Richmond @ Duke preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 5, 2009 ) Richmond 24, Duke 16

THE STORY: Coming off their best offensive season since the Steve Spurrier days, the Blue Devils meet Richmond, a perennial FCS power that won at Duke in 2006 and 2009. The gridiron Blue Devils may never match the success of their hardcourt counterparts, but fourth-year coach David Cutcliffe has definitely generated excitement on the football field. Richmond, meanwhile, needs to put controversy quickly behind as coach Latrell Scott resigned Aug. 23 following a DWI arrest. Offensive coordinator Wayne Lineburg, a former player and coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference at Virginia, was named interim coach.

TV: ESPN3.com. LINE: None.

ABOUT DUKE (3-9 in 2010): Despite the poor conference record, Duke's average ACC loss margin was only 11.9 points, and that was skewed by a 37-point drubbing against Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils averaged 381.3 yards per game - their most since winning a share of the conference crown (their last) in 1989 - and earned heart-stopping victories over Virginia (55-48) and Navy (34-31) on back-to-back weeks. More offensive spark should come from the well-acquainted receiving duo of Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner. Former teammates at Miami's Gulliver Prep, the senior Varner is one of three Blue Devils to record a 1,000-yard receiving season and needs 43 catches to become the school's all-time leader; Vernon, a junior, caught 73 balls for 946 yards last year and led the ACC with 6.08 receptions per game. They helped Sean Renfree throw for more than 3,000 yards, but the junior will have to cut down on his 17 interceptions from a year ago.

ABOUT RICHMOND (6-5 in 2010): The Spiders, national champions in 2008, missed the FCS playoffs last season for the first time since 2006 and ended on a sour note with a 41-3 clocking at William and Mary in their rivalry game. This is Lineburg's first head coaching job after serving on staffs at Richmond, Virginia and William and Mary the past 15 years. Richmond ranks No. 16 in the preseason Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25, the mainstream in-season FCS poll. After an injury-plagued season that saw four starters at quarterback (and two others throw passes out of the Wildcat formation), senior Aaron Corp will guide the team in his final year of eligibility after transferring from Southern Cal. Three Spiders were named to the preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association team - senior wide receiver Tre Gray, junior fullback Kendall Gaskins and junior kicker Wil Kamin.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Cutcliffe, who had coached in the SEC for 25 seasons before joining Duke, is 12-24 over three seasons - two more victories than the previous eight seasons combined.

2. Duke senior kicker Will Snyderwine, an American Football Coaches Association first-team All-American last season, ranks first in field goals made per game (1.65) and third in field goal percentage (.864) nationally among active kickers.

3. Like Cutcliffe, Lineburg should inject offense into the Spiders, who gained a school-record 4,957 total yards and scored 44 touchdowns when he was offensive coordinator in 2005.

PREDICTION: Duke 38, Richmond 27 - The high-flying Blue Devils will avenge their two recent defeats against the Spiders behind simply too much offense for their solid FCS opposition and a defense that began to click by the end of last season.