UMass Football News--October 31st, 2024

UMass has their game notes for Mississippi State up. 

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T.Y. Harding is UMass' co-athlete-of-the-week after his stellar performance against Wagner.

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 KTEN.com says UMass vows to "keep fighting" as they visit struggling Mississippi State.

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MSN says Massachusetts brings a "bottom-ten" ranking to Starkville.

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Data Skrive thinks UMass will beat the spread against Mississippi State.

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SI.com reports the Bulldogs will face another dual-threat QB Saturday.

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UMass Football News--October 30th, 2024

 The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass hopes the momentum established against Wagner carries over to Mississippi State.

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In an error filled (and probably AI written) post College Football News predicts Bulldogs 41 Minutemen 17.

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SI.com says the game between UMass and Mississippi State might be closer than expected. 

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SFGate.com has a minimalist game prediction.

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The weather is going to be great in Starkville! Wish I was going. It would be a great place to see a UMass game.

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Penalties have been a problem for the Bulldogs. We hear ya brother.

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Mississippi State just approved a $3 million upgrade to their stadium facilities.

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UMass Football News--October 29th, 2024

 

UMass has their game notes for Mississippi State up plus Coach Brown's Monday video press conference. 

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SI.com reports Mississippi State hosts UMass.

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Bulldog Coach Jeff Lebby has a video after the Arkansas game and talks defense and UMass.

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Sportsbook Wire has Mississippi State vs UMass odds and betting trends.

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Mississippi State releases their depth chart for the UMass game. 

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Hustle Belt has Monday MAC musings.

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UMass Football News--October 28th, 2024

 UMass is an 18-point underdog to Mississippi State. Other interesting lines are Liberty is only a 1-point favorite over Jacksonville State and Oregon is a 15-point favorite over Michigan. When was the last time Michigan was a 15-point underdog? Liberty is not overwhelming opponents this year.

I watched the first half of the Arkansas-Mississippi State game on the treadmill yesterday. The Bulldogs moved the ball on Arkansas, but missed field goals and were twice stopped (once inside the Arkansas five yard line) on fourth down.

However, the Razorbacks threw the ball and ran at will against Mississippi State. In passing the Hogs went 23-29-1 and 5 TD's. Taisun Phommachanh under-threw the ball two or three times in the Wagner game missing several big completions. UMass could have the chance to score some points on the Bulldogs if he is on target.

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The Clarion-Ledger has Mississippi State might lose to UMass and other overreactions.

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Bulldog coach Jeff Libby thinks Mississippi State's defense will bounce back.

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The Razorbacks 58-27 win over Mississippi State was their biggest road win since 2007.

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UMass Football News--October 27th, 2024

 

It's a lot more fun trudging to my computer Sunday mornings after a win. Ty Harding was the star of the show with a TD catch and a 58 yard TD punt return. Also impressive on offense was the UMass running backs who went 20-167 (8.35 yards/carry). The offense clicked against Wagner.

The UMass defense had one bad quarter, but turned it up in the fourth. The defense had nine TFL with Louce Julian having 3 and Kofi Asare having 2.5. Te'Rai Powell added an INT for 17 yards. The defense's stop of a Wagner drive on the UMass 7 yard line at the end of the third quarter was the turning point of the game. 

And a tip of the hat to the amazin' UMass fan base. 14,374 turned out! Imagine if we were winning! We'd sell out the Junkyard for UConn.

UMass write-up here.

Wagner write-up here.

The Hampshire Gazette said the Minutemen rushing attack overwhelmed Wagner.

The Daily Collegian said the UMass defensive front seven made the difference.  

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Eastern Michigan lost to 2-5 Akron 25-21. No one wants to take control of the MAC.

Toledo lost to 4-4 Bowling Green. No one wants to take control of the MAC.

Buffalo got run over by Ohio 47-16. 

CCSU lost to 2-7 LIU 24-21.

Miami (Ohio) rang up 518 yards of offense in a blowout win over Central Michigan.

Missouri ran into an Alabama buzz saw and lost 34-0.

Arkansas had 673 (!?) yards of offense (10.2 yards/play) and obliterated Mississippi State 58-25.

Liberty lost to Kennesaw State Wednesday.

 Georgia had a bye.

UConn won a defensive grind over Rice 17-10.

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Game Day--Wagner 2024

 

Today is UMass Band Day, which is always fun. The weather will be cool, but sunny and it will be a great day to see UMass play. Hopefully the Minutemen running backs are healthier and we'll see some good results today.

We need a win today because the rest of the 2024 schedule is heavy. UMass plays two SEC teams on the road. The Minutemen also play bowl-bound Liberty and UConn for the Group-of-Five segment. UMass should be a substantial underdog for those games. However, winless Kennesaw State upset Liberty and UMass-UConn is a rivalry game. Hope springs eternal.

I'll be cheering for the Minutemen. Go UMass!!

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The Greenfield Recorder says Wagner comes to town with the Minutemen badly needing a win.

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End of an era. Sign Man is retiring. 

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MAC power rankings for Week #8 (includes UMass).

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Sports Book Wire predicts Arkansas 29 Mississippi State 26. The Bulldogs could be 1-7 by the time we hit Starkville.

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Sports Book predicts UConn to handle Rice.

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UMass Football News--October 25th, 2024

Wagner has its game notes for UMass up.

I did not pick up on Tom Massella being Wagner's head football coach. Messalla was UMass' defensive coordinator back in 2002-2003. I talked with him several times at UMass sports luncheons back in the day.

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RealGM.cvom has a write-up on the UMass-Wagner game with stats and ESPN+ links.

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RealGm.com has another preview of UMass-Mississippi State game. The Bulldogs-Minutemen game will be on the SEC network, which is available on most cable TV networks.

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UConn has been riding its running game to success in 2024.

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UMass Football News--October 24th, 2024

 The Daily Collegian reports after a bye week, UMass prepares for Wagner.

Still no game notes from the Seahawks.

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The UConn Blog (good name) looks at the remaining teams on the Huskies schedule.

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Huge upset last night as the winless (0-6) Kennesaw State Owls beat undefeated Liberty.

The loss certainly knocked the Flames out of CFP contention. I watched that game and the Owls outplayed the Flames all game. Liberty had better stats, but failed to produce on several drives and it cost them an undefeated season.

Every team who can be eliminated from the playoffs during Week #9.

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UMass Football News--October 23rd, 2024

 Dawn of the Dog predicts Georgia 52 UMass 3.

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As of this week, UMass is # 97 in total rushing yards with 893 total yards and 127.3 yards/game. 

UMass is #122 in yards/carry at 3.21.

Taisun Phommachanh has 252 of the rushing yards. No UMass running back has a run longer than 23 yards.

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Athlon Sports predicts nine of UMass' 2024 opponents will make bowls. They predict Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Liberty, Buffalo, UConn, Miami Ohio) and Missouri will make bowls. Georgia is predicted to make the college football playoffs.

More predictions for bowls by USA Today and the prediction Georgia will get the top spot in the CFP.

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Winners and losers in Week #8: Indiana may be in the playoffs and Alabama will not. 

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UMass Football News--October 22nd, 2024

 The Greenfield Recorder reports after a bye week, UMass turns its attention to Wagner.

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UMass has its game notes for Wagner plus the Monday video press conference with Don Brown up.

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Hustle Belt has musings on the MAC's Week #8.

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Georgia takes over the #1 spot in the College Football Playoff projections.

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 Remember the size differential I mentioned after the Missouri game...

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UMass Football News--October 21st, 2024

 Western Michigan is 3-0 in the MAC after beating Buffalo Saturday. The pre-season pundits had the Broncos 4th in the MAC west.

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Ball State was tied in the fourth quarter to Alabama-slaying Vanderbilt last Saturday, but Diego Pavia brought the Commodores back.

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Wagner at UMass will be available on ESPN+.

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Mississippi State fell to 1-6 on the year after their loss to Texas A&M Saturday. The Bulldogs get struggling Arkansas and UMass next.

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Georgia rose to #2 in both the AP and Coaches poll after defeating Texas. Missouri fell in both polls despite their Saturday win. Liberty received votes in both polls.

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UMass Football News--October 20th, 2024

 

Hopefully, UMass is rockin' the bye week and getting healthier for the next game.

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Eastern Michigan scored 22 points in the fourth quarter against Central Michigan and run their record to 5-2.

Toledo won a defensive grind against Northern Illinois where the two teams went a combined 6-34 on third downs (?!).

Buffalo lost to Western Michigan 48-41.

CCSU gave #22 Dartmouth a scare, but fell 20-16.

Miami (Ohio) beat rival Ohio 30-20.

Trailing 17-6 to Auburn, Missouri engineered a 15 point fourth quarter comeback to beat the other Tigers. The win could place Missouri close to the Top-10 in FBS.

Wagner shut out St.Francis 14-0.

Mississippi State lost to #14 Texas A&M 34-24.

Liberty had a bye.

Georgia held #1 Texas to 29 rushing yards and won 30-15.

UConn had over 30,000 fans at home against Wake Forest, but lost 23-20. 

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Bye Week I--October 19th, 2024

 Anthony Simpson talks his recruitment in the transfer portal. Fixed link

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The NEC has  its own TV streaming channel. Watch Wagner vs St Francis at Noon here.

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Hustle Belt has a MAC mid-season 2024 report card. Once again UMass has managed to play the top half of the MAC while missing the bottom half.

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This is pretty awesome. UMass should embrace this.

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With UMass on the sidelines this week Minutemen fans are free to watch college football without using their DVR. Tennessee vs Alabama and Texas vs Georgia are headline games this week. A loss for everybody except Texas puts a playoff bid in serious jeopardy. 

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UMass Football News--October 18th, 2024

 Anthony Simpson to Georgia?

Or Michigan State?

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Wagner has their game notes for St. Francis up.

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UConn looks to stay on a roll against ACC member Wake Forest.

Sports Book Wire predicts a Husky win.

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UMass Football News--October 17th, 2024

 

College Football Tour visits UMass and McGuirk and gives a positive review.

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UMass reveals a Noon kickoff time for the Liberty and UConn games.

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College Football News predicts UMass will go 1-5 over it's last six games. 

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Hustle Belt's week #7 MAC football power rankings has UMass falling to #12.

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UMass Football News--October 16th, 2024

 Sports Illustrated reports on what Eli Drinkwitz wanted to see from his offense against UMass.

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Missou fans made the trek to UMass.

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And predictably, one of the local anti-football trolls has a predictably stupid take on the game.

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You remember Vanderbilt's epic win over Alabama. Our old friend Diego Pavia engineered it.

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That image of Jim Reid with Yankee Conference bean pot trophy that's on the web, guess who's blog they got it off.

 Lots more images from the 1989 UMass media guide in the "Scans from UMass programs" link in the blog sidebar.

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The latest college football playoff prediction does not include Missouri.

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UMass Football News--October 15th, 2024

 

UMass Athletic Dept image

Hustle Belt recaps Missouri's win over UMass at McGuirk.

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Power Missou recaps the Tigers win over the Minutemen. 

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The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass sets up for the bye week and then Wagner. 

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ESPN has a comprehensive look at this week's Top-25 including #6 Georgia and #21 Missouri.

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UMass Football News--October 14th, 2024

 UMass enters a bye week and the Minutemen could use it. Several UMass players were injured in the Missouri. The already thin running back room needs some recovery time and we lost several offensive linemen. Playing a team as big as Missouri has its drawbacks.

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Dean Wendel of the Daily Collegian has a nice essay on the college football experience. 

College football is special. It's a fun place in a sometimes depressing world. UMass fans had a taste of it Saturday. The amazin' UMass fans continue to turn out. Imagine if we went into the Tigers game 4-1. Imagine if we had a chance.

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Missouri climbed two spots in the AP poll after defeating UMass.

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Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz was gracious in his post game press conference. 

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Hustle Belt recaps the Tigers-Minutemen game.

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UMass Football News--October 13th, 2024

 I've been watching UMass football for decades. Yesterday's game reminded me of when we played BC back in the seventies and they out-weighed us 50 pounds per man. Missouri was the biggest team I've seen at McGuirk. Most of the Minutemen defense was roughly as tall as the shoulder pads of the Tigers offensive linemen. Their TE was a giant and they could all run. The size differential was just as bad with the Minutemen offense against the Missouri defense.

I've criticized UMass play sometimes this year, but not yesterday. I think the Minutemen put up an excellent effort against a full bore Top-25 SEC team. Missouri pulled away in the third quarter and the Tigers were gentlemen and called off the dogs in the fourth by running between the tackles.

Still, I think no UMass fan should bad mouth the team for losing that game. The Minutemen played with heart and I'm proud of them.

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UMass write-up here.

 Missouri write-up here.

The Hampshire Gazette said Missouri overwhelms UMass.

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Eastern Michigan, who were 4-1 on the season, lost to Miami (Ohio) 38-14. 

Toledo got upset by Buffalo 30-15. The MAC championship game is wide open.

CCSU handled Mercyhurst 38-20.

Northern Illinois beat Bowling Green in a defensive struggle.

Wagner lost to Columbia 24-6. 

Mississippi State played Georgia close but lost 41-31.

Liberty beat FIU in overtime on Wednesday.

UConn had a bye.

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Game Day--Missouri 2024

 Today we start our swing through the SEC. UMass is over matched with Power Five teams, but we need the $$ for our budget. Today's game is unusual as its a straight home-and-home with no guarantee. The Tigers are a strong team and they can probably make the score anything they want.

For UMass it's a chance to play against the top of college football. Each Minuteman player can use it to increase his football skills. Lets do our best and work on being better.

I'll be there cheering for the Maroon & White. Go UMass!

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Rock M Nation looks at today Misouri-UMass game.

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Doc's Sports thinks UMass will beat the spread.

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Power Mizzou thinks the Tigers will win 33-3 or 37-13.

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Sports Book Wire predicts Tigers 42 UMass 10.

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WWLP says UMass and Missouri will play for the first time.

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The Greenfield Recorder reports UMass girds for battle with #21 Missouri.

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Hustle Belt previews the Tigers-Minutemen battle. 

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UMass Football News--October 11th, 2024

 Sports Book Wire predicts Missouri 34-UMass 16

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Hustle Belt keeps UMass at #10 in the MAC conference power rankings. 

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The Daily Collegian reports UMass gears up for #21 Missouri.

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News Day reports Missouri hopes to bounce back against FCS UMass..  Gotta love the Associated Press.

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The Hampshire Gazette says UMass looks to protect its home turf against Missouri. 

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The Columbia Daily Wire says the Tigers offensive line is under performing.

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UMass Football News--October 10th, 2024

 The Missouri Tigers turn their attention to UMass.

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Is UMass a "get right" game for Missouri?

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Eli Drinkwitzz reflects on the Texas A&M loss and previews UMass.

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Missouri says "one bad day does not define our season"

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Hustle Belt has three takeaways from week 6 of MAC plays. One of them is that Toledo is (again) probably the team to beat .

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Hustle Belt also reflects on highly ranked teams who have visited McGuirk.

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Clutch Points thinks Missouri will cover the 27 point spread. 

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The Kansas City Star looks at the rather unusual home-and-home agreement between Missouri and UMass. 

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You can listen to the "All Things Missou " podcast covering the UMass game here. 

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UMass Football News--Octobber 9th, 2024

azcentral.com image

 The Tigers have their game notes for UMass up.

Quotes from Missouri HC Eliah Drinkwitz's presser. 

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The Columbia Daily says Missouri has problems to fix. 

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The UMass-Missouri game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

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The Liberty Flames are undefeated and a 16.5 favorite over FIU this Saturday.

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College Football is cracking down on pretending to shoot an opponent.

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UMass Football News--October 8th, 2024

 

UMass has its game notes for Missouri up. Coach Brown's Monday press conference is available at the bottom of the page.

No game notes for Missouri yet.

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The Minutemen took a depleted running back room into its game against NIU last week.

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Multiple upsets in the college Top-25 last weekend have shuffled college playoff projections.

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UConn is celebrating a strong 4-2 start to 2024. 

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UMass Football News--October 7th, 2024

 

I would be remiss if I did not blog about the passing of UMass legend Greg Landry.

The UMass athletic department's  tribute to Landry.

Landry's Wikipedia entry. During Landry's time at UMass the Yankee Conference was a "three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust" league. In a modern passing offense, he would have produced some serious yardage.

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Hustle Belt recaps the Minutemen's loss to Northern Illinois.

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Missouri opens as a 28.5 point favorite over the Minutemen.

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Fan Duel likes the Tigers to cover the spread.

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Missouri falls to #21 in the AP poll.

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UMass Football News--October 6th, 2024

 Once again a fine effort by the Minutemen was stymied by a few mistakes. UMass rang up 378 total yards against an excellent NIU defense and committed only four penalties. The Minutemen went over the top with the best passing game UMass has had in a long time. 

A fumble in the first quarter and a long, late kickoff return was the margin of victory for the Huskies. UMass was also stopped on fourth down attempts converting only one of four.

UMass really moved the ball on a very good NIU defense. NIU held Notre Dame to 14 points and 286 total yards.  The UMass defense too played well. Two short fields spoiled a good defensive effort..

UMass write-up here.

Northern Illinois write-up here. 

The Daily Collegian said there were multiple missed opportunities on offense.

The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass falls to Northern Illinois.

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Eastern Michigan had a bye.

Toledo beat Miami (Ohio) 30-20. 

Buffalo had a bye.

CCSU lost a heart-breaker to Yale.

The big news in the schedule was Missouri was destroyed by Texas A&M 41-10. That should knock the Tigers out of the Top-10.

Wagner powered past Stone Hill. 

Mississippi State had a bye with #5 Georgia next.

Liberty had a bye.

Georgia beat Auburn for the 8th straight time. 

UConn had a last minute goal-line stand with a fumble recovery to stymie Temple.

Game Day--Northern Illinois 2024

 Well NIU is a very good team. They have a win over #5 Notre Dame and lost by seven points to Power Four North Carolina State. The Huskies have a very good defense, which wins games in November and in conference championships. They have not played a MAC game yet. I think NIU, Toledo and Western Michigan are the class of the MAC this year and the Huskies should contend for the league championship.

UMass has played well against Toledo and Miami (Ohio). Again, cutting down on penalties and special teams mistakes could make the difference between a close game and a big NIU win.

The Minutemen offense needs to score more than 20 points. If they can, this could be an interesting game. I'll be cheering for the Maroon & White.

Go UMass!!

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Northern Star interviews the Daily Collegian's Dean Wendel.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the NIU game. 

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The Greenfield Recorder reports UMass looks for their first FBS win.

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Fox Sports predicts NIU 30 UMass 12.

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UMass Football News--October 4th, 2024

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a report on WR Anthony Simpson leaving the team.

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NIU Football has a post on the game day activities for the Northern Illinois-UMass game Saturday.

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The Miami Student has a story on Miami (Ohio) kicker Dom Dzioban who drilled two long field goals to beat UMass last week. 

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The Northern Star reports NIU looks to break a home losing skid against UMass.

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Sports Book Wire predicts NIU 30 UMass 12.

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Thanks to the sharp-eyed blog reader who was watching the Tampa Bay -Atlanta Falcons game and pointed out Elijah Wilkinson who is in his eight year as a pro. 

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UMass jumps up two notches for their close loss to Miami (Ohio) in the Hustle Belt MAC Conference Power Rankings.

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UMass Football News--October 3rd, 2024

 UMass and Northern Illinois last played in 2012 and 2013. The Minutemen lost those two games (both under Charlie Molnar) 63-0 and 63-19. The Huskies were coached by P.J. Fleck who was on his way to a Power Five coaching position (Minnesota) and he was running up the score on everyone in the MAC. Fleck was twice the MAC's Coach-of-the-Year and he had a NFL first-round pick in Corey Davis. In 2016 the Huskies finished 12-1 and made the Cotton Bowl.

I was at both games and it was basically no contest. Molnar's era at UMass was unraveling in 2013 and he was replaced by Mark Whipple. The Minutemen played well at Miami (Ohio) and there is a nearly identical 17-point spread. UMass could be in the game if they cut down the mistakes.

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Another big game from Jakobie Keeney-James would help..

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Fox Sorts predicts NIU 30 UMass 12.

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A short, probably AI written post by "Data Skrive", predicts a NIU win.

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Hustle Belt previews the UMass-Northern Illinois game and predicts Huskies 38 Minutemen 17.

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UMass Football News--October 20th, 2024

 

The Telegraph has some Northern Illinois factoids.

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NIU has their game notes for UMass up.

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Northern Illinois says it did not get a formal offer from the Mountain West Conference.

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Doc's Sports says take the over in a prop bet on Taisun Phommachanh.

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NIU won the statistical battle with North Carolina State but turned the ball over four times.

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UConn will not be joining the Big 12 per the Hartford Courant.

Meanwhile, excitement is growing about Huskies football. 

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UMass Football News--October 1st, 2024

 

UMass' game against Missouri will kick off at noon October 12th. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

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UMass has the game notes for NIU and Monday press conference up.

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Doc's Sports thinks Northern Illinois will cover the 17 point spread against the Minutemen.

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Athol Daily News reports Coach Brown remains optimistic about the Minutemen.

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The Daily Collegian reports UMass is focused on Northern Illinois. 

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