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The program from the 1989 game between UMass and Richmond is shown.

The University of Massachusetts' farewell to the Colonial Athletic Association and the Championship Subdivision makes its final stop in Virginia Saturday, when UMass plays Richmond for the last time at Robbins Stadium.

While the Minutemen and Spiders have both been among the league's top teams in recent years, the height of the rivalry came in the late 1990s when former UMass coach Jim Reid was the head coach at Richmond.

On Saturday, however, the Minutemen will try to bounce back from Saturday's loss to New Hampshire, while the Spiders need a win to stay alive in the FCS playoff hunt.

"Our kids know we have no more margin for error. I'm not going to try to sugarcoat it," Richmond coach Wayne Lineburg said. "We need to get one win and try to get some confidence. Things will workout from there."

Rivalry Wrap-up

Total games: 25

Record: UMass 13, Richmond 12

First meeting: 1994: UMass 24, Richmond 7

Memorable participants

Reid - The affable coach was on both sides of the rivalry. He was the head coach at UMass from 1986-91 and at Richmond from 1995-2003. He resigned at UMass in protest of scholarship cuts. The scholarships were reinstated after he left. It's reasonable to wonder if UMass would have had the success it had in recent years or would be moving up, if his protest hadn't saved those scholarships. Reid's teams were 10-6 in this rivalry.

Adrian Zullo - UMass' smallest receiver was a constant thorn in Richmond's side. He caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown as a freshman and 11 catches for 210 yards as a sophomore. He added another TD and 82 yards as a junior and two more TDs and 83 yards as a senior.

Erwin Matthews - Richmond Hall of Famer had six touchdowns in the Spiders' 52-51 win in four overtimes in 1987.

Snapshot games

Sept. 12, 1998: UMass 22, Richmond 17 - This was the first win of the Mark Whipple era and the first step toward that season's Division I-AA championship. Todd Bankhead, who threw for 323 yards in the game, hit Jimmy Moore for an 18-yard TD pass with 61 seconds left to give the Minutemen a come-from-behind win.

Oct. 16, 2010: Richmond 11, UMass 10 - This one was largely memorable for what an ugly game it was. Playing with their third string quarterback, who had never played before, the Spiders didn't complete a pass until the last drive of the game, but Montel White hit Tre Grey for a 15-yard TD with 9 seconds left to stun the Minutemen. Had UMass won the game, it likely would have made the playoffs.

Final game breakdown

Time & location: 1 p.m., Robbins Stadium

Records: UMass (4-3, 2-2 vs. CAA); Richmond (3-4, 0-4 CAA)

Last year: Richmond 11, UMass 10

Last week: UMass fell to New Hampshire 27-21. Richmond lost to Maine 23-22

TV: None

Radio: WRNX-FM (100.9)

Internet broadcast: Links can be found at umassathletics.com

When UMass has the ball: The Spiders feature the CAA's top passing defense, allowing just 185.7 yards per game, which should challenge Minuteman quarterback Kellen Pagel. Richmond has been successful despite registering just 10 sacks, which is 10th in the conference.

Junior linebacker Darius McMillan is third in the conference at 11.1 tackles per game. Defensive backs Colin Peahanick (8.9) Cooper Taylor (8.6) are also among the league leaders.

The Spiders allow an average of 153.7 rushing yards per game. The Minutemen would like to get Jonathan Hernandez in a groove against them. The senior rushed for over 100 yards in four of UMass' first five games, but has been held to 77.7 yards over the last three games.

It will be interesting to see if the Spiders attempt to kick to Jesse Julmiste. He leads the CAA in kickoff return average and Richmond is statistically the league's worst team on kickoff returns.

When Richmond has the ball: The ball figures to be in the air often as the Spiders have the league's last-ranked rushing offense, averaging 91.9 yards per game. Richmond is the only team in the league with more pass attempts (237) than rushes (231). Its top rusher, fullback Kendall Gaskins, is effective near the goal line. He's got eight rushing TDs, while averaging 69.3 yards per game.

Unlike last year, when injuries forced the Spiders deep into their quarterback depth chart against UMass, starter Aaron Corp is healthy. He's second in the CAA with 254.9 passing yards per game. He's completed 156-of-233 throws for 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Senior wide receiver Grey leads the CAA in both receptions per game (8.57) and yards per game (115.9). He's averaging 33.9 more yards per game than any other receiver in the league.

Despite not much of a running game, the Spiders are good at holding onto the ball as their 32:02 average time of possession is third in the CAA. They have given up 20 sacks.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com.

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