Duke football players remember Richmond

DURHAM – Inevitably with Richmond as its season-opening opponent on Saturday, the Duke football players have received questions this week about their two previous losses to the Spiders.

Are they motivated by the losses? Do they recall the locker room after the game? Do they remember how devastated they felt? 

“They remember,” said Duke coach David Cutcliffe, whose NCAA Division I team looks to start its 99th season with a convincing victory over an opponent who has twice come into Wallace Wade Stadium and played spoiler.  

The Blue Devils own a 56-39-3 all-time record over Richmond, yet the Spiders collected a 13-0 victory in 2006 and a 24-16 victory in 2009. Both times they upset Duke in front of its home crowd.

Richmond plays in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA. The Spiders are members of the Colonial Athletic Association. 

“The I-AA thing is nothing to be focused on,” Duke redshirt senior defensive lineman Charlie Hatcher said. “Richmond beat us two years ago. Appalachian State beat Michigan two years ago. Richmond’s a top program in what they are doing. They are good enough to play alongside most teams in Division I.”

Hatcher said the important thing to focus on is the physicality the Spiders brought to the game. 

“I think we have to come out there and match their intensity physically to do what we want to do,” Hatcher added.

The Devils finished last season with a 3-9 record and were 1-7 in ACC play. They are eager to dispatch the Spiders and show that the team has improved. Plus, the win would place them closer to the six games needed to become bowl eligible. 

The Devils have not participated in a bowl game since 1994.

Cutcliffe, who enters his fourth season, said during his weekly news conference that this team is “significantly deeper and significantly faster” than in years past. He said there’s particularly more depth on the defensive line and more experience on the offensive line.

While the running game remains an enigma, the Devils have talented players, from junior quarterback Sean Renfree to junior receiver Conner Vernon to senior safety Matt Daniels.  

Even so, Cutcliffe said the Devils must show and not tell what they are about. 

“It’s about our program,” he said. “I want us to challenge ourselves. I want us to be the kind of football team we expect ourselves to be.”

Richmond has a new coach – Wayne Lineburg – this season and will look different from the team that last defeated Duke in 2009.

“A lot of the kids weren’t even here when that happened,” Duke sophomore quarterback Brandon Connette said. “We’re focused on beating this Richmond team and not focused on what that Richmond team did.”

But some of his teammates remember.

“We better be ready,” Renfree said, “or else it’s going to be a rough start.”