Well, for the second game I don't think the improvement was reflected in the final score.
For one thing, Will Koch is my quarterback. Seriously, the science is settled. For a true freshman without any Fall camp and minimal practices, I thought Koch played really well. He looked like a freshman a couple of times, but I think he has an excellent upside.
The offensive line also improved. Against a veteran Top-10 defense the Minutemen, when we were not handed the ball on our own freakin' seven yard line looked competitive. We had a couple neat plays, which the offense executed. 190 total offensive yards is nothing to brag about, but not many of Marshall's opponents have done much better. The ten points UMass scored in the first half was the most the Herd had given up this year.
In the fourth quarter, I liked instead of trying for a meaningless score to make things look better, Coach Bell played a lot players. This will pay dividends in the future.
On defense, the field position was again lopsided in favor of the opponent. Despite this the defense had seven TFL and two sacks. Marshall star RB Brendon Knox had 119 yards (just about his average) and 2TD's. Compare this with in 2019's final game when BYU fourth-string true freshman James McChesney gained 228 yards on 15 carries (an average of 15.2 yards/carry). The UMass defense also recorded five third-down stops and were one for two on fourth downs.
Jeremy Martin had a nice 46-yard field goal.
Don't tell anybody, because I don't want to jinx us, but I'm starting to think we might have a shot at FAU.
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The Hampshire Gazette reports Marshall raced past UMass.
MassLive has the game story here.
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The Holy Spirit is with Liberty as the Flames beat their second straight ACC team.
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Georgia Southern ran their record to 5-2 with a win over Troy.
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Speaking of the FAU Owls, they edged Western Kentucky 10-6.
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