Live Blog: Richmond vs. Rhode Island

End of the game: Richmond defeats Rhode Island 37-0 in what is likely the Spiders' most dominant performance of the year. David Jones was the standout player of the game, having recovered a fumble and caught two interceptions. 

4th Quarter, 1:30 -- Abell is in the game at wildcat for the Spiders and is running on just about every play to try to run the clock out and end the game. The Spiders will have to punt one more time.

4th Quarter, 3:30 -- No excitement in the last few minutes. The teams are now trading punts with mostly backups in the game. Rhode Island is trying to stop the bleeding and even though Richmond is calling conservative plays, they are still slashing through the Rams' defense. 

4th Quarter, 7:03 -- Rhode Island spends a long time on offense, but the drive stalls and the team turns it over on downs to the Spiders. Richmond has easily played its most impressive game defensively so far this season.

4th Quarter, 12:49 -- Abell runs wide right as if on a sweep, but pulls up and tosses to freshman receiver Jarmal Bevels for a 34-yard touchdown. The score is now 37-0 as Richmond continues to be carried by unpopular players. The score was the first passing touchdown of Abell's career, and the first touchdown catch of Bevel's.

4th Quarter, 13:42 -- Richmond opens the drive with Abell running the wildcat. He takes the ball 17 yards to Rhode Island's 37-yard line. This is a formation that the Spiders may want to use in the future as it has been successful today.

4th Quarter, 14:32 -- Peavey drops back, scrambles around and is eventually sacked by Williamson. This forces a punt, which Jones returns for 24 yards. Jones has been a standout today on defense and special teams.

4th Quarter, 14:44 -- Rhode Island scored on a long pass up the sideline, but it was called back for an obvious offensive pass-interference penalty. Rams now face third and 20. 

End of the third quarter: Richmond leads 30-0. The most surprising aspect of this game has been Richmond's ability to force turnovers, as they have now forced six. David Jones has three of them, which will likely earn him more playing time in the future. This game has become truly one-sided. 

3rd Quarter, 1:51 -- David Herlocker is called for unnecessary roughness following a crushing hit on a Rhode Island receiver. Rhode Island is now at the 40-yard line following a reverse run for a few yards.

3rd Quarter, 1:56 -- Rhode Island is able to create pressure on Rocco and force a punt from the Spiders. 

3rd Quarter, 3:23 -- Green comes up huge for the Spiders with a career-long 55-yard run to put the Spiders at Rhode Island's 43-yard line with a first down. The rushing attack has made big plays today, particularly Green, who has found holes and broken free for long runs multiple times now.

3rd Quarter, 4:07 -- Dangerous territory for the Spiders -- the interception leaves them at the 1-yard line and forces a quarterback sneak by Rocco for a few yards.

3rd Quarter, 4:07 -- The shutout lives to see another drive. Jones intercepts another pass, giving him three total takeaways today. The Spiders have intercepted five passes and recovered one fumble, giving them their most forced turnovers since 2010. 

3rd Quarter, 5:13 -- Evan Kelly sacks Peavey on second down, forcing a third and goal from the 8-yard line. Cooper runs around the right side and is knocked out of bounds at the 2-yard line. 

3rd Quarter, 6:32 -- It appears that the Spiders are beginning to make substitutions already, as their starting corners are out of the game. It may cost them the shutout, as Rhode Island has marched to Richmond's 9-yard line.

3rd Quarter, 7:45 -- Green carries for a short gain, and the Spiders fail to escape the shadow of their own end zone. They are forced to punt, and a solid return from Rhode Island sets the Rams up at Richmond's 44-yard line.

3rd Quarter, 8:12 -- Two unsuccessful plays leave the Spiders with a third and 17. Fisher is being attended to by team doctors after suffering an injury. He is able to walk off the field.

3rd Quarter, 9:02 -- The Spiders are moving the ball, but perhaps it's because they're holding. Two holding penalties back Richmond's offense up to 9-yard line, where they face a first and 21. 

3rd Quarter, 9:45 -- The Spiders begin the drive at their own 8-yard line, and two short carries by Fisher force a third down. Fisher catches a swing pass on third down for seven yards and a first down. 

3rd Quarter, 11:00 -- Richmond forces a third down, and then Wright sacks Peavey to force a fourth and long and a punt. That is Richmond's first sack of the game. Justin Williamson was also in on the play. 

3rd Quarter, 13:00 -- Kolt Peavey comes in at quarterback for the Rams and immediately finds success. He connects on a 24-yard pass to a wide-open receiver down the middle for a first down.

3rd Quarter, 13:45 -- Jones is a turnover machine today. He recovered a fumble earlier in the game, and intercepts a pass for Richmond that he takes 34 yards for a touchdown. That makes the score 30-0. That is the first team interception return for a touchdown since 2012, and the first five-takeaway game for the Spiders since 2012. 

3rd Quarter, 15:00 -- Rhode Island receives the second half kickoff and finds little success on its first couple plays. They face a third down with five yards to go.

Halftime: The Spiders lead 23-0 at the half. They have made some egregious errors, particularly the seven penalties, but have made up for those by making big plays. They have four takeaways defensively and scored on a 38-yard pass to Reggie Diggs early in the game. Rocco has played adequately. It looks as if Richmond's lead can be attributed more to Rhode Island's poor play than to Richmond's good play, but regardless the Spiders are winning big on homecoming weekend. Expect more of the same dominance when the second half begins. 

2nd Quarter, :47 -- Rocco is hit and fumbles backwards, but Green recovers for a 13-yard loss. Yoder comes in to attempt another career long field goal of 46 yards, but his kick hits the crossbar and bounces off. The score remains 23-0.

2nd Quarter, 1:45 -- On third and 10, Rocco finds Diggs across the middle, who holds on for 14 yards and a first down despite getting popped by a defender. 

2nd Quarter, 4:10 -- Abell carries for nine yards, then hands to Green on the following play on a read-option play for six yards and a first down.

2nd Quarter, 4:30 -- Richmond's defense is absolutely dominating Rhode Island today. The Rams are stopped for no gain on three consecutive plays, and are forced to punt again. The Rams have 119 total yards, but 56 of them came on one big run. 

2nd Quarter, 6:05 -- Rocco throws to Barnette, who fails to make the catch and is injured on the play. The Rams are called for a pass interference penalty though, giving Richmond a first down on the 9-yard line. Green carries on the next play up the middle for a touchdown, and a successful extra point makes the score 23-0. 

2nd Quarter, 6:45 -- Following yet another Richmond false start, Rocco connects with Hunter Westfall for 14 yards to set up a second and 1. 

2nd Quarter, 7:38 -- Two incomplete passes from Rocco put the Spiders in a third and 10 predicament. They convert on a 10-yard pass to Diggs for just enough yardage. 

Richmond currently has more interception return yards (49) than Rhode Island has passing yards (22). 

2nd Quarter, 7:56 -- Good pressure from the Spiders' defensive line helps to force two incomplete passes and a fourth-down punt from the Rams. 

2nd Quarter, 8:05 -- James Caparell throws an ill-advised pass for the Rams that is almost intercepted by Tafon Mainsah. A holding penalty on the play pushes the Rams back to the 16-yard line, where they will face second and 19.

The four turnovers for the Spiders so far is the most for them since forcing that many against NC State early last season. 

2nd Quarter, 9:03 -- The Spiders were going to attempt to convert on fourth and short, but a false start penalty killed those aspirations. Yoder comes in and booms a new career-high 43-yard field goal. The Spiders now lead 16-0. Again, Yoder is kicking as if he could convert from 60 yards today. 

2nd Quarter, 10:20 -- Two carries by Fisher and a false start result in a third and 8 for the Spiders. Rocco connects with Fitzpatrick for what appeared to be a first down, but it was just short. 

2nd Quarter, 11:28 -- On third down, Eric Wright intercepts a Rhode Island pass and his teammates block a path for him into the end zone. An inadvertent whistle from the referees stops the play though, so Richmond's offense will have to do some work to earn this score. Regardless, that is Richmond's fourth takeaway of the game. 

2nd Quarter, 12:10 -- The Richmond defense continues to stop the run, beside that long run they gave up earlier. They force another third down for Rhode Island.

2nd Quarter, 12:57 -- Rocco throws to Barnette deep downfield, but Rhode Island plays tough defense and deflects the pass. D.J. Helkowski comes on to punt, and his kick sails into the end zone for a touchback.

2nd Quarter, 14:16 -- Fisher carries around the edge and hurdles a defender, drawing praise from the crowd and earning the Spiders a first down at the Rhode Island 32-yard line.

2nd Quarter, 14:55 -- Rocco opens the quarter with an incomplete pass to Barnette, but a pass interference penalty by URI gives the Spiders a first down.

End of first quarter -- I spoke too soon: URI's Harold Cooper carries for 56 yards to Richmond's 12-yard line. Richmond responds though, as DeShawn Holmes intercepts a pass on the next play and returns it to the Spider 41-yard line to end the quarter. Richmond forced three turnovers in the first quarter, easily the most in one quarter this season. Rocco has looked good enough, completing almost half of his passes for over 100 yards and a touchdown.

1st Quarter, 1:00 -- Rhode Island opens the drive with a 4-yard run around the edge. Richmond's defense has been effective so far, holding the Rams to 48 yards of offense and only two first downs.

1st Quarter, 1:24 -- Rocco throws the ball too far for Stephen Barnette to catch, so Yoder comes in for the 41-yard field goal. He nails it, giving the Spiders a 13-0 lead and Yoder his longest career field goal. That kick looked as if it would've been good from 60 yards.

1st Quarter, 2:00 -- An incomplete pass, nearly intercepted, and a short run by Green leave the Spiders with a third and 4. 

1st Quarter, 2:19 -- Sean Ryan forces a fumble on the kickoff and Jones recovers for Richmond's second takeaway of the game. The Spiders are showing an ability to force turnovers that they have not had so far this season.

1st Quarter, 2:33 -- Rocco's pass on third and goal falls incomplete across the middle, so the Spiders settle for a 24-yard field goal from Peter Yoder. The score is now 10-0, Richmond leads.

1st Quarter, 3:43 -- Diggs seems to be Rocco's favorite receiver today, as back-to-back catches by Diggs result in a Richmond first down at the 7-yard line. 

1st Quarter, 4:48 -- The theme of today's game for Richmond continues to be self-infliction, as a chop block penalty pushes the offense back 15 yards. 

1st Quarter, 5:29 -- Aaron Roane comes up big with the interception for the Spiders and returns it to the 19-yard line. Richmond's offense will start the drive in the redzone. 

1st Quarter, 5:45 -- Rhode Island's DeShawn Holmes takes the ball on the kickoff and sees daylight, but David Jones trips him up for Richmond at the 21-yard line.

1st Quarter, 5:51 -- The Spiders finally strike on offense, as Rocco throws a perfect pass over Reggie Diggs' shoulder for a 38-yard touchdown on fourth and 5. After a shaky start, Rocco's last two passes were placed perfectly, and he seems to be settling into the offense. The Spiders now lead 7-0 after a successful extra point.

1st Quarter, 6:30 -- Rocco connects with Brown for a beautiful sideline catch for 25 yards. The Spiders will face a fourth down and need five yards for the first down.

1st Quarter, 6:35 -- The Spiders are really hurting themselves with penalty. A holding call and an intentional grounding call result in a second and 30 for Richmond.

1st Quarter, 7:30 -- The Spiders are mixing up the offensive calls, as sophomore receivers Porter Abell and Brian Brown carry on back-to-back plays for a Richmond first down.

1st Quarter, 8:30 -- Fisher runs to start the drive for the Spiders. Rhode Island is charged with a facemask penalty, advancing the ball to the 38-yard line for Richmond. 

1st Quarter, 8:36 -- Rhode Island's drive stalls and the team is forced to attempt a short field goal. The kick hits the crossbar and bounces away, keeping the game scoreless. Winston Craig gets credit for blocking the kick, which is a strong special teams response following a few terrible mistakes on special teams earlier.

1st Quarter, 10:18 --Rhode Island is threatening, as a 22-yard pass up the sideline sets the Rams up with a first down at the Richmond 9. 

1st Quarter, 10:45 -- Richmond's defense holds strong for three downs, but a fake punt gives Rhode Island enough for the first down. 

1st Quarter: 20 -- Richmond's punt is blocked for the first time since the 2013 season, and Rhode Island will take over on offense at the Richmond 46-yard line.

1st Quarter, 12:30 -- The Spider offense is beginning to stall, as a false start penalty and an illegal formation penalty have resulted in a third and 16. Rocco throws an incomplete pass intended for Ponder, and the Spiders are forced to punt.

1st Quarter, 13:00 -- On third and ten, Rocco hits Ponder on an out route for the first down to keep the drive alive.

1st Quarter, 13:45 -- Fisher takes the handoff on first down for 19 yards to put the Spiders in URI territory. It is early, but Fisher looks to be finding running room easily so far. 

1st Quarter, 14:45 -- As expected, the Spiders start conservatively and hand the ball to Seth Fisher for a five yard gain. The next play, Rocco hits TJ Moon out of the backfield on a short pass that turns into a first down. 

1st Quarter, 15:00 -- Jacobi Green takes the opening kickoff to the 20 for the Spiders and is smacked by a few URI players.

1st Quarter, 15:00 -- Richmond has won the toss and has elected to receive, so Rocco will see the field immediately in his first game as Richmond's starting quarterback.

Hello everyone, I am Charlie Broaddus and I'll be live-blogging for you all during today's Richmond game against Rhode Island. The Spiders will try to earn a victory without their field general Michael Strauss. However, Michael Rocco is a more-than-suitable replacement and should be able to lead the Spiders to a victory against a winless Rhode Island team. Kickoff is less than 30 minutes away. Stay tuned for live updates throughout the entire game.