ESPN College Football

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Andrew Howard kicked two field goals and Eric Ward threw a touchdown pass in his college debut Saturday to lead Division I-AA Richmond past Duke 13-0, the Blue Devils' ninth loss in a row.

Duke lost to a Division I-AA team for the first time in nine games since 1978.

Richmond won a season opener for the first time since 2000, and beat Duke for just the second time in 11 games. The last victory came in 1926. It's also the Spiders' ninth win in their last 10 games.

Both teams were relying on inexperienced quarterbacks. Ward is a redshirt freshman who sat out 2005 waiting his turn behind then-senior Stacy Tutt. Duke was hoping Zack Asack would be its quarterback after having started six of the last seven games last season, but he was dismissed from the team in July for plagiarism.

That left Marcus Jones, who was a wide receiver last season, and freshman Thaddeus Lewis.

Ward led the Spiders on a 75-yard scoring drive early in the second quarter, capping it off with a 16-yard pass to Arman Shields. Howard added field goals of 21 and 22 yards.

Duke had two late chances to score. Lewis was stopped on a fourth-and-goal at the Richmond 2 with just under 5 minutes left. Richmond's Tim Hightower lost a fumble at his own 10 and John Talley recovered for Duke. The Blue Devils got it down to the 2, but Lewis lost the ball trying to stretch for the end zone on fourth down.