Recap | Box Score | Notes

Opening statement: I thought it was a really tough, hard-nosed college football game. Richmond played a little better than we did. Their defense did a good job holding down our offense. They took a guy like John Robertson and made him look like any other quarterback. They put on a good pass rush and we didn't make plays offensively. We had some opportunities but we dodged some bullets too. I thought our defense was terrific. They played great and gave us a chance to win the game. As poorly as we played offensively, the game probably would have gone to overtime but you can't miss an extra point. Richmond has a very good team. They were as good as we were. I felt like we needed a good effort coming in here in order to have a chance to win the game.

On the game: I am taking a look at our stats. We hard poor field position offensively and that really complicated the issue. Richmond has a good defense. I thought that coming in but I still would have thought coming in that we would do better than nine points. It was a strange game with a lot of mistakes on both sides. It wasn't the game we would expect from a team that scores 41 points [Villanova] and a team that scores 36 points [Richmond] per game. It is hard to believe it was so low scoring. It was a hard-fought, old time ugly game that could have gone either way at the end.

On losing the game: [The loss] is disappointing because we were in a position to control our own destiny. Now we are like every other pretty good team out there that is trying to find a way to get the next win and be in the hunt for the playoffs.

On Richmond: I like their team a lot. They played really well on defense and a little better than us on offense. They were better than us today, especially in the fourth quarter.

On kicking a field goal in the second quarter: I thought we had to try a field goal today. When it is fourth down with less than five to go I prefer to put it in John's hands but today we were close enough that I felt like we had to try it.

On getting the ball back with less than five minutes left in the game: I thought there was a chance for a little magic to come into play there. After playing so poorly offensively, I thought we might make something happen there at the end. If we had done that, you could just hang your hat on the defense for keeping us within a point. It was one of those days where it wasn't meant to be, but we put ourselves in harm's way. Both teams made enough mistakes to leave it out there for the other team to snatch it. Richmond did a good job of taking it at the end.

On the race for the CAA title: New Hampshire is obviously there, along with us, Richmond and James Madison. William & Mary could also have something to say about things as we go down the line. Richmond really needed this win to stay in the mix. They still have James Madison and William & Mary to play. From what I have seen of James Madison, they could be a factor in the end. Our schedule is a little lighter because we play Towson, Albany and Delaware, but we could still get knocked off by any one of them. It is a four-team race the way I see it. Every team is getting grizzled up and has a ton of injuries. We are all just hanging by our fingernails.

Junior quarterback John Robertson...

On the game: They played very well on defense but by the same token I thought I played very poorly for what I should be doing. Our defense did their job keeping us in the game. Richmond played well but I didn't do my job either.

On the deep fourth quarter pass to Lincoln Collins that was knocked away: He was my fourth look [on that play]. I wasn't supposed to look at him but I was scrambling right and saw him open. I just tried to get the ball up there. I threw off balance and he made a good play on the ball.

On the opportunities the offense had in the game: We missed opportunities to make plays and that started with me. If you want to win against a good team you have to make plays when they are in front of you. I didn't make those plays and we missed a bunch of chances.

Richmond head coach Danny Rocco...

Opening statement: I am real excited about the result. I expected a close, hard-fought game and it was. I thought it would be a higher scoring game but I did think it would be close. We needed the win more than they did. This is a signature win for us as we are putting together a pretty good season. We played well in spurts even though we were not always in sync. The biggest play we made was the touchdown run by [quarterback Michael Rocco]. He threw well at times and our receivers stepped up in key situations in the second half to put us in some good situations.

On the game plan against Villanova: It was a defensive day and that was impressive. When you go up against a team with as talented an offense as Villanova, you better know how to play them. We went about it the right way. You have to understand the opponent and our kids and defensive coaches did a great job. You have to get the kids to understand [the game plan]. You can have the greatest ideas in the world but if the players don't understand what they have to do, it isn't going to work. We understood how to play against their quarterback and found ourselves in good spots because of that.

On Villanova: I have all the respect in the world for Andy Talley and what he has done at Villanova, and for his football team. It was two good, tough physical teams out there today. We were maybe a little fortunate because of playing at home but the kids found a way to win.

On the game: It was unusual early because of the turnovers in the first quarter. Both teams came out tight I thought and the offensive production was bad on both sides. I was proud of our kids and coaches for finishing the way we did. We have lost guys to injury and we recognize that, but we are not willing to accept a lesser product. We continue to play at a high level and I was proud of our football team.