Looking towards the playoffs

With three games to go as many as seven CAA teams have a chance for the playoffs. UMass is one of them.

Already by the boards is a playoff home game for UMass unless there is a complete meltdown. Generally, it takes a 9-2 record to host a home game.

Also gone is the Lambert Cup. We have lost to two team higher than us, so the only way to win it would be to make the National Championship game.

Here's my take on the last three weeks:

CAA South:

• James Madison (currently 8-1 and 6-0 in the CAA) . Games: bye, William & Mary, @ Towson. The Dukes win both those games and go 10-1 and have a home field for the entire playoffs.
• Villanova (currently 6-2 and 4-1 in the CAA) Games: UNH, Towson and @ hapless Delaware. I think the Wildcats win all three and go 9-2. Low fan attendance means, I think, a road trip in the playoffs.
  
• Richmond (currently 6-2 and 3-2 in the CAA) Games: @ Hofstra, Delaware and @ William & Mary. I believe the Spiders will win all those games and end up 9-3 and have a playoff home game .
• William & Mary (currently 6-2 and 4-1 in the CAA) Games Northeastern, @ JMU, Richmond. The Spiders will loose to JMU and Richmond to end up 7-4 and out of the playoffs.

The CAA North, on the other hand, will likely only get one team in the playoffs. UNH has the toughest schedule but has a loss to give. UMass and Maine very likely have to win out.

• New Hampshire (currently 7-1 and 4-1 in the CAA) Games: @ Villanova, UMass, @ Maine. It think the Wildcats will loose at Villanova and set up the UMass game as the play-in for both clubs. Since I bleed Maroon & White, I'll pick UMass. UNH goes 1-2 and ends 8-3 and out of the playofs unless the CAA gets five teams again.
• UMass (currently 6-3 and 3-2 in the CAA) Games Maine @ UNH, Hofstra. I think UMass wins out and goes 9-3 (only 8 DI wins however). UMass gets the lone CAA North playoff bid by means of the tie-breakers against Maine and UNH.
• Maine (currently 6-3 and 3-2 in the CAA) Games @UMass, @ Rhode Island, UNH. I beleive the Black bears loose to UMass and UNH and finish 7-4 and out of the playoffs.

CAA Playoff teams:

1. JMU 10-1. Ranked #1 seed in the playoffs
2. Villanova 9-2. Road playoff game despite their record
3. Richmond 9-2. One home playoff game
4. UMass 9-3. On the road in their first playoff game (Wofford? Montana?)

If UNH wins the Villanova game and/or William & Mary beats either JMU or Richmond one of those teams could make the playoffs on tie-breakers. Either team could be the 5th CAA playoff entrant if the committee goes that way again this year.

Tuesday Tales

Matty Vautour has an article on the playoff picture for the CAA.

UMass is up to #13 in three different FCS polls .

David Coulson has a review of the results from FCS football on Saturday.

Liam Coen and Josh Jennings were the CAA's Offensive-player-of-the-week and Defensive-player-of-the-week respectively.

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As usual, defense is the key to Maine's success .

Plenty is at steak for Villanova and UNH .

New Hampshire is getting ready for the stretch run .

New Hampshire's season will be defined by the next three games .

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UMass-Rhode Island Picasa Web album

Click on the image and Blogger displays a bigger view (a lot bigger on my monitor) . Note Byrd and Jennings ready to blitz.

Click here for a forty plus image Picasa web album of the game.

In all the years I've been going to UMass-Rhody Island games, this was the first time I've sat on the other side. Rhody has made the old home stands into the student and general admission side. The side off the Ryan center has chair back seat and gets the season tickets and reserved seats.

Monday morning reading

The UMass Daily Collegian has two article "Praise follows Liam Coen" and "Rhode Island Rammed".

Jeff Thomas has a Sunday article about Liam Coen here .

The Boston Herald has a game re-cap here . It mentions former UMass All-American Gary Pearson.

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All of Saturday's FCS scores here .

UMass is ranked #10 in FCS and #100 in all of Division I football in the latest Sagarin ratings .

Keeper's FCS rankings has us at #9 . And a 13+ favorite over the Maine Black Bears .

According to the NCAA, UMass is playing the third toughest schedule in FCS . (pdf)

This week's Bracketology blog is up.

Texas Tech is #2 in both the BCS poll and the AP poll after their big win over Texas .

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Rhody Game articles

"Revenge is a dish best served cold" ----- Don Corlelone

The Boston Globe has a story here .

The Worcester Telegram said the Minutemen trampled the Rams .

The ProJo stated Coen riddled the Rams .

Matty Vautour said it was a rout .

The Boston Herald said UMass cruz by the Rams .

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UMass' schedule took a jump up as our former opponents had a good week.

Albany beat Monmouth to go 5-0 in the NEC .

Holy Cross beat Bucknell to go 5-3 and 3-0 in the Patriot league .

And if you missed it, Texas Tech threw a TD with one second left to beat #1 Texas . Could the Red Raiders be ranked #1 in BCS this week?


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In the CAA, UNH had a mind-boggling 207 yards in interception returns .

The Maine Black Bears dismembered Iona 55-0 .

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We're keeping the black pants!

Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view. That's Josh Jennings running back an interception for a TD.

A year ago, as I trudged back through the Rhode Island parking lot through the driving rain to my truck, a group of Rhode Island fans slowed down as they exited the lot to jeer at at me.

This year the Minutemen hit a new gear as they crushed the Rams 49-0. UMass put the subs in with thirteen minutes left in the third quarter and they played 55 of 56 players on the traveling squad.

The defense blitzed the Rams to death. We had eight sacks. Rhode Island had 19 yards rushing and averaged 0.5 yards/carry.

On offense, Coen was near perfect as he went 15-17 for 241 yards (and I remember one drop). On UMass' last TD, we went 75 yards in four plays.

We looked like a playoff team today ---- a good playoff team.

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UMass write-up here .

Rhode Island story here .

The Springfield Republican on the Minutemen shutout .

ESPN article here .

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I'll be back tomorrow with more articles and a web album.

Open comment thread while I make the drive down to Kingston

MapQuest says its a two hour and thirty minute drive to Kingston.

Game Day Rhode Island

Jeff Thomas says that the Minutemen are getting ready for an aerial attack.

The Rhody student paper has an article about Rams freshman WR Brandon Johnson-Farrell, 5-10 180.

Matty Vautour says opportunity awaits two UMass players ( Corey Davis and Reshaude Goodwin).

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Bruce Dowd has another long screed about weeks #9 & #10 in the CAA.

The Sports Network rings in with its weekly FCS preview here .

David Coulson does not like the proposed changes in the FCS Championship game .

Chuck Burton of CSN says the proposed changes are a terrific idea .

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Appalachian State ran it up on Wofford last night .

Texas Tech plays Texas tonight at 8:00 pm on ABC. If the Red Raiders win, would they be the #1 FBS team? Check out all the Texas Tech news on the Double T Nation Blog.

After UMass finishes, you can catch the end of the JMU-Delaware game on CN8.

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The weather in Kingston is supposed to be pretty good .

Rhode Island Preview

UMass game notes for Rhode Island here (html) and here (pdf)

Rhody's game note for UMass are here (html) and here (pdf)

Rhode Island's 2008 stats here .

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The Providence Journal has an article about Rhode Island native Liam Coen here .

Matty Vautour has an article about the Minutemen's last two losses in Rhode Island .

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The Rams are 2-7 so far in 2008. Their wins:

• Monmouth 27-24 (note the Hawks are 5-3 and undefeated in the NEC conference)
• Brown 37-13

Losses:

• Fordham 0-16
• UNH 43-51 (Note the Rams had 517 yards of offense)
• Boston College 0-42
• Hofstra 20-23 (lost on a field goal with three seconds left)
  
• Towson 32-37
• Villanova 7-44
• William & Mary 24-34

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This year the Rams under new head Coach Darren Rizzi have switched from a option attack to a mostly passing spread offense.

Leading the way is QB Derek Cassidy; he's 217-363 2289 yards 59.8% 15 TDs 254.3 yards/game with 12 INTs, which knock his EFF down to 119.77.

The Rams are in trouble with their rushing game All-American FB Joe Casey compounded his leg early in the season. Rhody's leading rusher is Jimmy Hughes who's 89-267 3.0 yards/carry 2TD's and 29.7 yards/game average. The Rams are only averaging 61.6 yards a game rushing.

Defensively, Matt Hansen is having a great year for the Rams. He has 49 UT 32 AT 82 TT 7.0-32 TFL 3 sacks 2 INT 4 FF and 2 blocked kicks. Whew!

The Rams are 9th and 10th in CAA scoring offense and total offense respectively.

They are 11th in both scoring and total defense . CAA stats here .

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Actually, the Rams are, in my opinion, farther along than I thought they'd be in the transition from a option running team to a spread option passing offense. Usually it take about three years to switch over. Even the mighty Georgia Southern Eagles had a difficult transition when they made the switch.

Losing Joe Casey really hurt the Rams. With no significant running game, opponents have been loading up against the pass.

They can generate offense as their 517 yards against UNH shows. UMass will need to get some offensive production against one of the weaker defenses in the CAA. If the offense clicks, then the Minutemen defense can tee off against Cassidy.

The weather is expected to be good. The Blog will be there as usual and is looking for UMass to have a big day.

Matt Lawrence joins Ravens

According to this article former UMass RB Matt Lawrence has been signed to the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.

Special thanks to the UMass Football Blog reader who brought this to my attention!

Neither the Jets' (Brad Listorti) or the Ravens' (Matt) roster pages have been updated yet.

Thursday-before-the-Rhode-Island game wanderings

The UMass Daily Collegian has a pair of UMass-Rams articles here and here .

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Former UMass Safety James Ihedigbo has been signed to the NY Jets active roster. Matty Vautour has an article here .

Article from the Jets website here .

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Bruce Dowd has a long article about the JMU-Villanova game and wonders if JMU is a team of destiny.

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We're still tied for 6th in the Lambert Cup standings. Since we've lost to both JMU and Richmond, it would take an earthquake for us to win the Lambert Cup this year.

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"T" Brower making an impact at Central HS

I've blogged before on how former UMass All-American defensive end Valdamar Brower was hired as head coach at Springfield's Central High School.

This article says that he's making a difference in the lives of his players .

Sean Smalls lost for the season

Sean Smalls is probably lost for the season .

Jeff Thomas has a another story about his injury here .

Matty Vautour has another story about Smalls here . He states Michael Hansen and Tony Nelson will be available for the Rhode Island game.

The UMass Blog and all UMass fans hope Sean completely recovers soon. Sean, drink lots of milk and get ready to crush the Combine tests. We appreciate all your work for the program over the last four years.

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Recruiting 2008 ----- Brandon Flanagan OL

I thought I had done a post about Brandon Flanagan the 6-2 300 pd RS Sophomore transfer from Buffalo, but apparently not.

His ESPN page from his recruiting days here . Rivals page here .

The 2005 Boston Globe All-Scholastics article here (also has a bio on Reshaude Goodwin).

Welcome to UMass Brandon. Hope you have a great career with the Minutemen!

Tuesday-before-the-Rhode-Island-game news

UMass ended up #15 in a number of polls. The Sports Network has a week #9 poll article here.

All the polls here .

UMass is #6 in the latest Lambert Cup poll. This blog has an article on the history of the Lambert Trophy that gets quite a few hits from Google.

Matty Vautour of the Hampshire Gazette has an update on Sean Small's injury.

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David Coulson is calling the James Madison Dukes "Destiny's Darlings"

Another article about Villanova's last second loss to JMU.

The week #9 FCS bracketology website is up.

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Bulletin, bulletin, bulletin: The FCS Championship game may be moved in 2010 to the eve of the BCS Championship game . This would be an improvement IMHO. The students (and the team) would not be in the middle of exams. It would greatly simplify travel plans for fans. I know it was a real hassle getting airline flights and accommodations on one week's notice when UMass went to Chattanooga in 2006.

UMass-Bryant Picasa Web Album

Click on the above image and Blogger displays a larger view.

I've posted a 50+ image of the UMass-Bryant game in a web album here . There is some bonus photography by UMass fan and ace photographer Peter Miller .

Monday morning musings

The UMass Daily Collegian has a Bryant game article here .

Matty Vautour discusses the injuries to Sean Smalls and Tony Nelson .

Brandon London caught his first career NFL pass according to the Miami game notes .

Keepers college football rankings have us at #8 . And we're a 13+ point favorite over Rhode Island.

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As you know, JMU lost to Appalachian State in the playoffs last year with a fumble at the end of the game. The football gods have been smiling on the Dukes this year by way of compensation. If you have not seen their Hail Mary pass with 0:00 left to beat Vilanova, here it is .

David Coulson calls it The Great Escape .

BTW, Texas Tech is still undefeated and routed Kansas Saturday 63-21 .

Recaps of all the CAA games are here .

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UMass dominates Bryant 42-7

I liked the new uniform look. Click on the image and Blogger displays a larger view.

UMass Athletic Dept write-up here .

Bryant University Athletic Dept here .

The Boston Glove says UMass wore out Bryant .

The Worcester Telegram talks about Liam Coen's record setting day .

Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican says UMass aired it out .

The Springfield Republican talked about how UMass rocked on Band Day.

Matty Vautoru talks about Jeremy Horne's birthday party .

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Matty states that UMass was without two starters OL Bob Getek had a suspension and Brandon Collier was out with an injury. Collier dressed for the game. They lost Sean Smalls and Tony Nelson to injuries.

Tony Nelson only had three carries. He looked OK to me on the sidelines. The same was not true of Sean Smalls who was on crutches. He did come out in the second half, but was not dressed.

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UMass put the subs in with ten minutes to go in the third quarter. The Minutemen played rotating quarterbacks for the rest of the game. Scott Woodward, Scott Wallace and Spencer Whipple all got at least one series.

One QB who did not play was Octavius Hawkins, who dropped a wide open swing pass right in front of the UMass bench.

None of the backup quarterbacks looked that good, but they were working with the second string offense and it was obvious some of those players had not had a lot of reps.

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I know it was Bryant and I know both sides were trying to get the game over with, but I was impressed with the second team UMass defense. They were flying around and were doing some crisp hitting. They looked excited to be playing.

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The rain held off until the last three minutes of the game. the UMass band day was awesome as usual.

I'll be back later with a web album.

Open Game Day Thread

If you are part of the UMass Football Dispora and are listening to Josh or watching the game (if it's truly on) one of the links below, here's a spot to comment if you wish.

Game Day Bryant

Jeff Thomas has a game day story here .

Today is Band Day, one of the great events in the FCS/I-AA division.

Matty Vautour of the Hampshire Gazette has a game day post here .

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Bruce Dowd has his weekly CAA preview column here .

David Coulson has his weekly FCS column here .

The Sports network has the FCS week nine preview here .

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The UMass game notes states that there is no TV for the UMass-Bryant game, but http://channelsurfing.net/, lists the game. The game is also listed here as being on CSTV XXL, which may be the feed for the above link. If you are not local, try it.


Towson @ UNH is on CSNMA/CSNE/CSS if you want to set your VCR.

The big game in the CAA is JMU @ Villanova, which will be on CN8 live internet video feed .

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