BC-Richmond Football Preview

On November 30th, BC will take on Richmond. The classic battle between the Eagle and the Spider. BC last beat Richmond in OT in December of 2017, narrowly avoiding an upset 78-73. Hopefully, Jim Christian and co. will be able to take care of business easier this time around.

In football news, the second game of the season will see BC and Richmond battle it out at Alumni Stadium on Saturday, September 7th at 3:30pm (hmm unclear whether this will allow for the new, extended fourth hour of tailgating since this is barely after 3 but my guess is it will not). Unfortunately, Richmond didn’t have a SB Nation blog we could reach out to for a season preview, but here are some fun facts about Richmond.

Richmond is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association in FCS. They went 4-7 last season and 2-6 in the CAA. They lost to fellow-ACC member Virginia 42-13 in the opener last season. BC is 4-1 all time vs Richmond with the last match-up coming in 1971.

Richmond defeated BU 35-33 in the first round of the 1984 NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. After this loss the Terriers would fail to reach the playoffs again for nearly a decade and soon disbanded their football program.

While the actual Eli Manning heir apparent, Kyle Lauletta, is no longer leading the helm for Richmond, a few quarterbacks appear to be vying for the starting job this season. Last season saw three quarterbacks take the field, but opening-day starter Kevin Johnson chose to finish his college career at Western Illinois. The team struggled quite a bit at the position, and was second-worst in the FCS with 18 interceptions.

Juniors Joe Mancuso and Reid Chenault both made starts in 2018. Mancuso started four games, and threw for 1,185 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions and actually led the team in rushing with 354 yards. Chenault saw his time late in the season and ended with 354 passing yards and a touchdown. The walk-on started the final game of the season against rival William & Mary, ending 12-20 for 72 yards in a 10-6 victory. Air Force sophomore transfer Beau English is also fighting for the starting nod and seems to have the edge at the moment. English is a dual-threat quarterback who played his high school ball at nearby powerhouse DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, and has yet to see college action.

On the defensive side, lineman Maurice Jackson was named the preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year, coming off 10 sacks in 10 games. He led the conference in tackles for loss at 15 and forced fumbles with four. Senior Daniel Jones (different one) earned Second Team All-CAA honors at safety and has recorded seven interceptions over the past two seasons.

Freshman kicker Jake Larson might be one to watch though. Richmond picked him up late in the process, but he evidently has 55+ yard range.

UR’s football team held a bonding session at Dave and Buster’s as they wrap up camp.

Head coach Russ Huesman was previously head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and is 10-12 since taking over Richmond. The Spiders opens their season against Jacksonville before making their way to Chestnut Hill.

Obviously, this shouldn’t be much trouble at all for the Eagles. The contest will surely allow for younger players to see game action for the first time.

Guess the Line: BC -31.5

Kansas is up next.