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I was talking to a UMass fan off site and he used the phrase "We've been connoisseurs of defeat", meaning Minutemen fans have had to try hard to find silver linings while watching us get hammered. However, the UMass defense supplied the most enjoyable performance against FAU I've seen in a long time. I'll replay the game on DVR again several times this winter.
Before the season I thought repairing our train wreck defense would take at least three recruiting cycles, but there has been big improvements in only two. We do have five more defensive recruits committed so far in the 2021 class. We need MLB's and more depth everywhere. The Minutemen DL has far exceeded my hopes so far. Avien Peah has battled through injuries to be a force. Jake Byczko has endured a lot of tough games before his senior year, but he and Peah combined for 15 tackles, which is a lot of production for linemen. The defense was fun to watch, something UMass fans have not have not seen for a long time.
On offense things are not as advanced. We do not seem to have a deep threat WR. Taylor Edwards has the longest reception of the year of 37 yards. No one else is above 25 yards. In the short passing game, from the shotgun, it should be "one-two-three" throw. However, many times during the FAU game Will Koch set up and apparently did not like what he was seeing, i.e. he thought no one was open. On TV it's nearly impossible to see the receivers routes or the coverage.
You've probably noticed from the recruiting posts, UMass continues to offer JUCO WR's and offensive linemen. That makes me think the coaches think they still need help in those two units.
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MassLive has UMass falls to 0-3 with a loss to FAU.
FAU Football (an Owls fan site) didn't like those three consecutive FAU pass plays with a minute left either.
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Georgia Southern lost to Army by a missed extra point.
Marshall's game against Charlotte was postponed due to COVID issues.
Liberty went toe-to-toe with North Carolina and lost by one. IMHO, the Flames are the best team in the Group-of-Five.
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