Wednesday--November 19th, 2014

Well, UMass lost to Akron who looked bigger, stronger and faster. The defense blew one coverage, but other than that the Minutemen were obviously trying to keep the Zips in front of them. Late in the game the announcers said Akron had 60-something plays and 40 of them were on the Minutemen side of the field. The defense forced two fumbles and competed all night.

Our kicking game was terrible, as usual. We missed an extra point and had an eight-yard punt.

Without Frohnapfel, the UMass offense was anemic. Austin Whipple threw three INT's. The Zips defense controlled the line of scrimmage and then some. Time after time, Akron blew up running plays. The Minutemen had 67 yards rushing.  The Zips front seven looked a lot faster than the UMass offense. Whipple only had one sack, but was hurried on many plays.

So we learned (I learned) what we already knew: Coach Whipple still has a number of pieces missing from a winning team. He needs a couple of more recruiting classes.

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Not a lot of press coverage for a Tuesday night game.

UMass write-up on the game.

The Zips website says Akron cruised by the Minutemen.

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Dan Malone says UMass was out-manned and overmatched.

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The Hampshire Gazette said Austin Whipple and UMass struggled in the Akron cold.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports UMass fell 30-6 at Akron.

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Ohio.com has observations on the Zips 30-6 win.

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In the other MAC game last night, NIU beat the Ohio Bobcats 24-14.

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ESPN looks at Texas Tech who is struggling with a 3-7 season. Their coach says they're focusing on the future. You know you're having a bad season when your defensive coordinator shows up drunk for a morning staff meeting...

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