University of Richmond Athletics
15th-Ranked Spiders Set To Open Season At Duke
Aug. 29, 2006
Complete Richmond Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Complete Atlantic 10 Release in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
Complete Opponent Game Notes in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
The 15th-ranked Richmond Spiders open their 124th season of football with a trip south to Durham, N.C., to face the Duke Blue Devils. Kickoff at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium is set for 6 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, The Wolf 93.1 FM and worldwide at RichmondSpiders.com
The Spiders are coming off a storybook season in which they began the year 0-2 and 1-3, before going on a seven-game regular season win streak which led them to a share of the Atlantic 10 title and a berth in the NCAA I-AA Playoffs. Richmond upended a then-undefeated Hampton squad on the road in the first round of the playoffs and nearly topped Furman in the NCAA Quarterfinals at UR Stadium. The Spiders return nine offensive starters which garnered a school-record 4,957 yards of total offense. Richmond also returns seven starters from a defense which ranked among the nation's Top-25 against the run, allowing just 120.1 yards per game.
Richmond is under the direction of third-year head coach Dave Clawson, who has compiled a seven-year career record of 41-41 and a 12-12 mark in two seasons at Richmond. Ted Roof is in his fifth season as the Blue Devils' head coach. Roof has compiled a four-year career mark of 5-22, all coming at Duke.
QUICK OUTS...
-- Richmond's offense has converted on nine-straight trips into the redzone dating back to the first round of the NCAA I-AA Playoffs at Hampton. The Spiders ended the 2005 season converting on 27 of 28 trips into the redzone. In the current nine-trip string the Spiders scored eight touchdowns and kicked one field goal. Richmond has scored 20 touchdowns and kicked seven field goals in the last 27 successful trips.
-- The Spiders gave the ball away seven times in the final four games of the 2005 season, but did not allow opponents to score off those turnovers. Richmond's defense allowed just 23 points on 21 Spider turnovers during the season, including shutting out opponents in the points-off-turnover category over the final eight games, when the Spiders turned it over 11 times.
-- Junior Arman Shields had five 100-yard receiving games last season. The last Spider to haul in 100 yards or more in five single-season games was Rod Boothes -- he did it six times in 1992.
-- Junior Sherman Logan led the A-10 and ranked seventh nationally among I-AA players with an average of 0.92 sacks per game. As a team, the Spiders ranked first in the league and seventh in the nation with 3.2 sacks per game. Logan's 11 total sacks in 2005 were the third-best single-season total in school history, and only three off the school record of 14 set by Marc Megna in 1997.
-- Senior Adam Goloboski has amassed 298 tackles in his three-year career with the Spiders. He needs just 25 more stops to appear on Richmond's all-time career tackles list at No. 10 which would tie him with Taylor Lackey at 323.
T-O MARGIN IMPROVEMENT
The Spiders ranked 38th in I-AA and fifth in the Atlantic 10 last season with a turnover margin of 0.38 (+5). Prior to the 2005 season head coach Dave Clawson noted turnover margin was an area of emphasis the Spiders must improve on from the 2004 to 2005 slates. In 2004, Richmond ranked 11th in the A-10 with a -0.91 (-10) turnover margin.
The highlight of the improvement, Richmond forced 12 fumbles and intercepted opponents 14 times in 2005. The offense then scored nine TD's and kicked three field goals to post 71 points off those 26 TO's.
On the flipside, the Spiders fumbled seven times and threw 14 interceptions, but Richmond's defense allowed just three TD's and one field goal off those 21 TO's.
NEW SPIDER SPECIALISTS
A large responsibility will fall on the shoulders of both Brian Radford and Andrew Howard in their first collegiate football season. Gone from the Spiders 2006 roster are special team mainstay's Joseph Fore and Chris Radford.
Brian Radford and Howard inherit the kicking assignments this season after Fore left Richmond as the fourth-best scoring kicker in Spider Football history, and Chris Radford earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 punting honors in 2005.
Howard, a late addition to the Spider recruiting class for the 2006 season, finished his two-year prep kicking career 101-for-104 in PAT attempts and 13-for-18 in field goal attempts.
Brian Radford hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Chris, who he will replace as the Spiders' punter and kickoff specialist.
A RICHMOND WIN WOULD...
-- Give the Spiders a season-opening win for the first time since the 2000 season.
-- Mark the first time head coach Dave Clawson has opened a season at Richmond with a win.
-- Make the Spiders 1-0 on the road this season and 7-6 all-time on the road under Clawson.
-- Mark only the second win all-time versus the Blue Devils, and the first since Oct. 2, 1926.
-- Mark the first ever win for the Spiders in Durham, N.C.
-- Move Clawson to 42-41 as a head coach and 103-87-1 in his coaching career.
-- Give Clawson his first all-time win against the Blue Devils.
-- Mark Richmond's first win over a I-A opponent since topping Arkansas State, 30-27, Sept. 30, 2000.
-- Give the Spiders nine wins in their last 10 games dating back to a 38-20 win over Villanova, Oct. 8, 2005.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 450-589-53.
A RICHMOND LOSS WOULD...
-- Make the Spiders 0-1 on the road this season and 6-7 all-time on the road under Clawson.
-- Give the Spiders an opening-season loss for the sixth-straight season.
-- Mark the eighth-straight loss to Duke in the all-time series, and the seventh-straight loss to the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C.
-- Move Clawson to 41-42 as a head coach and 102-88-1 in his coaching career.
-- Give Clawson his first all-time loss against the Blue Devils.
-- Give Richmond an all-time record of 449-590-53.
CLAWSON & RICHMOND VERSUS ROOF
Spider head coach Dave Clawson and Duke head coach Ted Roof have faced each other twice during their stints as assistant coaches.
In 1995, Clawson, then an offensive coordinator at Lehigh, lost to UMass where Roof was the defensive coordinator, 44-36, Oct. 28.
In 1996, Clawson, then an offensive coordinator at Villanova, evened the match-up between the two by topping Roof, the defensive coordinator for the Mintuemen, 50-14, Sept. 7 (season-opener for both teams).
Roof has faced the Spiders three times prior to becoming a head coach, but managed just one win while serving as an assistant with the UMass Minutemen.
Richmond topped the Minutemen, 14-13, in 1994 when Roof was UMass' defensive line coach. The Spiders won the following year (1995) over a 19th-ranked UMass squad, 21-7, when Roof was the defensive coordinator.
Roof got his revenge on the Spiders in 1996, his final season as defensive coordinator for the Minutemen, when UMass topped Richmond, 23-17, in overtime.
HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
The 2005 Richmond squad was all about adjustments in the second half. The Spiders' outscored opponents in the second half 158-78.
Richmond won two of its games in come-from-behind fashion in the fourth-quarter, outscoring its opponents 77-31 in the final period of play throughout the season.
Richmond scored 21 unanswered points against Villanova, Oct. 8, in the fourth quarter to come from behind and win the first of what became an eight-game win streak.
The Spiders were down 30-17 against Hofstra, Oct. 22, going into the fourth quarter and scored 13 unanswered points to send the game to overtime. Each team tacked on a touchdown in the first overtime, but the Spiders blocked a field goal attempt in the second OT session then scored on the ensuing drive.
SPIDER FOOTBALL IN THE RANKINGS
Richmond Football has now been in The Sports Network I-AA Top-25 for each of the last six 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, and are one five Atlantic 10 Conference squads in the preseason poll.
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 and 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 (sideline) rounds out the radio team, Smith will offer listeners a field level view of all of the action.
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.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Not only have individual student-athletes received preseason recognition in 2006, but as a team Richmond has garnered some buzz.
Athlon Magazine ranked the Spiders No. 21 in its preseason poll. Lindy's Magazine has Richmond tabbed No. 19 in its preseason picks.
In a vote conducted by all Atlantic 10 Conference coaches and select conference media members, the Spiders were picked to finish second in the A-10 South, behind James Madison. Richmond received nine of the possible 27 first-place votes in the division.
I-AA.org, a nationally recognized entity which covers I-AA Football, has the Spiders picked to win the A-10 South, ahead of James Madison.
BIG-PLAY TIME
A majority of the Spiders' success in 2005 came via the big plays. Richmond tallied 25 plays which accounted for 35-or-more yards, and of those, eight went for touchdowns.
The Spider defense did a great job of eliminating the big play, holding the opposition to just 15 plays of 35-or-more yards.
When you look at the eight big plays the Spiders scored on, four of them came by way of plays measuring 59 yards or better -- rush for 59 yards, pass for 64 yards, rush of 75 yards and pass for 79 yards.
BIGGER, STRONGER AND SMARTER
The Spiders have not only improved on the field since head coach Dave Clawson first year at Richmond, but also in both the weight room and the classroom.
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.
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.