Cary Goodwin's mark of 340 in seventh place.
-- Senior Ryan Mace is second in the Atlantic 10 in punt return yardage. The McKinney, Texas, native averages 17.5 per return, which is ninth-best in the country. In his career, Mace has returned 42 punts for an average of 9.1 yards and has a career-long of 40 yards.
-- Since the 1995 season, Richmond has faced 49 ranked opponents and won 16 times. The Spiders played six ranked foes last season and 12 in the past two seasons. The Spiders are 7-13 against teams in the Top-10 since the 1995 season and fell at the top-ranked Montana Grizzlies, 34-20, in the second round of the 2000 Playoffs (Dec. 2). Since then the highest ranked opponent the Spiders have beatenwas a 38-10 win at No. 2 Hampton, Nov. 26, 2005, in the first round of last season's playoffs.
-- Richmond's defense has recorded at least one sack in 15 of its last 16 games dating back to the second game of the 2005 slate. The only game this season when the Spiders did not sack the opposing quarterback was against Bucknell which attempted just nine passes.
-- Don't let the Richmond average of 32:09 in time of possession fool you. In two games this season the Spiders' offense has been a part of two lopsided possessional games. Against Duke, Richmond had the ball from 19:28 in the second half and put together a drive of 18 plays, 83 yards and 9:09. Against Northeastern, the Spiders had the ball for 23:00 in the second half and put together a drive of 24 plays and 69 yards in 13:48.
-- The Spiders' defense has allowed no more than three trips into the redzone by each of its last eight regular-season opponents. Those eight opponents have averaged 1.9 trips inside the redzone and have come out of those games with an average of 3.2 points off redzone penetratrion. In the same eight games, Richmond's offense has moved inside the redzone an average of 4.1 times per game and come away with an average of 4.6 points off redzone penetration.
CLAWSON BALL?
"Beamer Ball," referring to the Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer and his teams' special team success, is known around the Commonwealth of Virginia. After Saturday's win over Northeastern, Virginians might be able to refer to special team football as "Clawson Ball."
Richmond created all 12 of its points on special teams Saturday. The Spiders blocked a punt which was returned for a touchdown and recorded a safety after a muffed snap on a punt attempt.
Freshman Andrew Howard's field goal, in the first quarter, was made possible by junior Andrew Harris. After Harris recorded a blocked field goal at the 6:02 mark in the first quarter, the Spiders marched down the field and gave Howard the opportunity for a 42-yard kick.
SPIDERS ON THE TUBE
Saturday's game will be the first the Spiders have played on CN-8 under head coach Dave Clawson. Richmond is currently 4-4 in televised games since Clawson took over in 2004. The Spiders are 1-0 on Comcast TV, 1-0 on WABI-TV in Maine, 1-1 on ESPNU, 1-1 on the Atlantic 10 Television Network and 0-2 on the Lafayette Sports Television Network.
CN-8 will broadcast Saturday's contest in nearly nine million homes from Maine to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Live video streaming for all CN-8 programming, including this Saturday's game, is available free of charge at www.CN8.tv.
A RICHMOND WIN WOULD...
-- Make the team 5-0 to start the season for the first time since the 1995 season.
-- Push Richmond to 5-4 in televised games played during head coach Dave Clawson three seasons at Richmond.
-- Make the Spiders 2-0 on the road this season and 8-6 all-time on the road under Clawson.
-- Give Clawson his first career win over New Hampshire.
-- Make the Spiders 17-33 versus ranked opponents dating back to the 1995 season.
-- Move Clawson to 46-41 as a head coach and 107-87-1 in his coaching career.
-- Extend the Spiders' win-loss record in the all-time series with the Wildcats, 10-7.
-- Cut the New Hampshire lead in the all-time series to 5-4 when playing in Durham, N.H.
-- Extend a Richmond win streak to two games in the all-time series.
-- Mark the Spiders' first win in Durham since topping the Wildcats, 31-10, in 2000.
-- Give the Spiders 13 wins in their last 14 games dating back to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005.
-- Extend the Spiders' regular season win streak to 12 games which ties the all-time school record.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 454-589-53.
A RICHMOND LOSS WOULD...
-- Make the Spiders 4-1 on the season for the first time since 1997.
-- Make the Spiders 1-1 on the road this season and 7-7 all-time on the road under Clawson.
-- Move Clawson to 45-42 as a head coach and 106-88-1 in his coaching career.
-- Make the all-time series with the Wildcats 9-8 in favor of the Spiders.
-- Extend New Hampshire's lead in the all-time series to 6-3 in games played in Durham, N.H.
-- Push New Hampshire's win streak at home in the all-time series to two games.
-- Drop Clawson's career mark to 0-1 against the Wildcats.
-- Snap the Spiders' 11-game regular season win streak; one win shy of equalling their longest regular-season streak of 12.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 453-590-53.
DEFENSIVE SUPREMACY
Richmond's defense ranks among the Top-5 nationally in three major categories including total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. Nationally, The Spiders are fourth in total defense (200.0 yds/game), which also is tops in the Atlantic 10. Defensive Coordinator Russ Huesman's defense is third nationally and leads the league against the pass (103.0 yds/game). The third category in which Richmond ranks among the Top-3 nationally and leads the league is scoring defense (8.8 points/game).
UNEVENTFUL TURNOVERS
Richmond has turned the ball over 16 times in its last 12 games, but the Spider defense has yet to allow points to come off those turnovers.
Richmond's defense has responded to those 16 turnovers by intercepting five passes, forcing one fumble, forcing two missed field goals and forcing eight punts.
In those same 12 games, the Spider defense has forced 19 turnovers, which the offense has turned into 41 points.
SUPERIOR MATCH-UP
Saturday's game will pit two of the top-ranked teams in the country, and will be shown on regional television as well as the worldwide web.
Richmond's defense ranks among the Top-5 nationally in nearly every major category, while New Hampshire's offense leads the nation in nearly every major category.
The Spiders have allowed an average of 8.8 points per game, which is tops in the A-10 and second in the country. New Hampshire leads the league and the nation by averaging 51.0 points per game.
Richmond leads the league and ranks 14th in the country allowing just 97.0 yards on the ground. New Hampshire leads the league and is fourth in the country averaging 249.2 yards on the ground.
The Spiders lead the conference and rank third in pass defense, allowing 103.0 yards through the air. New Hampshire's offense is second in the conference and 12th in the nation averaging 239.5 yards through the air.
Richmond's defense is tops in the A-10 and fourth in the country in Passing Defense Efficiency with a rating of 88.9, while the Wildcat's offense leads the league and the country with an efficiency rating of 181.1.
The Spiders' total defense mark of 200.0 per game is tops in the conference and fourth in the country. New Hampshire's 488.8 yards of total offense is best in the A-10 as well as second-best in the nation.
SPIDER SPORTS ON THE WEB
Richmond's official athletics website can be found at www.RichmondSpiders.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches, statistics and video highlights as well as audio broadcasts for every Spider Football game, is part of the College Sports Television Network. CSTV currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, as well as its newest member -- the Atlantic 10 Conference.
OVER THE AIR
Spider football games can be heard live on the Spider Sports Network. The network includes two new radio affiliates for all of Spider Athletics. ESPN Radio 950 AM will carry every Spider Football game in 2006, while The Wolf 93.1 FM will broadcast each the Spiders' scheduled three night games (at Duke, Delaware, at Villanova).
The "Voice of the Spiders" Bob Black, a veteran broadcaster in his 23rd season for the Spiders, will handle the play-by-play.
Former Spider defensive standout Jasmonn Coleman (analyst) will join Black in the booth for his second season with Spider Football. Coleman, a Henrico High School product, played in 42 games on the defensive line for the Spiders during his career. During the 1997 season, as a senior, Coleman tied for the team lead with seven sacks.
Matt Smith reports from the sidelines, offering listeners an all-access field level view of the action and will have the first word from the Spiders and head coach Dave Clawson live from the locker room following the game.
Matt Josephs rounds out the radio team, producing the broadcasts and anchoring the Spider Sportsdesk from the studios of flagship station ESPN Radio 950, keeping listeners up-to-date on Atlantic 10, state, and national college football scores and highlights throughout the day.
SPIDERS "ON THE MOVE" IN THE RANKINGS
Richmond Football has now been in The Sports Network I-AA Top-25 for each of the last 11 weeks. The Spiders first appeared at No. 23 in the national poll, Oct. 31, 2005, after topping James Madison, 17-15. Richmond then moved up in the poll each week for the remainder of the season. The Spiders debuted at No. 15 in the 2006 Preseason poll. After its shutout-win over Duke, Richmond jumped to No. 10, then moved up two spots to No. 8 the following week. Two weeks ago the Spiders jumped one spot to No. 7, and remained in that position last week as well as in this week's poll. Below is a rundown of Richmond's chronological movement in the poll:
Date (Ranking): Oct. 31--No. 23, Nov. 7--No. 18, Nov. 14--No. 17, Nov. 21--No. 12, 2005 Final--No. 8, 2006 Preseason--No. 15, Sept. 4--No. 10, Sept. 11--No. 8, Sept. 18--No. 7, Sept. 25--No. 7, Oct. 2--No. 7
NCAA I-AA PLAYOFF RECAP & RANKINGS
Richmond was impressive in their two contests in last season's NCAA I-AA playoff run. The Spiders finished the Championship format ranked among the Top-5 in several categories combining all 16 teams in the field.
In its two games, the Spiders were a perfect 9-for-9 on trips inside the redzone -- one of just four teams in the entire field of 16 to be perfect in the category.
The Spider defense allowed an average of 17 points in its two games during the playoff run, which ranked second among the 16-team field. Only Nicholls State allowed an average of fewer points in its playoff run (14 points in one game).
Richmond's defense allowed opponents a 33 percent success rate on third-down conversions in the NCAA I-AA Championships. Only Texas State had a better opponent third-down conversion figure of 30.6 percent in the 16-team field.
The Spider offense rushed for an average of 223 yards in their two games during the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, ranking fourth among the 16-team field.
The Richmond defense allowed the third-lowest rushing average in the NCAA I-AA Playoffs, at just 147.0 per game.
BIGGER, STRONGER AND SMARTER
The Spiders have not only improved on the field, but also in both the weight room and the classroom since head coach Dave Clawson first year at Richmond.
Since first taking over the program in the spring of 2004, Clawson has talked about the correlation of off-the-field success and program success. The Spiders have done just that, raising the team GPA at least two points in each of the four semesters. The culmination of the success came in the transition from last fall's team GPA of 2.46 to the spring 2006 team GPA of 2.62, a jump of 0.16.
As mentioned above, the Spiders have also improved in the weight room. In 2004, Richmond had just 20 players on its roster with a three-lift combined total of 1,000 pounds. In 2005, the Spiders upped the total to 42 players of 1,000 pounds. The improvement happened once again this past off-season, as now 54 players (61 percent of the roster) has a three-lift total of more than 1,000 pounds.
LEFTOVERS FROM NORTHEASTERN
--The win made the team 4-0 to start the season for the first time since beginning the 1995 season 4-0.
-- The victory made the Spiders 3-0 at home this season and 9-6 all-time at UR Stadium under head coach Dave Clawson.
-- The win gave Clawson his first win in an Atlantic 10 home-opener during his tenure at Richmond.
-- Gives Clawson his second win in an Atlantic 10 opener during his time at Richmond. In Clawson's first season at Richmond (2004), the Spiders traveled to No. 9 UMass and won, 24-14, to open their Atlantic 10 schedule.
-- The win marked the first win in an Atlantic 10 home-opener since the 2002 season. The Spiders opened the A-10 season with a 15-13 win over No. 9 Delaware.
-- The win moved Clawson to 45-41 as a head coach and 106-87-1 in his coaching career.
-- The win made Clawson 2-0 in his head-coaching career against Northeastern.
-- The victory extended the Spiders' win-loss record in the all-time series with the Huskies, 7-5.
-- The win pushed Richmond's record to 4-2 all-time against the Huskies at UR Stadium.
-- The win helped snap the Huskies' three-game win streak in the all-time series.
-- The victory gave the Spiders 12 wins in their last 13 games dating back to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005.
-- The win extended the Spiders' regular season win streak to 11 games and their regular season home win streak to eight-straight.
-- The win gave Richmond an all-time record of 453-589-53.
-- Redshirt freshman Michael Ireland returned a blocked punt for a nine-yard touchdown with 13:07 left in the first quarter. It marked the first blocked punt return for a TD for Richmond since Brian Daly did it at Delaware, Nov. 16, 1991.
-- Redshirt freshman Justin Forte recorded both the block on the punt early in the first quarter as well as the second safety of the season for Richmond. The Marietta, Ga., native made a tackle in the endzone after Northeastern muffed a snap on an attempted punt.
-- Junior Tim Hightower rushed a career-high 37 times, for a career-best 149 yards, marking his fifth-career contest over 100 yards. His 37 attempts are tied for the sixth-most in school history, and are the most since Jarvis Jennings carried the ball 38 times against VMI, Oct. 19, 1983.
-- Senior Lance Gray recorded the fourth interception of his career with 10:11 left in the third quarter. The Mechanicsville, Va., native returned it 38 yards before fumbling and giving it back to the Huskies.
-- Redshirt freshman David Horton, who made his first-career start at cornerback, recorded his first career interception with 1:47 left in the third quarter.