Sunday---November 9th, 2014

From the UMass Twitter feed

Last year UMass had Tajae Sharpe and that was about it for offensive weapons except for the 6 games or so Rob Blanchflower played. This year, with Whipple's offense and Blake Fronapfel, the Minutemen have 11 players with five or more receptions, but that has not impacted Sharpe's march through the UMass record book.

In 2014, Sharpe has gone 63-965 15.3 AVE 5 TD 77 LONG 107.2 yards/game.

Single season records:

Pass Reception yards

7. 976 Jason Peebler 2003
8. 965 Tajae Sharpe 2014
9. 922 Tim Berra 1973

Pass Receptions

5. 71 Victor Cruz 2008
6. 65 Tajae Sharpe 2014
7. 62 Tim Berra 1973

Receptions per game (minimum 9 games)

1. 7.00 Tajae Sharpe 2014 (9 games)
2. 6.23 Adrian Zullo (13 games) 1999
3. 6.15 J.J. Moore (13 games) 2007

Sharpe has career totals of 137-1776 9 TD's

Career records

Pass receiving yards

7. 1794 Rasheed Rancher 2003-2007
8. 1776 Tajae Sharpe 2012-14
9. 1684 Chip Mitchell 1986-89

Pass Receptions

4. 148 Brandon London 2003-06
5. 137 Tajae Sharpe 2012-14
6. 131 Victor Cruz 2005-09

Receptions per game (minimum 18 games)

1. 4.28 Tajae Sharpe (32 games)
2. 4.25 Adrian Zullo (44 games)
3. 4.23 Victor Cruz (31 games)

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The Providence Journal has a story about Brown University Football's super fan Brian Wallace. It has a couple of stories about Mark Whipple's days as a Brown QB and then HC.

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Ball State kicker Scott Secor has been named a semi-finalist for the 2014 Lou Groza Award.

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New Hampshire blasted winless Rhode Island to stay undefeated in FCS and CAA play.

UConn lost to Army to go 2-7 for the season.

Louisville handled Boston College.

Penn State squeaked by Indiana .

Colorado lost to #12 Arizona.

Vanderbilt lost to the Gators.

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Bye Week II--Novmeber 8th, 2014

Ball State coach Pete Lembo has a long history with with UMass and Coach Whipple. Lembo reported that only Cardinal DB Eric Paterson (broken arm) of the many injured from last week's game will miss the UMass game.

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Hustle Belt has its latest MAC power rankings.

The MAC Report Online has the Minutemen #8 in its last MAC power rankings.

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The Idaho Statesman says Boise State is back in the picture for the top team in the Group of Five bowl slot.

Another team that could be considered is old foe Georgia Southern.

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Boston College QB Tyler Murphy, who ran for 118 yards against UMass is having a record-breaking season.

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New Hampshire is still undefeated in FCS and is ranked #2 in the nation. The Wildcats only loss is a blowout against Toledo.

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Victor Cruz's foundation is raising funds for Boys & Girls Clubs.

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Recruiting 2015 ---Jaylen Pickett

Andy Jones image

The Tampa Bay Tribune reports UMass is showing interest in Jaylen Pickett, a 6-0 191 pound WR/Athlete from Zephyrhills, FL.

Tampa Bay Tribune article here.

2014 All-Pasco County.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Pickett holds an offer from Eastern Michigan and three FCS schools.

Friday--November 7th, 2014

UMass center Matt Sparks and guard Fabian Hoeller have been named to the Capital One Academic All-District Football Team. Congrats to both with players who have tough majors in civil engineering and micro-biology.

UMass had two of the eleven MAC players named.

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Rene Ingoglia's Twitter feed says he'll be doing the call of the UMass-Ball state next week. Rene is not only a UMass Hall-of-Famer, he did so well with UMass football broadcasting he was picked up by ESPN.

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The Ball State Daily says NIU's rushing attack wore out the Cardinals defense.

If next Wednesday's game comes down to a field goal, Ball State has a kicker who has just been nominated for the Lou Groza Collegiate Kicking Award.

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Western Michigan continues to be on a tear on recruiting.

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Meanwhile, Blake Frohnapfel's old school Marshall is closing in on a major bowl.

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A ESPN exec predicts the MAC tie-in Camellia Bowl will have a long history.

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Recruiting 2015--Kevin Robledo

Michael Owen Baker image

Scout.com says UMass has been in contact with Kevin Robledo, a 6-2 176 pound kicker from Westlake, CA.

Partial quote from a Scout.com article:

Kicker Kevin Robledo (6-2, 170), a three-star by Scout.com and the No. 4 kicker nationally by Chris Sailer Kicking, was honored last month at his school with his jersey for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

“To be the first player from Westlake to play in the Army Bowl is a pretty good feeling and a big honor,” said Robledo. “I couldn’t believe it when I made it.”

Robledo is still waiting for his first offer, but a couple of schools have reached out and he’s doing his own research on where a kicker may be needed.

“I’ve been talking with a couple of coaches, from Fresno State and Colorado State a little bit and then I got contacted the other day by UMass,” said Robledo. “Then a couple of schools, like Penn State, need a kicker.”

Scout.com player page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Holds the CA state record for field goals.

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Recruiting 2015--Diasjon Robinson II

Diasjon Robinson, a 6-2 275 pound DL UMass commit gets a mention in this article by NJ.com

I've blogged about Robinson before.

Robinson had ten tackles in one game in November.

Thursday--November 6th, 2014

Dan Malone says Blake Frohnapfel is rested and ready to go after the bye weeks. One would hope our running backs are in better shape also. A strong running game really helps keep your QB healthy. Our two wins have come when UMass has been able to run the ball. A strong finish (winning two of the final three games according the blog poll) in bad weather New England would be helped a productive running game.

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The Minutemen's game with Ball State will be on ESPNU.

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Matty V. says the Minutemen are eager to get back on the field.

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Northern Illinois beat Ball State and Ohio handled Buffalo last night in MACtion.

I watched both games flipping back and forth. The game were not a real good advertisement for the MAC conference football. All four teams looked out of sync. I don't know if the mid-week game just didn't get the juices flowing or what, but the play was sloppy. Buffalo managed to block its own punt, something I hadn't seen before. Receivers dropped passes all over the place and one Ball State TE lined up wrong three times on the same play.

Lost Lettermen makes fun of the MAC and UMass.

The News-Sentinel says there are no excuses for Ball State's current predicament.

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MLive says the MAC's bowl picture is becoming clearer.

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Tailgates left more than 14 tons of trash after the first UMass home game and UMass is hoping to do a better job at recycling next time. Most schools have the same problem. The Gameday recycling challenge is one way schools are trying to cope.

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Wednesday--November 5th, 2014

UMass announces changes in tailgating time for the Ball State game. Full details with maps, charts and route arrows for parking and other information here.

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In the rainy mid-west, Bowling Green solidified its grip on the MAC East with a win over Akron and Toledo dominated Kent State.

Bowling Green's win will make it tough for UMass to win the MAC East even if we win out.

Hustle Belt reports the Rockets survived injuries and the weather.

Another Hustle Belt writer says the Falcons piled it on in the second half.

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Two more games tonight. Two teams the Minutemen will play in the remainder of the season: Ball State and Buffalo are in action.

The MAC West title is in play for NIU.

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CBS Sports has a "Bottom 25" tournament. We're making progress; we barely make the cut.

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NFL.com looks at some potential MAC conference NFL prospects.

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In the second college football playoff rankings, Oregon moved into the top four. No team from the Group of Five made the top-25.

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Tuesday--November 4th, 2014

Mark Whipple's quotes from the MAC conference's weekly teleconference. Coach Whipple talks recruiting and getting ready for Ball State.

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Dan Malone has some comments on Whipple's teleconference comments.

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MACtion starts tonight. Both games are at 8:00 PM and are on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

Hustle Belt reviews the four league games

MAC Conference game day page.

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A Hustle Belt writer predicts the MAC conference bowl game and thinks WMU and Boston College could meet in Detroit.

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Cleveland.com looks at tonight's games.

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A Bowling Green win over Akron would create a two-game lead for the Falcons. An Akron win would keep UMass in the hunt for the MAC East Championship.

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ESPN has 21 teams still in contention for the first college football FBS playoffs.

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Alabama suspends 20 student organizations from  block  ticket allocations after students leave games early.

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Recruiting 2015 --Kwanii Figueroa

Image credit unknown

Several recruiting services report UMass has offered to Kwanii Figueroa, a 6-2 277 pound DT from Paramus Catholic in NJ.

247Sports page here.

Scout.com page here.

Figueroa had 55 TT and 10 SACKS as a junior.

Had three sacks against Bergen Catholic in an October game.

Besides UMass, Figueroa has FBS offers from UAB, BC and Georgia Tech. FCS offers from UNH, Towson and Tennessee Tech.

Monday---November 3rd, 2014

Blake Frohnapfel

Dan Malone has a story about Blake Frohnapfel's chances to lead the NCAA in passing. You remember Mike Leach landed at Washington State after being fired at Texas Tech. He brought his prolific passing offense to the Cougars, although without the same results he had at the Red Raiders.

Washington State QB Conner Halliday suffered a broken leg at USC.

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Forty-two out of 59 readers picked UMass to finish with four wins in the blog wins prediction poll. Although we've come close, UMass has yet to pull off an upset. Next Wednesday on national TV against Ball State would be an excellent time to start.

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MACtion starts this week and Keeper's college football ratings has Akron, Toledo, Ball State and Ohio as favorites.

Akron has a two-game losing streak going into its game against Bowling Green. Whoever wins that game will be in first place in the MAC East.
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Like UMass, Bowling Green will be coming off a 16-day bye for their game at Akron.

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The Morning Journal says it's November and that means it's MACtion time.

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ECU losing to Temple, that's good news for Blake Frohnapfel's old team Marshall.

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Sunday--November 2nd, 2014

Hey, remember when we were all going to the Midnight basketball games at the Cage because Calipari wanted a packed house for ESPN games--and we went because we knew UMass was on the way up? Well Whipple has the same thing going with UMass football. Take an hour of leave from work and go to the game at McGuirk. Wave at the ESPN cameras! I'll be there. I don't think Sign Man will miss the chance to be on national TV.

I was switching back and forth between Auburn-Mississippi and Old Dominion-Vanderbilt last night. We can play with ODU and Vandy right now. Give Whipple another couple of recruiting classes and see where we are. Be part of the Minutemen renascence next Wednesday!

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Central Michigan and Western Michigan blitzed EMU and Miami (Ohio) yesterday.

That makes the Broncos bowl eligible.

So is CMU.

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The Idaho Statesman looks at teams from the non-BCS conferences chances for a major bowl.

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BC squeaked by Virginia Tech to be bowl eligible for the second straight year.

Penn State lost to Maryland.

Vanderbilt handled ODU 42-28.

Colorado dropped to 2-7.

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Bye Week I --November 1st, 2014

UMass website image

Go heavy! The new Minutemen weight room is awesome.

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Matty Vautour reports after a week off, the Minutemen are ready to get back to work.

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Andrew Weber/USA Today image

NY Giants blog "Big Blue" wonders if the G-Men can get a big day from Michael Cox and the Giants special teams. Cox has gone 5-140 28 yards/return 40 LONG.

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Vanderbilt blog "Anchor of Gold" considers today's game against Old Dominion and wonders if they are as explosive as UMass.

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Forbes reports how MACtion led to a growth of a conference and inspired others.

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The Star Press says MACtion is upon us.

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Hustle Belt previews the two MAC games this Saturday.

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Brandon London and the larks will wear their "Signature Look" uni's for tomorrow's game.

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Recruiting 2015-- Will Fries III

I've blogged about Will Fries, a 6-6 270 pound OL from Cranford, NJ a couple of times before.

This article from yesterday by NJ.com updates his recruiting.

Rivals three-star recruit. Will take a visit to Boston College according to Rivals.

Fries is up to seven FBS offers. The article reports Fries wants to major in business and marketing, so UMass' Isenberg School of Business would be a good place for him.

Friday--October 31st, 2014

Seven MAC teams are in play for a bowl bid.

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A BYU blogger looks at some schools who might have it tougher than the Cougars. UMass is one of them.

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Buffalo News says UMass will likely be a tough final game for the Bulls.

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James Ihedigbo talks matchups and playing for Detroit on Reddit.

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Vladimir Ducasse is the starting RG for the Vikings.

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Brandon London had a confrontation with some Red-Black fans.

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Sports Illustrated analyzes the first round of the College playoff rankings.

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Thursday--October 30, 2014

Jean Sifrin was chosen the John Mackey TE-of-the-week for his performance at Toledo. Nice image of Jean.

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UMass A.D. John McCutcheon says Mark Whipple is positioning the Minuteman program for future success. Yes he is, and suddenly a conference bid no longer seems like wishful thinking.

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The Independent Collegian talks about Toledo's defense against UMass.

Quote from the article:"This isn’t an attack on Toledo’s D, which simply doesn’t match up with the talent level on UMass’ offensive side of the football, even at full strength."

In nine weeks things have really changed. The defense of the  consensus best team in the MAC, with full scholarships, is considered to have less talent than the Minutemen offense.

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The MAC Reporter Online ranks UMass 9th in conference power ratings.

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Keepers College Football ratings has UMass at #116. Hey we're ahead of UConn!

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Football Scoop says MAC cost-of-attendance puts everything in perspective.

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SI.com says vague college football playoff criteria is going to cause trouble.

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Article on Chelmsford HS band playing at UMass Band Day. An article on Band Day on the UMMB website here.

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Wednesday--October 29th, 2014

The Toledo Blade thinks the Rockets defense did OK against UMass. Uh, that's one way to spin it.

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Campus Insiders rates the UMass-Toledo game as the most entertaining of the MAC games last Saturday.

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The MAC Conference and Boise State support paying athletes the full cost of attendance.

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East Carolina is the only "Group of Five" team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.

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Kent State plays Toledo this Saturday and Flashes HC Paul Haynes says Toledo will be the best team Kent has played since Ohio State.

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More on Miami (Ohio)'s new indoor training facility.

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Blake Frohnapfel's old team is undefeated, but unlikely to make the College Football Playoffs.

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Sports Illustrated reports Victor Cruz is rehabbing his knee after surgery.

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This article says Michael Cox has been the lone bright spot on the NY Giants special teams. Cox's stats here.

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Video of a high school kicker hitting a 70-yard field goal. Unfortunately he's already signed by Oklahoma.

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Tuesday--October 28th, 2014

Quotes from Coach Whipple on the weekly MAC teleconference.

Dan Malone reports Whipple does not give an injury update on Jovan Santos-Knox and Kessan Messiah.

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Blake Frohnapfel was named MAC East offensive player-of-the-week.

Dan Malone on Frohnapfel's second MAC offensive player-of-the-week honor.

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Jean Sifrin was named CFPA National TE-of-the-week. Sifrin so far in 2014 has gone 33-544 16.6 AVE 5 TD 76 LONG 68.0 yards/game. That's 54th nationally in receiving yards. Sifrin is 10th in the MAC in receiving yards/game

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Malone says Mark Whipple is not worried by the long two-week plus bye period.

Dan also says this year proves better days are coming for the UMass football program. Yes they are.

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Matty Vautour looks to see if there will be any changes after the Minutemen come back from their long break.

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Jesse Allen says big things can still happen in 2014, but lots of things would have to break right.

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The Toledo Blade says even with an injured ankle, Kareem Hunt was too much for UMass.

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Ben Roethlisberger donates $1 million towards a Miami (Ohio) indoor practice facility.

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ESPN reports 107 college football teams have been eliminated from the 2014 college football playoffs.

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Monday--October 27th, 2014

BLAKE FROHNAPFEL WATCH

After the Toledo Frohnapfel's totals for 2014 are 132.2 EFF 213-392 54.3 % 2921 23 TD's 80 LONG 324.6 YARDS/game

Blake is 2nd in passing yards in FBS. Second in all of football!!!

He's 9th in passing yards per game.
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UMass is averaging 30.8 points/game. Last year we were #122 out of 125 teams with 11.7 points per game.

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Career passing completions

10. 221 Andrew McNeeley 92-95
11. 213 Blake Frohnapfel 2014

Career passing yards

8.   3131 Greg Landry 65-67
9.  2921 Blake Frohnapfel 2014
10. 2742 Jim Simeone 82-85

Career passing TD's

6. 27 Tim Day 02-05
7. 23 Noel Reebenacker 50-52
7. 23 Blake Frohnapfel 2014
8. 21 Jerry Welchel 62-65

Career pass completion %

9. 54.4 Greg Landry 65-67
10 54.3 Blake Frohnapfel 2014

Career passing efficiency

4. 134.1 Todd Bankhead 98-99
5. 132.2 Blake Frohnapfel 2014
6 124.9 Jeff Krohn 02-03

Career passing yards/game

1. 324.6 Blake Frohnapfel 2014
2. 250.6 Todd Bankhead 98-99

Most TD passes in a single game

5 Blake Frohnapfel 2014 (twice)
5 Liam Coen 2006
5 Matt Guice 2001
5 Richard Lucero 2000
5 Todd Bankhead 1998
5 Mike Fallon 1977

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Tajae Sharrpe is 4th in receiving yards.

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The UMass website has highlights and video interviews from the Toledo game.

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Frohnapfel says the rest of the season is about pride.

Dan Malone has an article on the post game video interviews.

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Ron Chimelis says Coach Whipple has made UMass football relevant again.

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Hustle Belt moves UMass up to 9th in  conference power ratings.

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Cleveland.com says Kareem Hunt kept the Rockets rolling.

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EMU stadium at kickoff. The announced crowd was 19,654.

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Sunday--October 26th, 2014

As I said in yesterday's pre-game post, UMass is still missing a few components to play with the top teams in the MAC. As usual, the offense was excellent. Frohnapfel's 438 yards was third-most in UMass history. The Minutemen were right in it until the end.

Toledo has run up big scores and big rushing totals against just about everyone they played. You can't really blame the defense. The game showed what we all knew: UMass still needs some improvement to win the MAC. The Rockets have an All-conference kicker and he was going to win the game at the end if allowed. The UMass defense made some big stops and two INT's, but we couldn't make one more in Toledo's last drive. Still, if you like football, that was an entertaining game, with lots of big plays on both sides.

The ESPN3 announcers were irritating homers and that was a blatant cheap shot that knocked Kassan Messiah out of the game.

Eleven of 79 voters in the scoring poll correctly picked the Rockets by 7 to 13.

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UMass write-up on the game.

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Dan Malone says UMass can't complete comeback and falls to Toledo.

Dan reports on Whipple's decision to let the Rockets score on the final drive.

Kevin Hunt lived up to the hype.

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Matty V. says the Minutemen put a scare into Toledo.

He reports UMass is still intent on finishing strong.

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A Hustle Belt writer says the Rockets rallied past UMass.

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abc40 says the UMass win streak stops in Toledo.

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The Blade said Toledo was good enough to get past UMass.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports the UMass defense couldn't stop a late Toledo surge.

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All the MAC conference scores here.

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Catching up on the Minutemen's OOC schedule.

Boston college is 5-3
Vanderbilt is 2-6
Colorado is 2-6
Penn State is 4-3 (and lost to Ohio state in 2 OT's)

Boston college finishes with Louisville, Florida State and Syracuse. It could be tough for the Eagles to be bowl eligible. Penn State still has Maryland, Indiana, Temple, Illinois and Michigan State.