Season Preview - University of Richmond

Hello there, friends. It may be hard to believe it, but we are less than two months from opening kickoff in Charlottesville. We here at Wahooze are getting ready to roll out a ton of preview content in the coming weeks including our expectations/guesses for the team, position-specific looks, our wishlist for the season, and a few other surprises - but today, we dive into team previews for this season's opponents. Up first - the University of Richmond Spiders.

Saturday, September 1st


Ah, the esteemed tradition of beginning the year with a Division 1AA FCS opponent. UVa has recently moved passed the era of "We Should Be Concerned Because We Could Lose This Game" when scheduling FCS teams, but is still squarely in "This is a Smart First Game" territory. Frankly, as excited people are about this year's team coming off a surprising 8-win season, there a whole lot of things to work out if the Hoos are going to challenge for the Coastal Division title again. We'll detail these at length soon, but for now, know that this team is going to benefit in a big way from beginning the year with four quarters of game action against an opponent with which they should have no trouble.

Mike London's former team is coming off a 3-8 (0-8 in conference) year in the tougher-than-you-may-think Colonial Athletic Association. While they couldn't handle the likes of ODU and William and Mary, the Spiders did start last year with a W over Duke. That result, combined with Virginia's too-recent habit of playing poorly against inferior opponents, should have Mike London & Co. taking the U of R quite seriously. That being said, Richmond was not a good team last year and while I do think they'll improve under new HC Danny Rocco (formerly of Liberty - current uncle of QB Mike Rocco) the first game of their year will be their toughest to win.

Coach Rocco's team includes senior stars RB Kendall Gaskins and LB Darius McMillan, but is looking to replace Aaron Corp at QB, as well as eight other starters. At captain, the Spiders have a veteran back-up QB in John Laub and former Georgia Tech starter Cooper Taylor at DB. There is some talent on both sides of the ball and Danny Rocco is an enormous upgrade in the head coaching spot from Latrell Scott, but this should be a one-sided game for the Cavs. If Phillip Sims does get the ok from the NCAA to play, look for the Hoos to use the game as a gradual warm up to the playbook for the new QB, but if Mike Rocco's under center, the score could get out of hand early. Richmond simply doesn't have the size or speed to keep up with the talent on Virginia's roster, so Mike London's squad should get four quarters of live game experience to prepare for Penn State.

Early Prediction: Hoos 38 Spiders 7