Live Blog: Richmond vs. James Madison

4th Quarter, 0:00- Spiders win! The hail mary attempt again falls to the turf, and Richmond escapes with a huge victory over rival JMU. Final Score: UR- 35, JMU- 29.

4th Quarter, 0:01- Birdsong's hail mary attempt falls incomplete, bringing up 4th down at the 31. The clock had shown zeroes after the pass, prompting UR players and coaches to rush out onto the field, but the ref said there was still time remaining. UR calls a timeout to regroup.

4th Quarter, 0:18- Why has Birdsong not been playing the whole game? He escapes pressure and finds a receiver open along the sideline. He's able to get out of bounds at the 31.

4th Quarter, 0:26- The Dukes use their last timeout after a short catch and run by Scott. The ball is at the UR 44, 2nd and 2.

4th Quarter, 0:34- Uh oh. JMU recovers the well kicked onside kick. They have a chance now at their own 48. Rocco looks furious.

4th Quarter, 0:35- On 4th and 5, Birdsong runs over a Spider defender for the 8-yard touchdown. The extra point is good, cutting Richmond's lead to 35-29. JMU will now attempt the onside kick to keep its hopes alive.

4th Quarter, 0:56- JMU takes a timeout with a 2nd and 11 at the UR 14. This game isn't mathematically over. Richmond needs one more stop.

4th Quarter, 1:19- JMU tries the fake spike and throw deep, but UR's defense was prepared, nearly getting the interception.

4th Quarter, 1:33- Birdsong has the Dukes on the move again, out the UR 35-yard line.

4th Quarter, 2:53- JMU takes over at its own 22 following the Richmond punt.

4th Quarter, 5:50- JMU's defense is tired, as Gaskins goes over 100 yards with a first down run.

4th Quarter, 5:57- Green with a nice return out to the UR 37.

4th Quarter, 6:04- Quick strike by JMU, as Birdsong finds Smith wide open down the middle of the field for the 39-yard touchdown. JMU goes for 2 again. They are again unsuccessful as Taylor sniffs out the HB pass attempt and throws Scott to the turf. UR's lead is now 35-22.

4th Quarter, 6:28- Birdsong finds some running room, breaking a long one down to the UR 39.

4th Quarter, 6:41- Kamin getting a nice chant from the fans, as he uses the adrenaline of making the extra point to kick the ball deep into the end zone for the touchback.

4th Quarter, 6:41- That'll ice this one, as Gaskins finds a hole to the far side and races 40 yards for the touchdown, his 10th of the season, leading all CAA players. Richmond finally gives Kamin the shot at the extra point, and he puts it through to extend the lead, 35-16.

4th Quarter, 7:10- UR lineman Mark Speir is hobbling off the field with an apparent injury. Richmond faces a 2nd a 4 at the JMU 40.

4th Quarter, 7:58- Illegal block in the back penalty negates a nice reception by Gaskins.

4th Quarter, 8:30- On 3rd and 1, Taylor comes back in a bounces his way off a defender to pick up the first down. Someone in the press box just asked if he's become our Tim Tebow.

4th Quarter, 9:54- They do, and Wynn is there to make the play batting down Birdsong's pass across the line of scrimmage. Richmond offense comes back with a chance to put this game out of reach at its own 42.

4th Quarter, 9:59- Two great breakups by Hamilton brings up 4th and 6. JMU looks as if it will go for it.

4th Quarter, 11:34- Birdsong with a deep pass complete across midfield to the UR 46. This kid looks good so far.

4th Quarter, 12:13- Hicks's kick bounces at the 1-yard line and into the end zone for the touchback. JMU takes over at its own 20.

4th Quarter, 12:22- Finney trips trying to make the reception on 3rd and long, otherwise it might've gotten them back into field goal range. UR lets the play clock run out to give Hicks more room to punt.

4th Quarter, 13:37- After a false start penalty on UR, Strauss rolls to his right and finds Edwards for another first down, but a holding penalty negates the gain and moves the Spiders back into a 1st and 25 situation at the JMU 41.

4th Quarter, 14:49- On 3rd and 10, Strauss finds his favorite target of the day Barnette for the first down out the JMU 26. He's over 140 receiving yards already today, a career high.

3rd Quarter, 0:00- Taylor comes in at quarterback again, but his rushing attempt goes nowhere as the Spiders let the clock tick off on the third quarter. Heading into the fourth, Richmond leads, 28-16.

3rd Quarter, 0:55- Yet another personal foul penalty on JMU for roughing the passer. JMU coach Mickey Matthews has got to be sick at how undisciplined his defense has been today.

3rd Quarter, 1:50- Gaskins picks up the first down on 2nd and 5. He almost broke it for a big gain, but was just tripped up before he could get going.

3rd Quarter, 2:51- Grant bounces off a few guys on the return, and UR takes over for its next drive at its own 27. They need to burn some clock here.

3rd Quarter, 3:00- The QB change quickly pays off with a JMU touchdown, as Birdsong completed a pass to the 1-yard line and Scott finished it off with a run. The Dukes attempt the 2-point conversion, but do not convert. Richmond's lead is cut to 28-16.

3rd Quarter, 4:10- JMU brings in backup QB Michael Birdsong. On his first play in, JMU's tailback breaks a big run all the way to the UR 22.

3rd Quarter, 4:18- JMU takes over at its own 35 after the return.

3rd Quarter, 4:24- Another touchdown catch for Finney, not the most traditional way to do it though, as the pass was intended for Ponder, but deflected off his hands perfectly into Finney's, who stood alone in the back of the endzone. Hinshaw misses his third extra point of the game, but UR extends its lead, 28-10. That's Finney's third TD catch and Strauss's 4th TD pass.

3rd Quarter, 5:14- Strauss makes them pay for the missed opportunity, with consecutive deep completions, first to Edwards and then to Rashad Ponder. Ball is at the JMU 10.

3rd Quarter, 5:34- Nearly a game-changing interception by JMU's Sage Harold there. He would've taken that back for the touchdown, but he can't hang on.

3rd Quarter, 6:09- UR's Darryl Hamilton makes a tackle just short of the first down on 3rd down. JMU elects to go for it with Thorpe taking off running, but Roane is there to meet him at the line of scrimmage and a big hit. That's a turn over on downs, and UR takes over at the JMU 44.

3rd Quarter, 7:15- JMU still sticking to the run game despite the deficit.

3rd Quarter, 7:33- Ref makes the correction, and Richmond accepts the penalty to re-punt five yards closer. The punt goes a bit further and JMU will now begin at its own 35.

3rd Quarter, 7:42- The Dukes D stands strong at an important point in the game, forcing a three and out and the UR punt. JMU picks up a running into the kicker penalty, but Richmond declines for some reason. JMU gets the ball near midfield.

3rd Quarter, 8:31- Here comes a heavy dose of Gaskins. He picks up 4 on first down.

3rd Quarter, 8:38- Richmond's D keeps the play in front of them, forcing the punt despite a 15 yard gain. This one by JMU is way better, and Strauss and the offense will come back onto the field at their own 25.

3rd Quarter, 9:42- Big loss on the sack by Richmond's Evan Kelly brings up a 3rd and 17. This defense is on its game today. Rocco's got to love to see this.

3rd Quarter, 10:33- Good coverage by the Spiders special teams, and JMU will begin at its own 20.

3rd Quarter, 10:41- On 3rd and goal from 4 yards out, Strauss finds Finney for the tight end's second score of the day. Roughing the passer penalty will be assessed on kickoff. Hinshaw still brought out for extra point, and he makes it this time. Huge cheer from the student section as it goes through. Richmond firmly in control now, ahead 22-10.

3rd Quarter, 11:40- On 3rd and 8, Strauss throws incomplete to Edwards across the middle of the field, but a JMU defender leads with his helmet and nails Edwards, prompting the personal foul penalty and giving Richmond a first and goal at the 8.

3rd Quarter, 13:07- More trickery by the Spiders, as Edwards takes the ball on the receiver end around, but he stops short of the line of scrimmage and throws it deep to Barnette, who makes the leaping catch despite good coverage. Ball is at the 18.

3rd Quarter, 13:35- Big sack by Aaron Roane on 3rd and short, and JMU's punter shanks it out of bounds. Great field position for the Spiders at midfield. That was a 3-yard punt. Strauss and Richmond can take a big step here.

3rd Quarter, 14:57- Interesting beginning to the second half, as Kamin kicks it short and on the ground, as if trying for a surprise onside kick. JMU easily recovers with good field position on its own 43.

Side note: Backup kicker Wil Kamin is out on the field taking the kicks right now. I wonder if he takes over for the rest of this game because of Hinshaw's missed extra points.

Halfime- Now some analysis: Strauss is the real deal. I don't know if the Spiders would be in better position right now if he'd have beaten out Laub for the starting job at the beginning of this season, but I do know when I see talent on the field, and he has it. He's a big reason the Spiders find themselves in position to pull the upset heading into the second half. With that said, Richmond as a whole has played well, so well in fact that this lead should be bigger. If the Spiders end up losing a close game, they'll look back angrily at those missed extra points and having to settle for the field goal when they had the ball at the 3-yard line. The defense is containing Thorpe very well and converging on the team's other runners even better. The defensive gameplan was clearly to make Thorpe beat them with his arm, and he's not doing it right now. The defense does need to do a better job on third downs though. Had it not been for those two huge interceptions, JMU might have a sizable lead right now. Look for Richmond to try to get Gaskins more involved this next half to try to wear down the JMU defense and really take control of this game. A quick stop on D and score on offense by UR would put the Dukes in a really tough situation.

Halftime- First, some important stats for you: Strauss (19-28 for 189 yds, 2 TD), Barnette (7 receptions for 93 yds, TD), Thorpe (6-11, 121 yds, TD, 2 INT, 46 yds rushing), JMU is 6-8 on 3rd down conversions and has a 10 second tim of possession advantage.

2nd Quarter, 0:00- Return of the squib kick goes nowhere for JMU and runs out the clock. Heading into halftime, it's Richmond 15, JMU 10. I'll have some important stats and analysis for you shortly.

2nd Quarter, 0:04- Well, it wasn't a slant, but it was Barnette, as Strauss finds him in the back of the end zone for the 6-yard touchdown. What a way to head into the locker room. Hinshaw misses the extra point again, but Richmond still takes the lead, 15-10.

2nd Quarter, 0:08- Strauss forced to throw the ball away as he was getting chased. UR uses its second timeout. I expect them to try one more time for the end zone, maybe on a slant to Barnette or Edwards before attempting the short field goal.

2nd Quarter, 0:14- Cannon throw by Strauss to Barnette on the opposing sideline for a first down inside the redzone, followed by a similar throw to Finney for a first and goal at the 6.

2nd Quarter, 0:24- Richmond not satisfied just letting the clock run out, as they come out throwing. A holding penalty is nullified by a JMU personal foul, its third of the game. That gives Richmond the ball at the JMU 38, plenty of time to score some points here with 2 timeouts remaining.

2nd Quarter, 0:37- Looks like UR safety Doug Howell listened to me, getting his team-leading fourth interception of the season. Richmond takes over at the 49.

2nd Quarter, 0:45- Thorpe and the JMU offense not wasting any time, already out their own 42. This is a team capable of scoring points very quickly. Richmond D needs to prevent that from happening and keep this small deficit going into halftime.

2nd Quarter, 1:05- Dukes pressure forces an incomplete pass and Richmond is forced to punt, a booming kick by Hicks for 51 yards. A short return gives JMU the ball back at its own 16.

2nd Quarter, 1:19- JMU defense sniffs out the screen attempt to Green, dropping him for a loss of 2 yards. That brings up a 3rd and 12 for Richmond. Spiders take a timeout.

2nd Quarter, 1:37- Strauss buys some time with his feet and eventually finds Gaskins open for 21 yards to the UR 42.

2nd Quarter, 2:06- Ball gets knocked down at the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 9. JMU thinks about going for it, but ultimately brings on the punting unit. Not what the Dukes were looking for as the punt soars into the end zone for the touchback. UR will take over at the 20. Richmond fans are getting loud as they sense their team has the second-ranked team in the country on the ropes.

2nd Quarter, 3:23- That was one of the coolest one-yard gains I've seen as Thorpe made 3 Spiders miss to avoid the loss.

2nd Quarter, 4:03- On 3rd and 6, Thorpe finds Barlow for the first down at the UR 40.

2nd Quarter, 6:18- The Dukes take over at their own 32 to begin their next drive.

2nd Quarter, 6:28- Strauss's throw to Edwards is incomplete and Rocco elects to bring on the field goal unit. Hinshaw knocks it through from 20 yards out to make the score 10-9 JMU. Strauss looked really upset with himself for not being able to get his team into the end zone. I think they should've gone back to Gaskins.

2nd Quarter, 6:33- Veteran move by Strauss throwing the ball away on 2nd and goal instead of forcing a bad throw or taking the sack.

2nd Quarter, 7:44- Nice play call by the Spiders, getting Strauss rolling left and throwing back across the field to Roller who was open down the right sideline for a big gain down to the JMU 4, first and goal.

2nd Quarter, 8:02- Great effort by Edwards to turn a short reception into a first down on 3rd and 6. He made a guy miss and then dove across midfield. Personal foul is also called on JMU giving UR the ball on the JMU 35.

2nd Quarter, 8:47- Side note: The stadium has filled out more with UR fans, including the student section. They're getting loud.

2nd Quarter, 9:46- Green gives the Spiders another first down on the run. Ball is at the UR 40.

2nd Quarter, 10:40- Two powerful runs by UR's Kendall Gaskins gets the Spiders out from their own end zone to the 27.

2nd Quarter, 10:47- Great interception by UR safety Reggie Barnette. He just stepped right in front of the JMU receiver's out route. The Richmond offense takes over on its own 7.

2nd Quarter, 12:46- Juggling catch by JMU receiver Renard Robinson goes for 33 yards on 3rd and 7. Big defensive lapse by the Spiders there on a chance to give their offense good field position.

2nd Quarter, 14:15- Two runs by Scott gives the Dukes a first down at the JMU 21.

1st Quarter, 0:00- First quarter comes to a close on an incomplete pass by Thorpe. JMu leads, 10-6.

1st Quarter, 0:02- On 3rd and 3, Strauss finds Finney for a big gain down the sideline on 3rd and 3, but it's called out of bounds and UR is forced to punt. Nick Hicks's punt rolls down to the JMU 9.

1st Quarter, 1:04- Strauss put just a little too much air on a deep throw to Edwards, giving the defender time to get back in position and break it up. That could've been a big play if he'd have thrown it more on a line.

1st Quarter, 1:33- Mistake by JMU defense jumping offside gives Richmond the first down on a 3rd and 2. Ball is at the UR 45.

1st Quarter, 2:58- Solid return by Green gives Strauss and the offense the ball back on the UR 31.

1st Quarter, 3:04- Big play by Richmond defensive lineman Kerry Wynn, dropping Scott for a loss on 3rd and 2, forcing JMU into a field goal attempt. A delay of game penalty moves the ball back 5 yards, but JMU kicker Cameron Starke makes the 36-yard field goal anyway to push the Dukes lead to 10-6.

1st Quarter, 5:35- JMU tailback Dae'Quan Scott breaks a big run down the sideline, made worse for UR by a personal foul for hitting him out of bounds. Ball is at the UR 18 now.

1st Quarter, 6:48- JMU's return man trips up at the 37 yards line. Otherwise, it looked like he could've broken into Richmond territory.

1st Quarter, 6:54- Touchdown Spiders on a 4-yard pass from Strauss to Finney. Great diving catch in the back of the end zone by Finney. However, Remington Hinshaw misses the extra point, so JMU maintains the lead, 7-6. UR really needs to avoid mistakes like that if it wants to pull the upset today.

1st Quarter, 8:19- On 3rd and 4, Strauss finds tight end Sam Roller, but he gets knocked out just short of the first. They go for it on 4th and safety Cooper Taylor comes into the game on offense and picks it up. There's a new wrinkle.

1st Quarter, 9:26- On 3rd and 6, it's Strauss to Barnette again for the big first down. Ball is at the JMU 9.

1st Quarter, 9:44- First big plays for the Spiders as Strauss finds Stephen Barnette near the sideline and then the two connect again seconds later for another long gain. Ball is at the JMU 24.

1st Quarter, 11:20- Some confusion on the kickoff between returners Green and Justin Grant. The ball bounces in between them and into the end zone for the touchback. UR takes over at its own 25.

1st Quarter, 11:21- Thorpe shows off his arm with a deep out to tight end Brian Barlow and then a 21-yard TD throw down the middle of the field to receiver Deandre' Smith. Not the start the Spiders wanted, as JMU takes the lead, 7-0.

1st Quarter, 12:16- On 3rd and 3, Thorpe breaks contain and picks up the first down to the UR 35.

1st Quarter, 13:31- After a false start penalty moves them back, Strauss throws incomplete to receiver Ben Edwards, as a JMU defender knocked the ball loose. Spiders punt and JMU takes over at midfield.

1st Quarter, 14:26- Strauss's first pass of the game goes for 7 to tight end Kevin Finney. 3rd and 7 coming up.

1st Quarter, 14:54- This game is underway and UR return man Jacobi Green gets nailed on the return after a short return. Spiders and Strauss will begin at the UR 17.

Pregame- Just under 3 minutes until kickoff now. Looking at the stadium, there's a pretty large amount of JMU fans here, and Richmond's student section isn't very full. I don't think this is going to be the home-field advantage the Spiders were looking for after their long road trip. Richmond wins the toss and elects to receive.

Pregame- Watching Strauss warm up, he's looking sharp. It looks like Rocco probably wants Strauss to get the ball out of his hands quickly, as they are just running several quick outs and slants. This is probably a good strategy because Richmond needs to use the clock when it's on offense to keep the ball out of JMU quarterback Justin Thorpe's hands whenever possible. Running the spread, JMU definitely won't be looking for long, time-consuming drives on offense.

Pregame- Well, we're back in Robins Stadium after the Spiders' 3-game road trip. Today is a big game for Richmond's playoff chances, as today in an opportunity to get that signature win needed to get the Spiders moving up the ranks. Beating No. 2 James Madison is no easy task, especially without starting UR quarterback John Laub, but I think the Spiders match up well today actually. Read all my pregame thoughts in my full GAME PREVIEW.