Tomorrow's contest between Richmond and Virginia will be a game of contrasts. Coming off a 38-35 overtime loss to Brigham Young last weekend, the Cavaliers are facing a Spider team fresh off a 10-7 victory over Bucknell.
Starting at 3:30 p.m. at Scott Stadium, Virginia hopes to redeem itself, something Richmond well understands.
"We were hoping and praying Virginia would win 56-0" against BYU, Spider coach Jim Reid said. "We know they are angry now."
History is on the side of the Cavs. In 1997, a week after a season-opening home loss to Auburn, Virginia defeated Richmond 26-7. In a sloppily played game, the Cavalier defense recovered three Spider fumbles to set up three Cav touchdowns.
Richmond "snuck up on us in '97," Virginia senior cornerback Tim Spruill explained. "We kind of expected them to roll over and they didn't. We have to be careful with Richmond."
Although the Spiders lost two wideouts to the NFL, the new Richmond offense gives the Cavalier defense several reasons to be careful. Led by first-time starter Sean Gustus at quarterback and offensive lineman Eric Beatty, an All-American candidate, the Spiders option running attack presents a far different challenge than BYU's pass-happy offense.
Last week, the Spiders carried the ball 60 times and passed only 11. The option, which forces many solo tackles, will put tremendous pressure on the Cavalier defense, which tackled poorly against BYU.
"I've got to make sure the team knows exactly what we're doing on defense and that the team is emotionally ready," Virginia coach George Welsh explained.
Said senior linebacker Byron Thweatt: "Option football is all about responsibility."
Against the Spiders, tackling will be at a premium for the Virginia defense, which gave up 38 points after halftime last week.
On the other side of the ball, the Virginia offense will be facing a Spider defense that allowed zero second-half points and only 33 rushing yards last weekend against Bucknell.
"We just looked at the [1997] Richmond game, and it's probably going to be the same defense from three years ago. That really was a struggle," Welsh said.
The Cavaliers hope they can rebound with a victory and follow in the footsteps of the 1994 and 1995 Virginia squads, which lost their season openers and went on to win nine games.
"I hope they would know that we're hungry and the blood's in the water," Thweatt said. "We lost and we're going to go out there and play a hell of a game"
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