2008 Richmond Spiders football team

The 2008 Richmond Spiders football team represented the University of Richmond during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Richmond competed as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and played their home games at the University of Richmond Stadium.

2008 Richmond Spiders football
NCAA Division I champion
NCAA Division I Championship Game, W 24–7 vs. Montana
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Division	South
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 1[1]
FCS Coaches	No. 1[2]
Record	13–3 (6–2 CAA)
Head coach	Mike London (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Faragalli (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Russ Huesman (5th season)
Home stadium	University of Richmond Stadium
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

2008 Colonial Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 8 New Hampshire x^		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 18 Maine ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
UMass		4	–	4					7	–	5
Hofstra		2	–	6					4	–	8
Rhode Island		1	–	7					3	–	9
Northeastern		1	–	7					2	–	10
South Division
No. 3 James Madison x$^		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 6 Villanova ^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 1 Richmond ^		6	–	2					13	–	3
No. 20 William & Mary		5	–	3					7	–	4
Delaware		2	–	6					4	–	8
Towson		1	–	7					3	–	9
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The Spiders were led by first-year head coach Mike London. Richmond finished the regular season with a 9–3 overall record and 6–2 record in conference play. After suffering three defeats, the Spiders secured an at-large berth for the FCS playoffs.^[3] At home they defeated Eastern Kentucky, and then on the road, Richmond beat Appalachian State and Northern Iowa to advance to the championship game. In Chattanooga, Richmond defeated Montana, 24–7, to earn the NCAA Division I FCS championship.^[4] It was the University of Richmond's first NCAA national title in any sport.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	7:00 pm	at No. 15 Elon*	No. 4	Rhodes Stadium Elon, NC		W 28–10	10,847
September 6	3:45 pm	at Virginia*	No. 3	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPNU	L 0–16	51,007
September 13	3:00 pm	Towson	No. 4	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA		W 45–14	8,012
September 20	3:00 pm	Maine	No. 2	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA		W 44–17	8,012
September 27	3:30 pm	at No. 19 Villanova	No. 1	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	CN8	L 20–26	6,107	[5]
October 4	1:30 pm	at VMI*	No. 6	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA		W 56–16	7,643
October 11	3:30 pm	No. 1 James Madison	No. 5	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA	CSN	L 31–38	16,151
October 18	3:30 pm	at No. 10 UMass	No. 9	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	CN8	W 30–15	15,953
October 25	3:00 pm	Georgetown*	No. 9	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA		W 48–0	5,168
November 8	1:00 pm	at Hofstra	No. 7	Shuart Stadium Hempstead, NY		W 34–14	1,766
November 15	3:30 pm	Delaware	No. 7	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA	CN8	W 31–14	6,173
November 22	12:00 pm	at No. 16 William & Mary	No. 7	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA (I-64 Bowl)	CSN	W 23–20 OT	9,405
November 29	1:00 pm	No. 21 Eastern Kentucky*	No. 7	University of Richmond Stadium Richmond, VA (NCAA Division I First Round)		W 38–10	2,994
December 6	12:00 pm	at No. 2 Appalachian State*	No. 7	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPNGP	W 33–13	15,215
December 13	4:00 pm	at No. 4 Northern Iowa*	No. 7	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPN	W 21–20	12,062
December 19	8:00 pm	vs. No. 5 Montana*	No. 7	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (NCAA Division I Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 24–7	17,823
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. Sports Network's Final 2008 FCS College Football Poll Archived May 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
2. "2008 FCS Coaches Poll". Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
3. Football wins first national championship in school history Archived 2009-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, The Collegian, December 20, 2008.
4. Richmond 2008 Schedule/Results, ESPN, retrieved June 27, 2009.
5. "Marcoux, Villanova knock off top-ranked Richmond". The Morning Call. September 28, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.