Well the Minutemen lost, but showed signs of life against a talented and fast Toledo team in the Glass Bowl. UMass had nearly 400 yards of offense and Taisun Phommachanh was effective throwing and passing the ball.
The UMass defense made the Toledo punt six times and held the Rockets to 83 yards rushing.
However the defense gave up some big plays for Toledo scores. Special teams doomed UMass' effort as the Rockets scored on a kick return in a play no UMass defender got even close to the returner. A botched on-side kick that ended up with a Toledo possession and an added 20 yards of penalties, which meant the Rockets were going to kick a field goal to make it a two-possession game anyway. UMass showed spirit and played well in spots, a big difference from the listless loss to Eastern Michigan.
On to Buffalo.
The Rockets website says it was a hard-fought Toledo win.
The Hampshire Gazette said big plays sunk the Minutemen.
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Wild Day for the MAC.
St Francis out muscled Kent State, running up 402 yards and upsetting the Golden Flashes.
And in an historic stunner, Northern Illinois beat the Irish at Nortre Dame.
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Eastern Michigan lost reasonably to Washington 30-9.
Central Connecticut State beat Fordham.
Miami (Ohio) had a bye.
Wagner lost to Lehigh 49-13.
Georgia beat Tennessee Tech 48-3.
UConn demolished Merrimack 63-17.
Missouri held Buffalo to 169 total yards and won 38-0.
Western Michigan lost to Ohio State 56-0.
