Monday, September 19, 2011

Monday--September 19, 2011

Matty V. has three stars from the UMass-Rhode Island game.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Boston Globe says BC likes the addition of Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC and also says Montel Harris will return to the Eagle lineup for the UMass game.

The Enterprise News says the Eagles have put their losses in the past.

BC Blog "Eagle in Atlanta"  looks at the Eagles' Duke loss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several commenters have asked what I think about the breakup of the Big East and how it will affect UMass' move to FBS and the MAC.

Obviously, the Big East was a league UMass would be interested in as Syracuse, Pitt and UConn would be a good fit for UMass football.

Their jumping to the ACC does not change the basic dynamic for UMass. We need a functioning FBS/I-A program to be included in any league. No one is going to reach out to a FCS team. It's just not going to happen ----- ever. Playing Michigan, UConn and Vanderbilt next year will pay the costs of the upgrade and move UMass into at least a break-even financial posture. That's a big improvement from where we now stand. We still bring a large media market (bigger than BC, I believe).

We need to win in the MAC. If we do that, other opportunities will happen.

BTW, the Catholic basketball schools are toast.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The UMass Daily Collegian has an article about Jonathan Hernandez' career high number against Rhode Island.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Former UMass WR Dan Sheeran is the focus of an article on the hard ball world of college football recruiting.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article looks at life after football for 345 pound offensive linemen and the health costs of not dropping all that weight.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I watched a DVD copy of the UMass-Rhody game last night an had the following impressions:
  • Jonathan Hernandez' game was even more impressive on tape. He had two good offensive series that were stymied by the two interceptions.
  • Even the announcers could not figure out who blew the assignment on the first Ram TD.
  • Two of Rhody's long TD passes were completed against UMass rookie DB's Gary Correia and true freshman Quayshun Smith.
  • I was wrong on yesterday's comment on Smith's going for the ball in the endzone. He just got out leaped by the wide receiver.
  • The Minutemen front seven on defense look very impressive this year.
  • The defensive backfield is a work in progress.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------