RICHMOND, Va. - The air is not thin in Richmond, Va.

Far from it. After climbing into the mountains of North Carolina to upset Appalachian State, the Spiders went back to work.

While preparing to play Northern Iowa in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs Saturday, Richmond head coach Mike London handled an obvious question. Did he worry about a letdown in the wake of shocking the three-time national champions?

"These guys, I'm telling you, are hungry," said London, in his rookie season as head coach of his alma mater.

London added, "We had a weightlifting session (Sunday) and I'll tell you what - the atmosphere was electric.

"We know about the opportunity we have to reach the goals we set for the season."

While UNI will meet a Colonial Athletic Association program for the third consecutive week in postseason play, the Panthers and the Spiders are relative strangers. Saturday's 3 p.m. game in the UNI-Dome marks the first battle between the two programs.

On the other hand, Richmond and Mark Farley's team are very familiar entries in the FCS playoffs. UNI is in the semifinals for the seventh time. Richmond's been there three times in the last four years.

A year ago, Appalachian State eliminated the Spiders on the way to the national championship. Saturday, Richmond exacted revenge. Thanks to five Spider interceptions and 134 yards rushing by Josh Vaughan, the Mountaineers absorbed a 33-13 loss at Boone, North Carolina.

"It was a big win for us, especially against the three-time national champion," said Richmond quarterback Eric Ward.

"We came out and stuck to the game plan. We prepared well the whole week. The guys on the team wanted it bad after last year."

Last year, Dave Clawson was the head coach. He left to join Tennesssee's program. On came London, who had been the defensive coordinator at Virginia for six years. He became the first Richmond graduate to lead the program in more than 40 years, but London had never been a head coach.

"I'm truly thankful and blessed to be here," said London. "We have a great group of coaches and players who are outstanding young men - very good students and very good athletes."

Meanwhile, the players simply wanted another shot at the playoffs, and it didn't matter to them who blew the whistle at practice.

Said Ward, "We kind of took it upon ourselves that we were gonna work hard and do what what we had to do to get back to this point, no matter who coached us.

"We told ourselves, 'This is the main unit right here. This is what's going to drive us to get us there.' We just had to continue to work hard. Fortunately, we were able to get a guy like coach London. He's a great coach and a great guy."

For Ward, London and Richmond's program, a new experience is dead ahead. The Spiders have never played a football game indoors. Now, the UNI-Dome is the destination.

"We'll have to get used to it," said London. "But we're looking forward to it."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com