Virginia Football Game Preview: Richmond

By: Kris Wright |
The Virginia football team is ready for the season opener with Richmond.
Doni Dowling and Quin Blanding work at Virginia football practice this spring. ~ Kris Wright

The Virginia football team kicks off its season Saturday when Richmond visits town at 3:30 p.m. It’s the 86th season of UVA football at Scott Stadium as the Bronco Mendenhall era hits the field.

Fans can expect some changes for year 87 in the venue. A handful of adjustments have been made to the game day routine. Here’s a quick look:

  • Diamonds containing the letters in V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A have returned to the end zone paint
  • Game programs will be handed out for free
  • The Wahoo Walk held two hours before kickoff in the West lot no longer will take place
  • A new pregame video will take the place of The “Adventures of Cavman” cartoon on HooVision just before the team takes the field – the team will enter in a new way as well
  • New concession stand offerings (bottomless sodas with a custom sticker, 1-Liter waters at portable locations, Einstein Bros, Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, and a barbecue smoker)
  • New uniforms

Mendenhall discussed some of the changes in this Virginia Sports TV video:

Mendenhall also shared some thoughts at his Monday press conference.

“I’m not anxious to have UVA be BYU or vice versa. I’m actually for UVA to be UVA. I’m still learning,” he said. “But I had to make some decisions because we’re in the season. I was thinking, ‘What would honor and what is maybe the epitome and what would unite the most people of the multiple eras together to celebrate University of Virginia?’ The diamonds in the end zone to me were captivating, I saw a picture of not an empty seat, UVA beating Florida State. I thought that would be a cool thing as a symbol. I saw an old helmet in the stadium that had numbers on both sides. It was orange and had numbers on both sides with a single stripe. The idea of, ‘How do I incorporate that, but send a message we intend to take that and add to it, not in place of,’ because every player and coach that’s been here, man, they’ve tried their best. So where it is now is what I’ve inherited, so I’m hopeful. I’m lucky to be here, lucky to have this opportunity. It’s not only about us, it’s about all that have played here moving forward. Hopefully that’s the way it’s coming across, because that’s the intent.”

Here’s some of what to expect from the contest with Richmond.

Virginia Football Essentials

Hoo Facts

  • This is Virginia’s 127th season of football and the 86th season played at Scott Stadium.
  • UVA has won 17 of its last 21 season openers at Scott Stadium. The Hoos are 74-20-7 (.767) all-time in home season openers and 80-37-9 all-time in season openers (.676).
  • Virginia leads the series with Richmond 28-2-2. That includes a 10-game winning streak for the Hoos. The Spiders’ last series win came in 1946. UVA owns a 58-9-3 record all-time against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents.
  • New Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is 8-3 in season openers (all at BYU). Mendenhall’s BYU team lost at Virginia in its season opener in 2013, which snapped a six-game streak for the coach. He is 8-0 all-time against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams.
  • Six Richmond coaches have direct ties to the Virginia football program – five coached at UVA, while two played for the program. Head coach Danny Rocco and assistants Sparky Woods, John Garrett, and Levern Belin were Cavalier assistants, while Fontel Mines and Clint Sintim were Cavalier players.

Spider Facts

  • Richmond won 10 games last season and advanced to the FCS Semifinals. The Spiders return 16 of 22 starters from that team. UR is ranked as high as No. 3 in the preseason FCS polls, the first time in the top five since 2009.
  • The Spiders were tabbed as the preseason favorite in the CAA.
  • Richmond has played an ACC team in eight of the past 10 seasons and has posted three wins in that span. The last victory came 23-21 at Duke in 2011.

3 Hoos To Watch

  • Starting quarterback Kurt Benkert. The East Carolina transfer is expected to make his first college start Saturday. He faces an opportunistic FCS defense – Richmond led the FCS level with 22 interceptions last year. The Spiders have led the country three times and has been in the top 20 six total times since 2008. UVA is going to throw the ball quite a bit so if he can avoid turnovers, Benkert could put up some passing yards. Five QBs have had 250 or more passing yards in their first UVA start: Aaron Brooks (305 vs. Auburn), Phillip Sims (268 vs. Duke), Mike Groh (257 vs. Navy), Bob Davis (250 vs. Wake Forest), and Matt Blundin (250 vs. Clemson).
  • Cornerback Juan Thornhill. On the other side of the ball, this sophomore is in line for his first career start as well. He faces a Richmond offense that likes to throw the ball around the yard too. Will the Spiders try to target the youngster with its All-American Brian Brown?
  • Running back Taquan Mizzell. Virginia has thrown the ball Mizzell’s way a lot during his career, but with a new offense in town – one that didn’t throw to the running backs much in recent seasons at BYU – it will be interesting to see how the senior is used. Don’t expect the coaches to unveil anything more than necessary against the Spiders, but there could be some hints of Mizzell’s receiving possibilities in the opener.

3 Spiders To Watch

  • All-American safety David Jones. The CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year set records in 2015 with four interceptions in one game (single game record) and nine interceptions in one season (season record) – that included a 100-yard touchdown return (longest in school history). He tackles too, finishing second on the team in 2015 with 97 stops.
  • All-American receiver Brian Brown. The first player in program history to have multiple seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards needs only 384 yards to become Richmond’s all-time leader. He has 12 career touchdown catches too. Last season, 58 of Brown’s 76 receptions produced a first down.
  • Quarterback Kyle Lauletta. The CAA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year lit it up in his first season as a starter last fall. He threw for 3,598 yards (2nd in FCS) and 19 touchdowns. Lauletta played in high school at Downingtown East in Exton, Pa. – that’s the same town where two-year Virginia starter Dan Ellis played at Downingtown High, which split into two schools in 2003.

3 Things To Watch

  • Second-level blocking. The new offensive scheme in place at Virginia will ask center Jackson Matteo to release to the second level and block linebackers at times. This week, that means Matteo must account for Richmond linebacker Omar Howard, who led the Spiders (2nd in CAA) with 136 tackles last season. On the flipside, UR fullback James Pavik will try to lead the way into the second level against the likes of Micah Kiser.
  • Third downs. Last season, Richmond’s offense converted 47% of the time on third down … but its defense allowed 45%. On the other hand, Mendenhall’s BYU defenses allowed 40% or better conversions just once since 2009 (40.32% in 2010) and the Cougars led the country in 2012 at 26.52%. Can UVA get the Spiders’ number below 40% but still take advantage of that 45% number when its own offense has the ball? If so, the Hoos might end up with a big advantage on the scoreboard.
  • The front three. UVA has switched to a 3-4 base defense under Mendenhall. While there will be plenty of variations with the scheme (it won’t always look like or actually be a 3-4), but the three linemen need to help stuff the run – that’s the first key for Mendenhall’s defenses – and hopefully stress the quarterback. Only Donte Wilkins, however, has much experience or production in his career to date so how will Andrew Brown, Jack Powers, Steven Wright, and Eli Hanback fair as the new system debuts?

Stay tuned for the Sabre staff’s picks for this week’s game with Richmond and a poll where you make your pick!