UMass Football News--September 30th, 2019

Josh Walfish reports culture prevails on Coach Bell's  win as a head coach.

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Vegas has FIU a 26 point favorite over UMass.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Akron game.

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In my recap Sunday i mentioned there were numerous heroes for the game. One player I forgot to mention was kicker Cooper Garcia. How soon we forget how tear-your-hair-out bad UMass kicking was in the past. Garcia is 4 for 5 in field goals for 2019 and 15-16 in extra points.

He went 3-for-3 in field goals Saturday and put four kickoffs into the end zone.

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Rutgers fires HC Chris Ash and offensive coordinator John McNulty. Ash went 3-26 in Big Ten games during the last three years.

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UConn moves Saturday's game against USF start time to Noon over concerns about eastern equine encephalitis.

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A Sea of Red reports Liberty's confidence is rising.

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UMass Football News--September 29th, 2019

There were heroes everywhere. Mike Curtis led the Minutemen to the most points and yards of the year. He executed a nifty ball fake that allowed him to walk into the endzone. He ran judiciously and fit the ball into tight sideline passes. He moved the team. The science is settled.

The OL, consisting of all 2's, led the way to the most yards of the season. There were no problems with the snap or QB exchange. Mike Sullivan, Dalton Tomlinson and Helber Fagundes stepped in an did an excellent job.

Samuel Emilus and Sadiq Palmer made nice sideline catches with defenders draped all over them.

You run to win and Bilal Ally and the OL did that in the fourth quarter.

The Zips are a dreadful running team, but the defense insured they did not do better against UMass. The DL developed some pressure and Isaiah Rogers set an all-time UMass record with his third pick-six.

A really satisfying win against adversity. Bite me trolls.

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UMass write-up with stats and quotes.

Josh Walfish says Mike Curtis and a patched-up offense led the way to victory.

MassLive reports UMass picked up its first win.

Hustle said an injury and turnovers were too much for the Zips to overcome.

The Berkshire Eagle reports the Minutemen produced their first win of the season.

UMass Twitter feed with Coach Bell and the team after the game.

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UConn was blown out by UCF.

FAU handled Charlotte 45-27.

Coastal Carolina lost big to Appapachian State 56-27.

LA Tech beat Rice in overtime.

Liberty won their third in a row beating New Mexico.

Northwestern lost to #8 Wisconsin.

BYU lost at Toledo.

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And BC lost to undefeated Wake Forest.

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Game Day -- Akron 2020

It looks like another fine weather day for football. I admire people who don't quit. I'll be there cheering for the Minutemen. Hope to see you all doing the same thing.

UMass needs to get the offense going, especially the passing game. We need some consistent QB play.  The most talented unit on the team is probably the WR's and we need to get them the ball.

Go UMass!

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UPDATE: UMass suspends six players for the Akron game, including starters Randall West and Mike Yerardi.

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Josh Walfish reports the UMass defense adopts the next man up philosophy.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the the UMass-Akron game.

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The Berkshire Eagle reports UMass hopes for the first win of the season.

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UMass Football Recruiting--Nasir Mills

Nasir Mills, a 6-0 200 pound Safety/CB from Wake Forest, NC was one of the players visiting during last week's game.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

The Minutemen currently have five DB verbals in the 2020 class, three CB's and two Safeties.

UMass Football News--September 27th, 2019

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a preview of the Akron game.

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Mike also has a post on the recruiting visitors during the Coastal Carolina game. The recruits were mostly from MA, but one was from North Carolina.

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Hustle Belt previews the UMass-Akron and predicts a Zips victory.

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Inside NU looks at Northwestern's struggles this year.

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The Herald Extra says BYU is not afraid to shuffle around players.

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The UConn Blog reports the Huskies future schedules should include some AAC teams.

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UMass Football News--September 26th, 2019

Rogers needs four more pass breakups to tie Don Capparotti (1989-92) for 4th all-time at UMass. He needs two to tie Shannon James (2001-05) for 6th all time.

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UMass has their game notes for Akron up.

So do the Zips.

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Josh Walfish has a post on young OL Dalton Tomlison and Helber Fagundes being pressed into service on the offensive line. With Ray Thomas-Ishman currently suspended, UMass is starting four new players on the offensive line.

Josh also reports starting Safety Joseph Norwood has left the team. Norwood was a late addition to Whipple's last recruiting class. Norwood had previously decommitted from Middle Tennessee and before that he had decommitted from Tennessee.

Injury status included DT Billy Wooden is questionable and DT Wilson Frederic is doubtful for Saturday's game. LB Tyrus Lebeau is also out with an injury.

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The Boston Herald says UMass looks for breakthrough against fellow winless Akron.

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UMass Football News--September 25th, 2019

Josh Walfish reports on this Tuesday's practice. UMass only had about 56 or 57 healthy scholarship players. QB Andrew Brito is still in the concussion protocol and starting center Jaylen Larry is out with a knee injury.

Reserve OL freshman Xavier Graham has been moved to DL for the time being and true freshman walk-on Grant Laws is practicing with the first team DL.

In addition, starting OG Ray Thomas-Ishman has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.

Isaiah Rogers is 9th in the nation with a 33.4 yards/return. He leads the nation by a wide margin with 434 total return yards.

There's an old coaching saw that says you lose one game for every true freshman you start. UConn played a whole lot of true freshmen last year during their 1-11 season and they seem to have improved quite a bit this year. The Huskies went from last (UMass' current position) to #34 this year after three games.

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UnderDog Dynasty says UMass hits rock bottom.

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The Akron Beacon-Journal reports winless Akron prepares for winless UMass.

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The Hartford Courant wonders if UConn should bench its best players and save them for the future.

Randy Edsall continues to have faith in the Huskies freshman QB Jack Zergiotis.

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UMass Football News--September 24th, 2019

With yesterday's commit by LB Matheu Masse-Pelletler, the Minutemen currently have 18 verbals for the 2020 recruiting class. UMass signed 21 recruits in Coach Bell's first class, so the staff still has some scholarships to give.

On defense, two defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs are coming. 247Sports has the class rated as #78 out of 130 teams and rating does not reflect Masse-Pelletler, who does not have a rating yet.

Past UMass recruiting ranking per 247Sports:

2014--#120
2015--#107
2016--#86 (includes Ally, Dingle, Thomas-Ishman,Palmer and Rogers)
2017--#110
2018--#108 (includes five players who left or never arrived)

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Coastal Carolina game.

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MassLive reports the Minutemen will receive guarantees of over $1 million for eight future games.

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Some takeaways from FIU's loss to Louisiana Tech.

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How a prep school helped Army achieve its current success.

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MAYBE THIS WILL WORK FOR US

Rutgers QB throws a TD, gets a celebratory punch in the face by one of his offensive linemen.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Mathieu Masse-Pelletier verbals to UMass

Mathieu Masse-Pelletier, a 6-2 220 pound OLB from Quebec City, Canada has Tweeted he's committed to UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Also ran track and field for Woodberry Forest.

This article from Canada Football chat features Masse-Pelletier.

He chose UMass over FBS offers from Kent State, Liberty and Rice. Masse-Pelletier had 19 total offers. Took visits to BC and Virginia Tech in the spring. Linebacker is a position UMass really needs. Masse-Pelletier is the third LB recruit in the 2020 recruiting class.

UMass Football News--September 23rd, 2019

UMass has a list of fan experience activities prior to the Akron game.

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Vegas Insider has the Zips a 5.5 point favorite over the Minutmen.

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Keepers College football rating has Akron by 8.62.

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MassLive has UMass falls to 0-4 with a loss to Coastal Carolina.

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Liberty loses a backup QB for the season.

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How Army embraced analytics and created one of the nation's most efficient teams.

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BYU loses a running back for the season.

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UMass Football News--September 22nd, 2019

Thoughts after the game:

1. Thom Hannum and the UMass percussion still rocks after 40 years.

2. The new bathrooms are beautiful.

3. I don't think Andrew Brito is our QB, now or in the future

4. Cooper Garcia should handle all kickoffs.

5. Isaiah Rogers can shift into a gear no one else on the field has.

6. No one on the team quit. The team mobbed Garcia after he unloaded on a Chant kickoff returner.

4. The UMass fans in attendance were amazing. Nobody booed. The cheered the last TD. Some 3000 or so stayed all the way to the end. Stalwart people. I admire them.

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UMass write-up on the game.

Josh Walfish says Coastal Carolina steamrolled UMass.

He also said the short handed defense faltered.

He reports special teams have been a bright spot for the Minutemen. Josh also reports the Minutemen were without four starting linemen. Center Jaylen Larry and left guard Ray Thomas-Ishman were out with injuries. In addition, FR DT Billy Wooden was injured in practice and FR DT Wilson Frederic was hurt during the game.

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UConn lost to Indiana 38-3.

Southern Illinois lost to Arkansas State 41-28.

Charlotte lost to Clemson 52-10.

Akron lost to Troy 35-7.

Army Beat Morgan State 52-21.

Northwestern lost to Michigan State 31-10.

BYU was run over by Washington 45-19.

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Game Day Coast Carolina 2019

Once more into the breach dear friends. I'm looking for improvements in run defense and more production with the offence. Nineteen points a game on offense does not give us (or the defense) a lot of room to operate. UMass can run the ball, but so far, the Minutemen are #120 in 130 FBS teams with 148.7 passing yards/game. That's not the results we would want with the spread offense.

It should be a beautiful Fall day. I'll be there like I have been for the last 43 years.

Go UMass.

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Josh Walfish reports UMass emphasizes tacklng ahead of the Coastal Carolina.

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Noles247 says Florida State will host UMass in 2012.

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Click on Detroit has UMass-Coastal Carolina game details and preview.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2020--Gaberiel Fuster

Gaberiel Fuster, a 6-0 227 pound ILB, from Deep Creek, VA has Tweeted UMass is in his final four.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Virginia Pilot has Fuster #16 in the area's Top-50 recruits.

Fuster's top four schools are FAU, Liberty, Virginia Tech and UMass. Lots and lots of playing time is available in Amherst...

UMass Football News--September 20th, 2019

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the Coastal Carolina game.

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The Berkshire Eagle reports UMass readies for Coastal Carolina.

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The Daily Collegian reports on the growth of the young UMass defensive line.

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Myrtle Beach Online has everything you need to know about the Chants-Minutemen game.

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Winless UConn is a 28 point underdog against Indiana.

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Scarlet Nation thinks Rutgers could upset Boston College.

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Hustle Belt previews Akron vs Troy.

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UMass Football News--September 19th, 2019

Josh Walfish reports UMass stays invested in building the program. Everyone knew this year was going to be tough. We have an excellent recruiting class coming in in 2020. It'll get better.

Stay tough and take one game at a time.

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UMass adds 24 updates to the Minutemen's future schedules. The Minutemen needed some pay games for the 2021 schedule and have added Pitt and Florida State. UMass has some connections with both programs.

Additions not previously discussed are:

Sept. 4, 2021 – at Pitt
Oct. 23, 2021 – at Florida State
Sept. 2, 2023 – at Auburn
Nov. 4, 2023 – vs. Merrimack
Sept. 21, 2024 – vs. Wagner
Sept. 6, 2025 – at Boston College (rescheduled from Sept. 17, 2022)

Future College Schedules has a post on the UMass additions.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" also has a story on the future schedules.

Pittsburgh Sports Now has a story on Pitt's future schedules.

Noles247 also has a story on UMass and Florida State adding a game.

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How Coastal Carolina managed to come up with the nation's #7th ranked defense.

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UMass Football News--September 18th, 2019

Josh Walfish has news and notes from this week's UMass practices. Andrew Brito has received a waiver from the NCAA and will have three seasons of eligibility at UMass. DT Charlie Timite has left the team. Timite missed all last season with a unspecified medical issue. Coach Bell said his departure was not totally based on medical issues.

The Minutemen have been trying to redshirt freshman DL Cletus Mathurin, but Bell stated Mathurin might have to play some up to his redshirt limit, which I think is four games.

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The Daily Collegian says the UMass defense focuses on tackling before the game with Coastal Carolina.

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Coastal Carolina has their game notes for UMass up.

So does UMass.

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Meanwhile at UConn, Coach Edsall says he sees progress and the Huskies lose a QB for the season.

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In Akron, the winless Zips have offensive woes.

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The 1-2 FIU Panthers are also struggling on offense.

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UMass Football News--September 17th, 2019

Josh Walfish has three takeaways from the Charlotte game.

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The Charlotte Observer says the 49ers were impressive against UMass, but Clemson won't care.

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How Coastal Carolina kept the momentum going against Norfolk State.

The Chants Jayhawk pinata was the icing on the cake of their upset of Kansas.

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At Boston College, the student newspaper says fire the coach.

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The Miami Herald has four takeaways from FIU's win over New Hampshire.

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Hugh Freeze savors his first victory with Liberty as the Flames rout Buffalo.

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Northwestern gets ready for Michigan State.

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After beating #22 UCS, BYU moves on to #24 Washington.

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UMass Football News--September 19th, 2019

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Charlotte game.

Mike mentions UMass CB Isaiah Rogers as a bright spot on the Minutemen defense. Rogers is #9 in the nation in punt returns after three games, averaging 17.8 yards per punt.

He's #18 in kickoff returns averaging 27.7 yards/kickoff.

UMass is #123 out of 130 teams in passing efficiency. The Minutemen are #126 in rushing defense 267.0 yards/game. UMass is #88 in rushing offense with 147.0 yards/game. NCAA stats here.

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Vegas Insider has Coastal Carolina a 16.5 point favorite over UMass.

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Keepers College football rankings has the Chants as 5.31 point favorite.

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle says don't hit the panic button yet about UMass football.

It's the first year of a turnaround. We will get better and I swear to God I'll rejoice when the daily trolls in my comment in-box are silenced. This year I use 'em for motivation in my powerlifting.

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Fan Sided wonders if losing to Coastal Carolina was the best thing for Kansas football?

They don't think so at BC Interruption.

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UMass Football News--September 15th, 2019

Well, UMass lost big again, but looked somewhat better doing it. I think the offense could be half decent if we had a QB, which so far, we do not.

Again we played a bunch of freshmen including DT Grant Laws, who saw his first action of the year.

Charlotte nearly doubled up on our offensive yardage 533 to 262. Brito had 18 completions, but only averaged 7.05 yards a catch. UMass was 3-14 on third downs and again only had one good offensive quarter.

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UMass write-up.

Charlotte's write-up here.

The Charlotte Observer said the 49ers started fast.

Josh Walfish reports a slow start doomed UMass.

The Berkshire Eagle reports UMass falls to 0-3 after a lopsided loss to Charlotte.

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Coastal Carolina ran past Norfolk State 46-7.

Central Michigan topped Akron 45-24.

FIU beat New Hampshire 30-17.

Louisiana Tech blew out Bowling Green 35-7.

Liberty handled Buffalo 35-17.

Army rushed for 340 yards in 31-13 win over UTSA.

Northwestern beat UNLV 30-14 for their first win of the season.

BYU upset #24 USC in overtime.

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Game Day ---Charlotte 2019

All right, let's right the ship on offense. I'd like to see a lot more rhythm and less penalties from the offense. I'd like to see us run the rock and keep the ball in our position. I don't care who is at QB as long as he moves the team.

Let's improve. I'm a patient man, but last week was a mind-boggling low point. Cutting down on the mistakes and being able to execute the the offense would be a big help.

Go UMass.

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Josh Wlafish reports UMass hopes QB competition will solve the offensive woes at Charlotte.

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MassLive has how to watch the game on ESPN+

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UnderDog Dynasty previews the Minutmen-49ers game and predicts a 42-27 Charlotte win.

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Boston College was run over by Kansas (Yes, Kansas) at home as the Jayhawks snapped a 48-game road losing streak to Power Five opponents.

BC Interruption says nothing in the world make sense anymore. We feel your pain Boston College fans.

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UMass Football News--September 13th, 2019

The Boston Herald reports UMass visits Charlotte in search of its first victory.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the Minutemen-49ers game and predicts  a 49-21 Charlotte victory.

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247Sports says the Boston College game is a must win for Rutgers.

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Coastal Carolina meets Norfolk State.

Akron plays Central Michigan.

FIU plays New Hampshire. For the first time in 20 years New Hampshire will be without HC Sean McDonnell. He's out indefinitely  on medical leave.

Liberty plays Buffalo at home. The last time the Flames and the Bull played was in 1998, UMass' National Championship year.

Northwestern plays UNLV.

BYU gets ready for USC's passing attack.

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UMass Football News--September 12th, 2019

Josh Walfish reports UMass BUCK linebacker Shannon Junior II has quit the team. Junior's UMass bio.

The UMass two-deep has Chinedu Ogbonna as the backup. Ogbonna was a starter last year and I think he'll do well for the rest of the season. Junior's leaving does make the unit (linebackers) even more shallow than it was.

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Josh also has a post on true freshmen DL's Wilson Frederic and Billy Wooden. Frederic and Wooden's UMass bios. There's an old coaching saw that says you lose one game for every true freshman you start.

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The Daily Collegian reports the UMass defense is focusing on the details.

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Charlotte has their game notes for UMass up.

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ANOTHER EVIL PLAN FOILED

Remember when the EU fined Microsoft three quarters of a billion dollars for including Windows Explorer free with Windows 7?

According to the analytics I get as blog owner, of the last 6,599 page views on the UMass football blog, 160 were by Windows Explorer.

The leaders were Safari 54% and Chrome 31% no other browser had more than 3%...

UMass Football News--September 10th, 2019

Josh Walfish reports QB competition is back.

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UMass has their game notes for Charlotte up.

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The Charlotte website points out the 49ers have been averaging over 40 points a game.

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A tailgating man at the game Saturday was arrested after throwing cans of beer into the crowd and hitting a police horse with a football.

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Andy Isabella returned kicks for the Arizona Cardinals during their Sunday game.

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UMass has added Bowling Green to its future schedules. The Minutemen will meet the Falcons in 2025 and 2026. UMass was 0-4 against Bowling Green while we were in the MAC.

On 09/20/2014 UMass and Bowling Green hooked up at McGuirk with Blake Frohnapfel throwing for an all-time UMass single game passing record of 589 yards. Pictures of the sold out McGuirk still appear in some UMass publications. Ross Comis has second place in the single game passing record book with his 540 yards against Liberty last year.

All future UMass schedules here.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on recruiting visitors during the Southern Illinois game.

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UMass Football News--September 10th, 2019

UMass is up to #24 in US News & World Report's annual ranking of the Top 130 public colleges and universities.

UMass has the best food.

The best graduate sports management program.

# 37 in number of patents awarded in the top-100 World Universities.

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The Berkshire Eagle reports after being routed by Southern Illinois, UMass football looks in the Mirror.

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Josh Walfish reports Coach Bell is still confident in UMass' future.

I am too. The only thing that will "fix" UMass football is recruiting. The 2020 class is likely to be the strongest in program history. "X's" and "O's" will only take us so far. We flat need bigger, more athletic people on defense.  The current state of the roster is Whipple's responsibility.

On the spectrum of people who bleed Maroon & White, I think I'm pretty high on the list (7594 posts on this blog for example) and losing makes me pretty miserable. There's no shortcut to success. We have to grind higher. Stay together and improve every day.

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Keepers college football ratings has Charlotte a nearly 23 point favorite over the Minutemen.

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Don Brown explains how a defensive yell saved Michigan against Army.

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UMass Football News--sptember 9th, 2019

Josh Walfish says the UMass offense is facing an identity crisis.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps one of the worst loses in UMass history.

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The Daily Collegian reports the Minutmen's home opener was a disaster.

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The Charlotte Observer says Charlotte and Appalachian State need to play more often.

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Vegas has Charlotte a 17 point favorite over UMass.

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The UConn Blog reflects on the Huskies close loss to Illinois.

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Army thought it would beat Michigan----and nearly did.

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UMass Football News--August 8th, 2019

Well, it looks like a season in Purgatory for UMass fans this year. The UMass defense was taken apart by a Southern Illinois offense that looked bigger, faster and more athletic. The only cure is recruiting. I knew just every playmaker on a Minutemen defense that was in the bottom five in most defensive categories had graduated. It looked it against the Salukis. We may test UConn's negative defensive records when we meet BYU and Northwestern. But, that's life. Hit the recruiting trail and get better. Never quit.

The Stadium improvements looked great. The new video board looked good as did the new plaza. The new practice field will help this winter.

The offense never got into any sort of rhythm. I think Brito should start against Charlotte and see if he can jump start the offense. The Salukis got a lot of defensive pressure and that has to improve. We did not do much of anything  looked good on offense. I think the potential is there, but it did not show yesterday. Again, suck it up and get better. Go UMass.

Oh, the UMMB sounded great.

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MassLive reports UMass falls to Southern Illinois in the home opener.

The Berkshire Eagle said UMass was gashed by the Salukis.

The Southern reports Javon Williams led the Salukis.

Josh Walfish reports Coach Bell said it was a miserable time.

Josh also has a post on the UMass players and coaches response.

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UConn kept it close against Illinois.

Charlotte lost a shootout against Appalachian State.

Coastal Carolina scored their first ever win over a Power Five opponent with a 12-7 win over Kansas.

Akron was run over by UAB.

FIU lost to Western Kentucky at home.

Louisiana Tech held off an upset minded Grambling.

Army took Michigan to double overtime.

BYU took Tennessee to double overtime----and won.

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Game Day--Southern Illinois 2019

The cloud cover is already broken up here in NH, so the weather should be fine by game time.

I'm looking for UMass to continue to run the rock. I exciting about seeing new RB's Cam Robinson and Kevin Brown play.

Looking for a crisper passing game with a continuation of spreading the receptions around.

On defense, we should be able to get some pressure on the QB against a FCS team. Better linebacker coverage when the defense rushes three men would be an improvement over last week.

The defense did force three turnovers last week. let's keep that going. West Virginia transfer Jordan Adams might be able to play and that will make the UMass defensive secondary even stronger.

I'm excited about hearing the UMass band and being back on the press box side of the stadium.

Let's go UMass!!

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Josh Walfish reports the inexperienced UMass secondary learns lessons from the Rutgers game.

The Berkshire Eagle says UMass returns home to face SIU.

Click on Detroit has some ATS and over-and-under factoids for the Saluki-Minutemen game.

The Worcester Telegram has a mention of Cole McCubrey's team-leading ten tackles against Rutgers.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the Southern Illinois game.

The Southern reports both UMass and Southern Illinois feature rookie starters under center.

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Up here in Milford, NH Comcast is showing the game available on NESN+

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UMass Football News--September 6th, 2019

UMass will play at Texas A&M on November 19th, 2022. The Minutemen will receive $1.7 million for the trip. Visiting the Aggies would be a nice trip for UMass fans. Remember the Texas A&M student section stands the entire game in case one of them is called to join the team.

UMass will also move the previously scheduled 2022 game against Boston College to a future year and add Stony Brook from the CAA in order to add another home game to the '22 season. The Minutemen are 4-0 against the Sea Wolves all-time.

Josh Walfish has a post on the scheduling moves.

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The Boston Herald reports Isaiah Rogers and UMass are eager for their home opener against Southern Illinois.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the UMass-Southern Illinois game.

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Former UMass QB James Sosinski has had a well-traveled career.

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CBS Sports has UMass #19  in their bottom 25.

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Besides the improvements to McGuirk this season, the Amherst campus has a number of renovation projects going on.

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The Bleacher Report predicts a 37-24 Minutemen victory over the Salukis.

The College Sports Journal predicts a 38-17 UMass victory.

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The Miami Herald predicts a FIU 52-17 victory over UMass when they meet  in Miami.

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UMass Football News--September 5th, 2019

Steve Luciano image

Josh Walfish reports on new UMass WR "OC" Johnson who intends to improve each game.

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The Berkshire Eagle says UMass is all about improving the details this week.

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The Daily Collegian reports the Minutemen are focusing on pace, explosiveness and intensity.

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Keepers College Football Ratings has UMass a 2.5 point favorite over Southern Illinois.

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The Herald Extra has the Minutemen #10 out of 12 BYU opponents in power ratings.

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The UConn Blog looks at the results of the Huskies 2019 opponents in game #1 of the season.

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UMass Football News--September 4th, 2019

The Southern Illinois website has game notes for the Minutemen game. Saluki HC Nick Hill was the starting QB for Southern Illinois in their 2007 victory over Don Brown's UMass team. Hill passed for 216 yards and three TD's against the Minutemen defense. That was the last time UMass would appear in the FCS playoffs. Liam Coan passed for 421 yards, but could not complete the comeback after the Salukis jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter.

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The Daily Collegian says the UMass secondary seeks consistency against Southern Illinois.

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Josh Walfish reports game tape reveals some missed opportunities for the Minutemen last Saturday.

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The Southern reports the Salukis' 2006 upset win over Indiana makes the list of the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time upset list.

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UMass athletes getting it done in the classroom. Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view.

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UMass' September 14th visit to Charlotte is sandwiched between the 49ers playing Appalachian State and Clemson.

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UMass Football News--September 3rd, 2019

 UMass has their game notes up for Southern Illinois.

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Saluki HC Nick Hill looks ahead to the UMass game.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Rutgers game.

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The Boston Herald reports Coach Bell finds positives in the Minutemen's opening loss.

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UnderDop Dynasty says UMass and UConn should play twice a year.

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Young Minutemen. UMass had 16 out of 53 players at Rutgers who were playing their first ever game for the Minutemen. That's 30.1%. In addition, there were a number of players like Brian Abosi (two career appearances) and Melvin Hill (one career appearance) who had minimal playing time prior to Saturday.

Starters:

10-O.C. Johnson WR
35- Shannon Junior II BUCK
2-Jarvis Miller WILL
5-Donte Lindsey CB

 12-WALLACE, Josh, 1-BRITT, Jessie, 13-BOWE JR., James, 23-NESMITH, Michael, 4-DINGLE, Brennon,12-BRITO, Andrew, 16-JOHNSON, Josiah, 17-OGBONNA, Chinedu, 18-EDWARDS, Taylor, 19-EMILUS, Samuel,20-CHERRELUS, Claudin, 23-ROBERSON, Cam, 28-LEWIS, Justin, 30-CAGGIANO, Mike, 31-DARBY, Logan, 33-RUANE, Mike,34-BROWN, Kevin, 37-GARCIA, Cooper, 39-NARDI, Dante, 42-WOODEN, Billy, 54-WEIR, Johnathon, 55-FREDERIC, Wilson,60-MOULTON, Timothy, 67-TOMLISON, Dalton, 68-FAGUNDES, Helber, 73-DITOMMASO, Chris, 80-TURNER, Javon,82-HILL, Melvin, 88-GEORGOPOULOS, George, 90-DECKERS, Evan, 92-WASHINGTON, Caeleb

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UMass Football News--September 2nd, 2019

The UMass website has a list of fan activities for the Southern Illinois game.

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Josh Walfish reports Coach Bell called an aggressive game on Saturday.

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On the Banks has the good, the bad and the ugly from Rutgers win over UMass.

247Sports reports on what went well for Rutgers and what did not go so good. Mentions UMass' 186 yards on the ground and the three INT's by the Minutemen secondary.

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The Berkshire Eagle says there was some good and some bad in the Minutemen's loss to Rutgers.

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The Southern reports the Salukis' defense continues to struggle in 2019.

The Arrow has an image gallery of SEMO's win over Southern Illinois.

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Charlotte's HC Will Healy goes shirtless after the 49ers win over Gardner-Web.

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Although we lost handily to Rutgers Saturday, UMass does not even register on the level of Tennessee's misery index.

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Coastal Carolina's football team evacuates their campus ahead of hurricane Dorian.

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Northwestern lost their opening game against Stanford and they also lost a QB and the starting RB.

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UMass Football News--September 1st, 2019

AP image

Josh Walfish has a Twitter post on Michael Nesmith being ejected for targeting.

I'm all for protecting the players for injury, but currently the targeting rule presents some difficulty for the defensive player. What does he do if the opposing player ducks? Basically, all the offensive player is presenting is his helmet. The defensive player can't make contact with the helmet with anything: shoulder pad, arm or his helmet. Once he commits, he does not have any legal choice for a tackle.

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One thing that did not go well for the Minutemen defense Friday was when UMass only rushed three men. It seemed as if Rutgers was able to get a receiver open with ease with that play. Linebacker coverage did not go well for UMass and I would think that would be something that will be addressed while watching film this week.

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Two new players on the UMass defense were the only two to have tackles for loss at Rutgers. Charly Timite had 1 YFL for -4 yards and he also recorded the only Minutemen sack, again for -4 yards. Johnathan Weir also has 1 TFL for -1 yards.

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Syracuse shut out Liberty 24-0.

Northwestern lost a grind-it-out game to Stanford 17-7. The Wildcats managed only 210 total yards.

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