Game Preview: Virginia Football vs. Richmond

Everything you need to know about the UVA football season-opener against Richmond

Virginia opens the 2022 football season and the Tony Elliott era against Richmond on Saturday :: Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

A new season of Virginia football is finally upon us. A long offseason that began with the resigning of Bronco Mendenhall and the hiring of Tony Elliott comes to an end this Saturday when UVA hosts Richmond at Scott Stadium. It will be easy to get caught up in all the distractions of the day with Tony Elliott making his head coaching debut, but there is still a game to be played and the Cavaliers will be looking to open a new chapter in the program's history with a victory over the Spiders. 

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers vs. Richmond Spiders

When: Saturday, September 3rd at 12:30pm

Where: Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ACC Regional Sports Networks

All-time series: Virginia leads 29-3-2

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Richmond 42-13 in 2018

Opponent Breakdown: Richmond

To get a good understanding of the Richmond offense the Virginia defense will face on Saturday, one should actually look at the VMI offense from a couple of seasons ago. The Spiders will be lead by a pair of transfers - quarterback Reece Udinski and wide receiver Jakob Herres - who both started their careers at VMI and the Richmond offense will be coached by new offensive coordinator Billy Cosh, who also came from VMI. 

Udinski, who transferred to Maryland last season but played sparingly, passed for 7,877 yards in his career at VMI, while Herres caught 226 passes for 3,006 receiving yards. Udinski and Herres lead all active FCS players in each of those three stat categories. 

The Spiders also have a pair of capable running backs in Aaron Dykes and Savon Smith, who will likely split carries out of the backfield as they did last season. It is difficult to plan for a team without any game film, but the UVA defense can expect that the Spiders will try to get the ball in the hands of Herres, Dykes, and Smith as often as possible. The Cavaliers' efforts to improve their tackling from last season will be tested early. 

On the other side of the ball, the Richmond defense is led by linebacker Tristan Wheeler, a three-time All-CAA selection with 256 career tackles. Wheeler and the Spiders should have a strong run defense, which could present a challenge for the Cavaliers as they try to establish a run game for the first time in multiple seasons. 

It will be interesting to see if the Virginia offensive line can dominate enough up front to get the ground game going and if not, how long the patience of Des Kitchings and the UVA offense will hold before they decide to let Armstrong and the wide receivers loose in an air raid attack. Either way, Virginia should have enough firepower to win this game handily. 

Notes

• Virginia has won five-consecutive season-openers, the longest streak for the program since the Cavaliers won six-straight from 1927 to 1932. UVA's last loss in a season-opener was against Richmond in 2016.
• Tony Elliott will make his head coaching debut on Saturday, becoming the 41st head coach in the history of the Virginia football program. 
• The last UVA head coach to turn in a .500 record in his first season leading the Cavaliers was Art Guepe, who coached the Hoos to a 4-4-1 record in 1946. The last head coach to have a winning record in his first season at Virginia was Earl Abell in 1929. Tony Elliott will look to buck that trend in his first season at the helm of the UVA football program.
• Virginia returns 89% of its total offense yardage from last season. The Cavaliers had the third-best total offense in college football in 2021, averaging 515.3 yards per game.
• This is the fifth time since 2010 that Virginia and Richmond have met to open the college football season. 
• UVA has won 21 of its last 26 season-openers at home and holds an 84-39-9 all-time record in season-openers.

Hear from head coach Tony Elliott and quarterback Brennan Armstrong ahead of the Richmond game in the videos below:

Stay tuned to CavaliersNow for gameday coverage of Saturday's Virginia football season-opener against Richmond. 

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