UMass Football News--October 20th, 2017

A quick look at Georgia Southern:

The Eagles return three starters on offense and four on defense from last year's 5-7 team. The Eagles have been having a terrible year. They run the triple option and have only been averaging 3.9 yards/carry. GSU has been averaging 17.60 points/game and giving up 38.60.

One thing the Eagles do well is control the clock. They average about eight minutes more possession time than their opponents. UMass cannot have many three-and-outs as we won't get the ball back.

On September 9th, New Hampshire beat GSU 22-12. UNH scored 15 points in the first quarter and led the entire way. GSU did hold UNH scoreless in the second half.

I would feel better about this matchup if we had not played so poorly against Coastal Carolina. UMass gave up 6.8 yards/carry against a very weak option team. We can't do that against Georgia Southern. The Eagles are built to control the clock. They are not built to come back when behind. The UMass offense needs to score early and often. With GSU's starting QB Shai Werts questionable for the game, the Eagles may show some new looks.

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UMass has a full schedule of events for Homecoming weekend.

I don't think I've linked to the Minutemen's game notes for GSU. They're here.

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Mark Chiarelli of MassLive wonders if the extra time off will help the Minutemen during the second half of the season.

Matty Vautour says Georgia Southern brings memories, but no 2017 wins to McGuirk this Saturday.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts' previews Saturday's game and predicts a Minutemen victory.

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The GSU site "Eagle Sports Insider" interviews Mike Traini about the UMass-GSU game.

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The George-Anne says it'll be "the war of the winless".

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MassLive reports Amherst will be busy this weekend with both UMass and Amherst College celebrating Homecoming. The former Lord Jeff's will unveil a new mascot.

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The Deseret News breaks down BYU final six opponents including UMass.

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