In 2007, Richmond won a school record 11 games (11-3), reached the NCAA Semifinals (falling to eventual National Champion Appalachian State), won the CAA Football Championship, and finished with a school-record No. 4 national ranking. Coming off the most successful season in school history, the Richmond Spiders opened the 2008 season where the magical 2007 run ended – in North Carolina with a 28-10 victory over then 15th-ranked Elon.

Mike London is making his head coaching debut after 20 years as an assistant coach, including previous stops at Richmond, in the NFL for the Houston Texans, and most recently as the defensive coordinator at Virginia. London returns 8 starters for new offensive coordinator Mike Faragalli who inherits an offense that averaged 34.9 points per game last year. In addition to Faragalli, London brings in new line coach Bill Polin, a new tight ends coach in Scott Burton, and Mark Carney now supervises the wide receivers after years as quarterbacks coach.

In the opener against Elon, quarterback Eric Ward threw for a career-high 236 yards on 17-of-22 passing with two touchdowns and no picks. He also ran 14 times for 59 yards. Tailback Josh Vaughan rushed for 119 yards and two scores, while wide receiver Kevin Grayson reeled in 121 yards receiving, including an 80-yard TD strike for the Spiders’ first score. UR out-gained the Phoenix 452-235 with a balanced attack of 236 yards in the air and 216 on the ground. The Spiders converted eight of their 14 third-down plays and held a nearly 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look:

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