Spiders seek quick ignition vs. Minutemen

A "second-half team" can be defined as a strong finisher or a weak starter. Either way, those involved with the University of Richmond's football operation would like to smooth out the ride this afternoon vs. visiting Massachusetts.

The Spiders trailed at Maine 14-10 last Saturday on the way to a 38-21 win. Richmond (4-0 CAA, 6-0), the top-ranked team in the FCS, has trailed at halftime in three of six games. In its last 36 games (last two seasons and this year), Richmond has outscored opponents in the second half 25 times, including each game this season. That's a testament to halftime adjustments, off-season conditioning and perhaps sharpened focus.

"Some games, we tend to come out a little slow in the first half, and then I think we just have an eye-opener, an awakening at halftime in the locker room," said Patrick Weldon, a junior linebacker. "We realize we didn't come out and play our best football."

The Spiders' knack for in-game touch-ups has led to 15 consecutive victories. To coach Mike London, it's no surprise that UR's 15 fifth-year senior starters keyed comebacks this season. In the second half, the Spiders have outscored opponents 87-35. In the fourth quarter, the dominance is 56-22.

"With an experienced team, guys can recognize what they think is good is not good enough," London said.

UMass (2-1, 4-2), ranked No. 14, appears to be a team that could make UR pay for a weak start. The Minutemen feature three of the CAA's finest offensive players in wide receiver Victor Cruz (leads league in receiving yardage, 80.5 ypg), tailback Tony Nelson (2,421 career rushing yards) and left tackle Vladimir Ducasse (a 6-5, 330-pound NFL prospect).

CAA North Division teams often experience difficulty handling the team speed of South Division opponents. UR has won nine straight vs. North competition. But Spiders' defensive coordinator Vic Shealy said, "Our [fans], if they don't know much about UMass' athletic ability, they're getting ready to find out."

UMass has a junior-college transfer quarterback, Kyle Havens, who leads the CAA in passing yards per game (242.7), and placekicker Armando Cuko has a league-leading 14 field goals (six more than 40 yards). The Minutemen are the Colonial's leaders in total offense (440.7 ypg).

First-year UMass coach Kevin Morris, the program's offensive coordinator from 2004-08, recognizes the Spiders' strength as that which they avoid. "They don't turn the ball over. They don't make a lot of mistakes. They don't have a lot of missed assignments," he said.

Fast starts, however, have not been Richmond's specialty. Only once this season has UR scored more than seven points in the first quarter. Four times, the Spiders have scored more than seven in the fourth quarter.

"That's something we really need to work on," Weldon said. "We need to start faster, come out quicker, start playing our best ball in the first half so we don't have to play catch-up in the second half."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or .