Sunday--October 13, 2013

Justin Anderson

First. I want to congratulate the UMass players. Did you see how happy they were? Losing is tough on fans, it's even worse on players. All that work and nothing to show for it. May they have many more wins in their future.

The game itself, was an eerie copy of last year's win over Akron. The Minutemen have won two games in FBS and the defense has won them both. The UMass "D" held the Red Hawks to 290 total yards and 1-11 in the third downs as well as 1-3 in fourth downs. Like Joey Colton's INT last year against Akron, Khary Bailey-Smith's second INT against Austin Boucher sealed the game. The third straight gutsy game by UMass' defense won the day.

Take a bow UMass fans! Remember all the media coverage of the attendance at Gillette? Think there will be any mention on how good the turnout has been given the fact UMass is 2-17 over the last two years?

Band Day attendance:

• 2010 McGuirk 12, 121
• 2011 McGuirk 11, 736
• 2013 Gillette 21,707

If we start to win, I stand by my belief UMass can draw 30,000 to Gillette.

There were a couple of shadows on the win. The UMass offense struggled against the weakest FBS defense on the planet. A.J.Doyle threw two INT's one of them stopping a scoring drive on the opening possession. Blanchflower's wining TD came on what should have been a third INT. We again were out punted by a substantial margin 47.6 to 34.8 AVE. We went 1-3 on field goals.

Inside the 40, we need to think about banging Jamal Wilson into the line four straight times...

And can we please keep Justin Anderson in the Game? He stopped Miami all by himself on one series and then promptly spent nearly the rest of the first half on the sidelines. Play that kid every down!

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Miami's write-up on the game.

Notes, quotes and video from the UMass website.

The Republican Sports desk says UMass defeats Miami 17-10.

Dan Malone has Khary Baily-Smith helps UMass win the day. BTW, I thought the ejection on Anton Tharpe was bogus. They replay showed he hit the Miami receiver in the shoulder.

I stand corrected. I try to write my impressions of the game before reading the press reports. Dan Malone comments on 2013's attendance at Gillette.

The Gazette has Khary Bailey-Smith has a career day vs Miami.

Matty Vautour says UMass savors its first Gillette win.

The Boston Globe reports UMass gets first win.

The Boston Herald said it was reason to celebrate.

The UMass Daily Collegian said the opportunistic Minutemen sealed the victory.

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BC lost to Clemson.

UConn lost to UCF to go 0-6.

Wisconsin crushed #19 Northwestern 35-6.

Kansas State fell to Baylor 35-25.

Bowling Green lost by one to Mississippi State.

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All the MAC scores and stats.

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Game Day --Miami (Ohio)

From the UMass Game Day Guide:


Minuteman March at 12:45 p.m. Be sure to join the Minuteman Marching Band and UMass Cheerleaders in Minutefan Park to welcome the team to the stadium.
The Minuteman Club opens at 1 p.m.
Today is Band Day at Gillette Stadium. More than 3,000 members of high school marching bands will join the Minuteman Marching Band for their halftime performance. To find out if students from your town will be part of the event, visit the Alumni Association's game page.
The Minutemen will be wearing pink UMass logos on their helmets tomorrow, as well as other pink gear, to show their support for breast cancer awareness and prevention. And the UMass-based organization Protect Our Breasts will be present in Minutefan Park providing information on breast cancer prevention.
Go here for broadcast media information and essential game notes.
For complete game notes, click here.
Information on Gillette Stadium, tailgating and activities is available here.
Remember:

• Gillette Stadium now features WiFi throughout the facility. Bring your devices and follow stats, follow UMass Football social media throughout the game, and share your thoughts, images and video.
• UMass Football on Facebook
• UMass Football on Twitter
• UMass Athletics on Facebook
• UMass Athletics on Twitter
• Use the hashtag #AllIn
• Tailgate Tent: Join the UMass Amherst Alumni Association at their official tailgate tent, part of Minutefan Park.
• Patriots Alumni: Each game this season brings a New England Patriots alumnus to the Minuteman Club to sign autographs and talk football with UMass fans. This week, meet Ronnie Lippett. Ronnie played cornerback for the Patriots for eight seasons, starting in 1983. He played a pivotal role in the Cinderella 1985 team's run to Super Bowl XX, intercepting Marc Wilson twice to help the wild card Pats upset the top seeded Raiders in Los Angeles.

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Matty V. reports UMass and Miami are both seeking their first wins of the season.

Dan Malone says the reported shift of Daquan Mack's to DE is true.

Kevin Byrne will miss his second straight game. Brandon Potvin will start in Byrne's place. 

Out for Miami:

• Kevin Byrne DT
• Jordan Broadnax RB
• Shakur Nesmith WR
• Steve Casali LB

Questionable:

• Trey Seals DE
• Joe Colton S
• Tom Brandt LB

Dan also has UMass has its first shot at win against beatable Miami.

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MAC Conference games and TV times from the MAC's website.

Cleveland.com previews today's MAC conference games.

Last week's foe Bowling Green, gets a challenge against Mississippi State.

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OK, losing is making everybody crazy.  As I said before, many UMass players have NFL dreams. If you want to play in the Pro's you've got to turn the switch to "On" when the light goes green. UMass needs to get after it today.

Let's run the ball for some scores. Let's get the ball to Rob Blanchflower. The defense needs to dominate a weak Miami team. It looks like it will be another great weather game at Gillette. Hope to see a bunch of UMass fans there today to see the Minutemen's first home FBS win.

Go UMass!!!

Friday--October 11, 2013

Dan Malone says Miami of Ohio could be UMass' last, best chance for a win.

The Boston Globe says UMass looks to start and end strong.

The Boston Herald asks "Home Sweet Home?"

MAC Report Online says a "precious" win is on the line.

Hustle Belt likes it as "The Brawl for the Basement".

CBS Local reports Coach Molnar hopes A.J. Doyle makes the next step forward.

Jimmy Kelly says someone has to win.

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Tomorrow's game against Miami is a watershed of sorts. The Minutemen defense has looked good in spots this year. Despite the almost mind-boggling amount of time the "D" has spend on the field, UMass is giving up almost 9 points a game less than last year. There have been no 63 point games by the opposition. Hopefully, the defense will come to play tomorrow.

The offense however, has been flat awful. The only positives have been a couple of good games by a UMass running back. But even there, it hasn't been a running  "offense" like during the days of Hernandez and Griffin.

Our QB efficiency is so low it doesn't even show in the MAC's statistics page. Our best receiver, TE Rob Blanchflower has missed most of the season. Even when available, I don't think he had a catch in the first half last week. There has been no yards after catch from the other receivers. We've dropped balls that would keep drives alive.

I don't know if the coaching change and the abandonment of the option with energize Miami's offense, but their defense is still the same. If the Minutemen offense can't do it against the Miami "D" then they can't do it at all.

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Buffalo's Freddie Lee has a full plate.

EMU-Army could be the second game of the season to cause a MAC coach to be fired.

The MAC Blogger round table is back.

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Newsday opines Victor Cruz is excelling despite the Giants 0-5 start.

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Thursday--October 10, 2013

UMass has their game notes up for the Miami game on a redesigned website. Stacey Bedell and Lorenzo Woodley return to the two-deep. Kevin Byrne does not...

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The Minutemen will wear pink "UMass" decals on their helmets this Saturday for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports UMass is still searching for elusive first win.

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The MAC Report Online has Week #7 conference power ratings. Both Miami of Ohio and UMass are tied for the basement.

In MAC news, Buffalo preps for Western Michigan. The Bulls have a shot at a post season game this year. Most college football preseason magazines picked Buffalo 2nd in the MAC East.

The Bulls resurgent running game has led to success for Buffalo.

The MAC's best team, NIU has seen its rushing totals go off the charts in 2013.

Last week's foe Bowling Green, gets 2-3 Mississippi State this week.

Eastern Michigan has given up nearly a 1,000 yards of offense in their last two games preps for Army's rushing attack.

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I watched a replay of Vanderbilt vs UAB last night.  The Commodores hung 52 points on UAB. It further illustrated how well UMass played against Vanderbilt's receivers. Vandy's QB went 23-29 and 300+ yards passing.

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Jeromy Miles who has been dealing with a hamstring this year got 23 snaps on special teams for the Ravens last week.

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Wednesday--October 9, 2013

Coach Molnar's quotes from the league's Week #7 teleconference.

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Mike Bath foresees a passionate, hungry Miami Red Hawks team.

Central Michigan's Dan Enos says the firing of Don Treadwell was "terrible" for the Miami team.

Vincy.com reports a "helpless" feeling led to Treadwell's firing.

Football Scoop hopes Mike Bath gets thing turned around against UMass.

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Hustle Belt starts its own "Mid-Major" Football Top Ten poll.

Keith Scheessele of Hustle Belt says take Red Hawks and the points.

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Michael Cox gets some praise from Tom Coughlin (middle of article).

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An underestimated James Ihedigbo proves his worth for the Ravens. The article has a number of Don Brown quotes.

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The University of Maine Black Bears rose to #14 in the latest FCS poll. The only CAA team ranked higher is 6-0 Towson.

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A NY strip club bans the 0-5 Giants.

Key quote from the article "After five straight losses, the crowd turned and started booing the TVs. The girls had to work extra hard."

Victor Cruz talks about his "style" essentials.

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Tuesday--October 8, 2013

Matty V. says UMass will stick with A. J. Doyle. He goes on to list this week's casualty list.

The following is a cut-and-paste from Matty's article:

 "INJURY UPDATES — Bedell and Woodley returned to practice Monday, as did receiver E.J. Burston, linebackers Jovan Santos-Knox, Ed Saint Vil and Tom Brandt, the latter of whom was limited.

Broadnax, linebackers Steve Casali and John Robinson-Woodgett, safety Joe Colton, defensive lineman Trey Seals and receiver Shakur Nesmith did not practice because of injuries.

Senior defensive lineman Kevin Byrne, who missed Saturday’s game for “non-football reasons,” didn’t practice. According to UMass spokesman John Sinnett, there is no update on his status."

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Mike Mancuso/The Times image

He also mentions future UMass QB Randall West. The UMass-bound QB led New Jersey in passing last week with a 17-26 406 3 TD effort.

NJ weekly stats here.

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Dan Malone has Week #6 helmet stickers.

Shakur Nesmith tweets he may take a medical redshirt.

Dan discusses the coaching changes at Miami (Ohio). It would have been nice if Miami had waited one more game to fire Treadwell. We need a win like we need oxygen right now. Sometimes a coaching change gets a team fired up as the staff and the players close ranks. Let's hope Miami struggles for one more week.

A weird Minutemen season got weirder as potential redshirt RB Dequan Mack tweets he might get some reps at DE.

Jimmy Kelly of Hustle Belt has some comments on Mack's tweet.

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Sports Chat Place previews the UMass-Miami game.

Miami's website also has the Red Hawks'  game notes.

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Michigan State's HC Mark Dantonio criticizes Miami's firing of Don Treadwell.

Cincinnati.com says a "helpless feeling" among the Red Hawks players led to Treadwell's firing.

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Two new bowls will bring the total to 39. The MAC conference will be eligible for both of the new contests.

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Monday--October 7, 2013

Bulletin, Bulletin, Bulletin: Keeper's College football ratings has UMass a 9.81 favorite over the Red Hawks. That's probably the first time ever the Minutemen have been favored over an FBS team.

Vegas has UMass by 3.5.

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Coach Molnar does not want another quarterback competition. The article says A.J. Doyle was still being bothered by his ankle injury. Doyle went 4-17 20 yards LONG 7 yards in Saturday's game.

Jimmy Kelly of Hustle Belt says UMass has a quarterback conundrum (wish I thought of that phrase).

Jetta Fraser/Toledo Blade image

Coach Molnar is really, really proud of Jamal Wilson. This is the type of article that makes me believe that UMass is making progress. Wilson can play. Lorenzo Woodley, a highly rated recruit has been nicked up from day one. Stacey Bedell ran well against a couple of BCS teams. Daquan Mack, a 6-1 255 pound fullback is waiting in the wings. Those guys have gotta be a good as any backfield in the MAC.

Justin Anderson had a good game for the Minutemen against Bowling Green. He had 3 UT 2 AT 2 TFL and 2 SACKS.

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Miami (Ohio) fires Don Threadwell after a 0-5 start.

Dan Malone also has an article on Threadwell's firing. The Redhawks faced a pretty tough schedule including Marshall, Kentucky, Illinois and Cincinnati. Miami gave up over 50 points in two of those games and 41 against Kentucky. The Miami offense has only scored 44 points this season.

Bryan Vance of Hustle Belt comments on Threadwell's firing.

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports Miami cuts ties with Treadwell and Akron and Kent State look for rays of light.

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That ray of light has been avoiding Victor Cruz and the Giants.

Michael Cox did not get any carries even though the Giants lost another RB against the Eagles.

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Sunday--October 6, 2013

I'm seeing improvement------ but not at quarterback.

Yesterday, the UMass defense did everything that could be asked except score. They were on the field 19.05 minutes in the first half.The Minutemen had three sacks and forced five punts. The defense had six TFL. Justin Anderson had two of the UMass sacks.

To be fair, I don't know if Doyle's injury was still bothering him, but it looked as if UMass took the ball out of his hands a number of times with conservative play calling. The Minutemen quarterbacks combined for a 44% completion average 3.84 yards per attempt and a 81.45 quarterback rating.

Bowling Green's QB's went 13-22 216.3 yards 59% completion rate 9.8 yards per attempt and a QB efficiency rating of 186.5.

I see us adding talent from recruiting. However, I think we need to look at a fifth year senior or JUCO QB for next year. Granted, Doyle had one big drop that would have increased his numbers, but again it looks to me that the QB position is lagging the team in the  improvement curve. You know I love all the UMass players and want them to be All-Americans. We just aren't getting the level of play from the quarterback position we need.

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UMass' write up on the game.

Bowling Green's write up here.

Minutemen DE Kevin Byrne was held out of the game in a "non-football" issue.

Dan Malone says UMass falls to Bowling Green 28-7.

MassLive reports Jamal Wilson made an impression.

Dan Malone says the UMass "D" was ground down.

The Hampshire Gazette says the UMass defense faded and the offense never arrived.

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All the MAC results and scores from the league website. Check out  the points scored against the losing teams.

The MAC claimed another BCS scalp with Ball State beating Virginia.

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Vanderbilt got crushed by Missouri.

Oklahoma State scored late to edge Kansas State.

The University of Maine continued to be on a roll as the Black Bears hung 62 points on Delaware.

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Game Day--Bowling Green

UPDATE: After one quarter, another great effort by the UMass defense. Three sacks and four punts forced.

UPDATE II: Only Jamal Wilson is playing offense for UMass. He has 91 yards rushing. Outside of Wilson, not much. UMass is 0-6 on third downs. Doyle is 3-13 for 14 yards. A big drop by Tajae Sharpe. The Minutemen defense was on the field for 19.40 of the first half...

UPDATE III: The Minutemen defense still battling. Wegzyn is in and is supplying some spark. He just threw a TD to Sharpe.

UPDATE IV: I'll have more to say tomorrow, but another game where the defense did all you could ask. Our fourth string RB rang up 119 yards rushing (6.0 yards per carry). Again, it was the Minutemen QB's who did not produce. Doyle and Wegzyn went collectively 11-25-96 3.8 yards/attempt 1 TD 1 INT.

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Well, the Minutemen's schedule does not get appreciably easier in the first MAC game. Bowling Green is 4-1 with wins over Tulsa, Murray State, Kent State and Akron. The Falcons did give up 609 total yards of offense to Indiana. The Hoosiers held Bowling Green to 3 offensive points.

Bowling Green's impressive opening win against Tulsa is hard to interpret as the Hurricanes are 1-3 so far in 2013, but Tulsa's other losses have been to Oklahoma and Iowa State.

The game will be available on ESPN3.

As I said Thursday, the UMass defense played Bowling Green strong last year. This year we hope to see some progress from the Minutemen offense. UMass had just 6 first downs and two of those were by penalty. Better quarterback play and an ability to throw the ball would make for a better contest.

After today, UMass should be competitive in six of the final seven games. A good showing today would help jump start the rest of the conference schedule.

Come 3:30, I'll be in front of the computer wearing my UMass gear.

Go UMass!!!

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Dan Malone has more on the various media options to watch or listen to the game.

Dan Malone has six questions with the Toledo Blade.

Mark Chiarelli of the Gazette has UMass opens MAC conference play against Bowling Green.

The Gazette has an editorial about the "Combatives" video.

Matt Daily of Hustle belt has a UMass-Bowling Green preview.

50% chance of thunder storms in Bowling Green.

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Cleveland.com previews today's MAC conference games.

NIU takes on Kent State in a rematch of last year's MAC title game.

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Wisconsin has a bye week.

Vanderbilt gets Missouri.

Kansas State plays Oklahoma State.

Maine hosts Delaware.

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Friday--October 4, 2013

The Bowling Green News says the Falcons close a three game home streak against the Minutemen.

The Boston Globe says UMass is looking for a fresh start against Bowling Green.

The Toledo Blade reports Dave Clawson is not overlooking the Minutemen.

The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass is looking to build off a bye week against Bowling Green.

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The Kennett High School marching band will be performing at the UMass Band day on October 12th. The director of the KHS band Therese Davidson is a former drum major of the UMMB and her brother  was Captain of the UMass football team.

UMass Band Day info. Note that the date is a change from the previously announced November 2nd.

The UMass Band Parents site has images and video from the UMMB's show at the Maine and Vanderbilt games.

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The Hustle Belt Blog says the 0-4 Miami Redhawks and the 1-4 Central Michigan Chippewas meet in "The Desperation Bowl".

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Old foe Appalachian State joins the Sun Belt Conference in 2014 and may include some MAC teams in its OOC schedule.

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Despite the Government shutdown, Boston College-Army is on.

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Hakeem Nicks could learn a lot from Victor Cruz.

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Thursday--October 3, 2013

Dan Malone reports UMass has re-opened the kicking competition. Blake Lucas is 0-3 to start the season. Brandon Leavengood would be the other contender for the field goal duties. None of Lucas' misses have been chip shots, but there hasn't been any spark for the Minutemen's struggling offense either.

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Nick Canelas of the UMass Daily Collegian says the UMass secondary is looking to cut down on big plays.

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I watched the NIU-Purdue game on DVR last night. The Huskies blew out Purdue, but the Boilermakers didn't help their cause with five turnovers, a kick return for a TD and an INT for another TD.

NIU turns its attention to MAC play.

Cameron Stingley had a big day for the Huskies against Purdue.

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While watching I read over the UMass Press Guide's recap of last year's 24-0 loss against Bowling Green. The UMass defense did just about everything you could ask. Through three quarters, the defense held the Falcons to 156 total yards and eight first downs. For the day, Bowling Green only had 94 rushing yards (UMass had 85). The defense forced the Falcons to punt eight times.

The ugly part of the game was Bowling Green's defense against the UMass quarterbacks. The Minutemen signal callers went 13-24 for 33 yards and 4 INT's (one for a TD). There's probably an online quarterback efficiency calculator somewhere, but I didn't bother to look it up. UMass had one first down passing and averaged one yard per passing attempt...

Hopefully on Saturday, the rebuilt UMass offensive line and the Minutemen running backs can get something going. Bowling Green is probably the second best team in the MAC. We're not at their talent level yet. If the Minutemen could just get average quarterback play Saturday, I think UMass can make a game of it.

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In MAC statistics, Central Michigan is last in the league in points allowed.

The 1-4 Chippewas' beat New Hampshire on a field goal with 0:00 left on the clock.

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An 0-5 start isn't getting Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck down.

Hustle Belt's Awards status after five weeks.

The MAC Report Online's power rankings for Week #5.

The league is really broken into the "Haves" and the "Have Nots". NIU, Bowling Green, Ball State and Ohio have 15 wins between them. Akron, UMass, Miami, CMU, EM and WM have a combined total of three wins.

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Victor Cruz is putting up big numbers for the Giants.

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Wednesday--October 2, 2013

MassLive image

The UMass website has an article on Sha-Ki Holines transferring to UMass.

BTW, UMass has also added Hassan Graham.

Graham's NCSA recruiting profile. Rivals two-star player.

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UMass its game notes for Bowling Green up.

So does Bowling Green.

From the Depth Chart:

In a big change from 2012, four of the Minutemen offensive linemen have started all four games this year. Anthony Dima, Tyrell Smith, Vincent Westcarr and David Osei have started every game. Matt Sparks has three starts and Fabian Hoeller has one.

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Rant Sports reports UMass hopes to score an upset against Bowling Green this Saturday.

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Dan Malone has Ricardo Miller looks to increase his production after a slow start. UMass could definitely  use some offensive stats from a receiver not named Tajae Sharpe.

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Matty V. says UMass looks to a new season with the start of MAC conference play.

Matty points out that the 2013 UMass offensive line is tied for first place in the league for fewest sacks allowed. That's excellent given the Minutemen's killer schedule so far.

On the negative side, UMass is tied for last in conference in defensive sacks. Hopefully, the new 4-3 defense will help the Minutemen defenders get more pressure on opposing QB's.

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Bill Durkin returns to coaching at Bowling Green. Durkin's Falcon bio.

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A Hustle Belt writer thinks UMass won't cover the spread against Bowling Green.

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Because of the government shutdown, Saturday's Boston College-Army game is in limbo.

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Tuesday--October 1, 2013

Dave Clawson says UMass' record is a function of the tough schedule the Minutemen have played.

Dan Malone reports the Minutemen are getting back to work after the fallout from the video and petition. Malone says on the injury front, Bedell, Woodley, Doyle and Seals are practicing. LB Steve Casali is week-to-week and WR Shakur Nesmith practiced in a limited capacity.

UMass opens as a 25-point underdog to Bowling Green. Keepers College football rankings has the Minutemen a 34.37 point under dog to the Falcons. As I have said before, Bowling Green is the second best team in the conference with a BCS-class defense. You would expect UMass to be big underdogs to BG and NIU.

Coach Molnar thinks the Minutemen are ready to start making a move in the MAC

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Matty V. reports the Minutemen returned to practice after a controversy filled off week.

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Jimmy Kelly of Hustle belt thinks UMass could make some recruiting hay from Paul Pasqualoni's firing at UConn.

Nobody was paying attention, but my post on UMass adding Holines and Sylva to the UMass recruiting fold will pay benefits in 2014. As I have said several times, the UMass defense has not had a lot of the recruiting benefits so far. Those two three-star players will definitely  add talent to the Minutemen defense.

Here's a list to UConn signees for 2013. UMass has made strides in recruiting offensive linemen, running backs and linebackers. With Blanchflower and Ricardo Miller both graduating, UMass could use some TE's. The Minutemen will be in the market for WR's, DL's and hopefully a QB. I wonder if more Husky players will transfer.

Here's a list of UConn's 2014 commits. Changing coaches releases recruits even from signed LOI. Several of the Husky commits were recruited by UMass.

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Speaking of UConn, SB nation lists seven possible replacements for Pasqualoni. Two MAC coaches and two former UMass coaches make the list.

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Bowling Green RB Travis Greene was named MAC Offensive player-of-the-week for his 213 total yards of offense and two TD's against Akron Saturday.

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The NY Daily News says Victor Cruz is still full of fight.

Jeromy Miles should be returning to practice for the Ravens this week.

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Monday--September 30, 2013

As of this morning, comments concerning the "Combatives" video and the dueling petitions are shut off. A long running flame war does not do UMass football any good.

If you have feelings about the subject, then the proper thing would be to contact the A.D's office or Chancellor Subbaswamy's office. They are the people who count. 

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UPDATE: UConn fires HC Paul Pasqualoni . Anyone willing to bet on Don Brown?

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer says the best MAC teams are true to the run.

Hustle Belt has updated post-season projections have six MAC teams going bowling.

The Northern Illinois Huskies crack the AP Top-25 list. Wisconsin is in the "others receiving votes" category.

In Bowling Green Vs Akron, Gabe Martin's deflection may have been a game changer.

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EA Sports will not produce a 2014 version of its college football video game.

Former players will receive $40 million, but there may be as many as over two hundred thousand players eligible, so each player may receive < $400.00.

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Victor Cruz second guesses Tom Coughlin as the Giants come unglued.

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Sunday--September 29, 2013

UMass Football supporters  launch a petition in support of the program.

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All the MAC scores and write-ups from the league site.

The Chicago Tribune says NIU's rout of Purdue was a historic win.

UMass's next foe Bowling Green ran their record to 4-1 by beating Akron 31-14 in front of 13, 262 at home.

MAC conference-mate Buffalo flat trounced UConn 41-12.

MAC Report Online has more game reports.

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Vanderbilt's offense had an easier time against UAB and won 52-24.

Wisconsin ran up 399 yards of offense, but fell to #4 Ohio State 31-24.

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Maine knocked off #20 Richmond 28-21 to run the Black Bears record to 4-1.

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Saturday--Bye Week #1

Collegian/Stephen Hewitt image

Mark Chiarelli of the Hampshire Gazette says A.J. Doyle and the offense seeks consistency.

The UMass Daily Collegian has A.J. Doyle is living the dream as quarterback.

The Minutemen's offense gets another stiff test next week in Bowling Green. After facing three BCS defenses in four weeks, UMass gets another team with a BCS-class defense. As I said in yesterday's blog post the Falcons lead the MAC in scoring defense and total defense. They're no slouch in offense either, being third in scoring and second in total offense. If the rejuvenated UMass defense could get some turnovers and give the offense some short fields, then maybe we could get some momentum going. I don't remember any short fields so far in 2013. Next week would be an excellent time to start.

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Seven televised MAC games this week.

Toledo has a showdown with Ball State.

Purdue braces for NIU.

Don't forget UConn @ Buffalo.  The UConn Blog looks at the Bulls.

MAC Blogger round table.

The MAC Report Online has "Inside MAC Football Week #5"

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Friday--September 27, 2013

UMass Chancellor  Kumble Subbaswamy gets involved over the football training video.

Matty V. has the same story.

The Boston Globe has UMass Football coach under fire.

NESN has UMass Football Alumni raise concerns over "combatives" in off season workouts.

Jimmy Kelly of Hustle Belt also checks in with coverage.

All this is not good news for UMass football. One way or another, the UMass administration needs to get this squared away.

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Youngstown State is finding increasing difficulty from recruiting competition from the MAC and other FBS teams.

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Bowling Green, which was picked by most football preview magazines to win the MAC East, hosts Akron this Saturday.

The Falcons could be in line to make those predictions come true. BG leads the MAC in scoring defense by a wide margin.

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Victor Cruz explains his passion and why success will come to the Giants.

ThePostGame goes one-on-one with Victor Cruz.

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Brandon London comments on the Bear's new HC Marc Trestman.

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Recruiting 2013 and 2014 Holines and Sylva

UMass has added Sha-ki Holines, a 6-4 240 pound DE has transferred from UConn to the Minutemen.

The Torrington Register-Citizen also has an article on Holines transferring to UMass.

I've blogged on Holines three times before.

Article about Holines' original signing with UConn.

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In addition, Jason Sylva, a 6-3 250 pound LB from Dean College (JUCO) will join the 2014 UMass recruiting class.

Sylva is a Scout.com three-star recruit.

Sylva's Dean College stats.

I've blogged about Sylva before.

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Thursday--September 26, 2013

The UMass Football Alumni Group has a petition for Coach Molnar to change his methods.  I was never a fan of making players pound on each other in practice. If you're playing organized football, you're tough by definition. High contact drills just lead to injuries.

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Dan Malone has a recruiting post and an injury report. I'll deal with the recruiting in a separate blog post.

Stacey Bedell, Lorenzo Woodley and Trey Seals will be back for the Bowling Green game. Shakur Nesmith is listed as probable. 

LB Steve Casali is listed as questionable and Joey Colton will miss at least a few weeks with a slight tear in his MCL.

Bedell, Woodley and Nesmith represent a substantial portion of the Minutemen's offensive firepower. Having them back should keep opposing defenses from concentrating on Tajae Sharpe and Rob Blanchflower.

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The Muncie Star-Press has a MAC Football notebook.

The Detroit Press says the directional Michigan teams are the bottom of the MAC West.

The Daily Chronicle has MAC teleconference notes.

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Rant Sports asks if James Ihedigbo is a vocal leader on the Ravens defense.

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Wednesday--September 25, 2013

The UMass video section has "Getting to UMass offensive coordinator John Bond". Note that Bond thinks UMass is on track for a good recruiting year. In addition, the Minutemen are trying to expand their efforts in Georgia, which is improving its reputation in the recruiting wars.

Coach Bond's UMass bio.

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Dan Malone catches up with former MassLive UMass beat writer Harry Plumer.

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The Tennessean says Vanderbilt has owned the fourth quarter.

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The Milford Daily News catches up with former UMass football player John Welsh.

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Western Michigan, who off to an 0-4 start (sound familiar ) is looking for a reset with the start of MAC conference play.

UMass' next opponent Ball State, 3-1 so far this season, hosts the 2-2 Toledo Rockets this weekend.

The MAC's website has a feature on Ball State's HC Pete Lembo.

The Chicago Sun-Times says the unbeaten NIU Huskies are not pretty, but pretty good.

Cleveland.com states Akron is ready to make its move in the MAC conference.

Hustle Belt takes a look at Week #5's MAC Odds.

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Ravens Safety James Ihedigbo is the glue that holds Baltimore's defense together.

Ihedgibo is proving to be an important part of the Ravens defense.

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The NCAA is reducing Penn State's scholarship penalty. The Nittany Lions will have 75 scholarships available when they play the Minutemen next year.

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A recent study shows no correlation between playing football and Alzheimer's Disease or CTE.

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