Spider Football Gameday Central - North Carolina A&T

RICHMOND, Virginia - A new season begins on Saturday, November 26 when the 2016 FCS Playoffs get underway.

The Richmond Spiders are just one of 10 teams that will be making an appearance in three straight FCS Playoffs when they host Aggies of North Carolina A&T, the #17-ranked team in the country.

Live audio for Saturday's game can be found on RichmondSpiders.com with Live Stats available on RichmondSpiders.com. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

For complete gameday coverage of Richmond Spider football, be sure to scroll down for Gameday Central.

Who	No. 12 Richmond vs. No. 17 North Carolina A&T
When	Saturday, Nov. 26 - 2 PM ET
Where	Richmond, Va. | Weather | Parking Map
Venue	E. Claiborne Robins Stadium | Directions | Tickets
Radio	RichmondSpiders.com | ESPN 950 AM | WBBT 107.3 FM
Live TV/Video	ESPN3
Live Stats	RichmondSpiders.com
Game Notes	Richmond | N.C. A&T | CAA Press Box
Pregame Media	Coach Rocco Presser | Player Presser
SpiderTV	Selection Show Presser | Brian Brown Feature
Spider Voices	What I'm Thankful For
Social Media	Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Hashtags	#OneRichmond | #UnitedInRed | #CAAFB

QUICK SLANTS

- Richmond makes its third straight FCS Playoff appearance when they host North Carolina A&T out of the MEAC in the opening round of the 2016 postseason. It is the 11th all-time playoff appearances for the Spiders, seven of which have come in the past 12 years.

- Those seven playoff appearances in the past 12 years are the eighth-most nationally over that span.

- The Spiders are one of just 10 schools who have earned a berth in the past three FCS playoffs. Others include: Chattanooga, South Dakota State, Sam Houston STate, James Madison, Jacksonville State, Coastal Carolina, North Dakota State, Illinois State and New Hampshire.

- Richmond is one of just five schools that enter the 2016 postseason with a chance to notch a playoff win in each of the past three seasons. Joining Richmond in that group is Chattanooga, Sam Houston State, Illinois State and five-time defending champion North Dakota State.

- The Spiders return to Robins Stadium for their opening FCS playoff game, a place where Richmond is 32-11 (.744). During Coach Rocco’s five plus seasons, Richmond is 26-6 (.813) inside the friendly confines. This senior class for Richmond is 22-4 at home.

- Today marks the first-ever meeting between the Aggies and Spiders. This season, the two teams have one common opponent, Norfolk State. Richmond beat NSU, 34-0 on Sept. 10, while North Carolina A&T toppled NSU, 35-0 on Oct. 6.

- This marks the second time in three seasons that the Spiders have faced an opponent out of the MEAC in the opening round of the playoffs. Richmond battled its way past a tough Morgan State squad in 2014, defeating the Bears, 46-24.

- All time, the Spiders are 5-0 against MEAC schools with three wins over Hampton (2005, 2014, 2015) and single victories over Morgan State (2014) and Norfolk State (2016).

- Richmond enters the postseason facing some adversity with All-American QB candidate Kyle Lauletta suffering a torn ACL in the regular season finale at William & Mary. It was the Spiders’ fourth ACL injury of the year and 18th player season-ending injury that Richmond has suffered. (More details available on page 4 of the notes)

- In his five seasons at Richmond, the Spiders have shown bounce back ability under Head Coach Danny Rocco. Richmond is 13-7 following losses under the current regime. Entering today, the Spiders have won four straight games following losses.

- Richmond boasted the second-most all-league accolades with 12 Spiders earning All-CAA accolades. First team members include WR Brian Brown, K Griffin Trau, OL Thomas Evans, DT Winston Craig and LB Omar Howard. (Full list available on page 4 of the notes)

- With his 144-yard performance against William & Mary in the regular season finale, Deontez Thompson set the freshman record for 100-yard performances with his fifth of the year, breaking Uly Scott’s record of four set in 1991.

COURTESY RICHMOND ATHLETICS