UMass Football News--August 31st, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" and de facto UMass beat reporter has two 2022 position reviews: linebackers and defensive backs.

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The UMass website has an interview with Coach Mike McCray about the Minutemen linebackers for 2022.

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The Hampshire Gazette reports Coach Brown still enjoys game preparation. 

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MassLive reports at least two UMass fans believe they can win the National Championship. Hat's off to those two people. They're hard core.

BTW, after those two bets the UMass odds dropped to 5000-1.

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The Sentinel and Enterprise looks at some of Leominster's best players including Johnathan Hernandez. I remember well Hernandez running all over Michigan back in 2010.

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Play Picks looks at the UMass-Tulane odds. 

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Eastern Michigan thinks a MAC title and a bowl bid are possible in 2022.

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Tulane looks to bury 2021 as UMass comes to town.

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UMass Football News--August 30th, 2022

 The UMass website has a interview with wide receivers coach Ryan Partridge.

The website also has opening game details for next Saturday (but no game notes).

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Sports Chat Place thinks Tulane will cover the 29.5 point spread against UMass. 

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Saturday Tradition looks a college football teams with the longest current losing streaks, which includes UMass. 

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NOLA.com looks at Tulane's 2022 schedule game-by-game. 

In the only other game in series, Tulane beat UMass 31-24 on October 2016. Andy Isabella had 90+ yards receiving with 2 TD's. This was another game the Minutemen could have won with a better defense. UMass gave up 280 rushing yards against the Green Wave.

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George Georgopoulos is listed as a co-starter at punter for Mississippi State's opening depth chart.

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The UConn Blog (good name) has five takeaways from the Huskies opening loss to Utah State.

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UMass Football News--August 29th, 2022

 Sports Chat Place thinks Tulane will make the 29.5 spread against UMass.

The Green Wave went 2-10 last season with wins over Morgan State and USF. All the pundits I've read expect Tulane to rebound to around a 6-6 season this year.

Tulane returns eight starters on both offense and defense. They do have a settled QB in Michael Pratt, something UMass has not had in years. The Green Wave was middle-of-pack in offense in 2021. They were #74 in scoring (27.6 points/game) and #73 in total offense (386.5 yards a game). 

It was the Tulane defense that let them down in 2021. The Green Wave was #114 in scoring defense (34.0 points/game) and #102 in total defense (429.7 yards a game). However, Tulane did face Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Cincinnati in 2021. Those three teams will make your defensive stats look bad.

Tulane has one of the top edge players in the nation with Darius Hodges. He had 15.5 TFL all by himself. The Green Wave also has TCU transfer Patrick Jenkins.

All-in-all, Tulane looks to be a solid Group-of-Five teams this year. The 29+ point spread is probably reasonable against a Minutemen team that gave up over 600 yards to a really terrible New Mexico State team in their last game.

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What's new at Tulane's Yulman Stadium for 2022.

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A Texas A&M site predicts Aggies 41 UMass 3.

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Down 25 players, Florida A&M played North Carolina tough.

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UMass Football News--August 28th, 2022

 Three-star UMass recruit Tristen Sion de-commits from the Minutmen. 

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The UMass website previews the Minutemen defensive backfield. The UMass DB room has the best depth on the team. Darrel Perkins and Coach Brown have ten safeties. There should be a lot choices for the defensive packages Brown loves to employ.

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The Buffalo News looks at the Bulls 2022 schedule game-by-game.

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Kudos to the UConn Huskies. They out-hit, out hustled and out-played Utah State for forty of the 60 minutes of their game in Logan. They ended up losing by eleven.

The down side was UConn may have lost their starting QB and one of their starting WR's for the season.

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New Mexico State turned the ball over five times (four INT's) to fall to Nevada 23-12.

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UMass Football News--August 27th, 2022

 The UMass website previews the 2022 Minutemen linebackers.

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The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass wraps up fall camp.

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Yard Barker considers if Texas A&M will make the college football playoffs. 

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Roto Baller thinks UConn will and New Mexico State won't beat the spread. 

Action Sport also thinks the Huskies will beat the 27.5 spread against Utah State.

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College Football News looks at the expectations for 2022's new coaching hires including Don Brown.

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North Carolina vs Florida A&M was almost canceled because the Rattlers did not have enough eligible players.

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Blogger no longer has a integrated readers poll widget. I had to cut-and-paste some HTML code to make it work. I don't really like the format, so I'll try some other sources and see if I can find a poll widget I like better.

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UMass Football News-August 26th, 2022

 The UMass website has a video segment on the 2022 Minutemen running backs.

With five scholarship RB's, the running back room is maybe the most improved (in terms of depth) unit from 2021.

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FBS Schedules has 26 amazin' facts about the 2022 schedule. UMass gets a mention in two of them. 

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the 2022 UMass defensive line.

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UMass missed getting one of Europe's top players in 2020 because of Covid complications.

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The Temple athletic medical staff adds Emily Stein who graduated from UMass and also interned with Minutemen football.

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Betting Pros thinks both UConn and New Mexico State will beat the spread in week #1 games. 

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UMass Football News --August 25th, 2022

 The UMass website interviews TE Coach Moore about the state of his room and the UMass tight ends.

The Minutemen offense went nowhere in 2021. Two different staffs have praised the Minutemen TE's. Better utilizing the TE talent could make a big difference in UMass' offensive effectiveness. Hopefully we'll have a QB and a offensive scheme that will accomplish that in 2022.

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MassLive has a post on Patriots Josh Uche praising Coach Brown.

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UMass is 10,000 to 1 to win the National Championship. A $100 bet would win you $1,000,000...

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UMass LB Zukudo Igwenagu makes Athlon Sports' all-name team.

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Liberty and UConn adjust their future schedules.

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The Deseret News looks at what will happen to FBS teams not in the SEC or Big Ten.

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UMass Football News--August 24th, 2022

 The UMass website previews the 2022 Minutemen defensive line.

The Minutemen have had few FBS-level defensive ends since the move from FCS football. In general, we have not had a pass rush and little in the way of edge contain. The MAC had some very good QB's and some really average FBS-level ones. We made most opposing QB's look very well indeed. 

In 2022 UMass was ranked #128 in sacks (less than one/game). The Minutemen were #127 in tackles for loss (3.5/game). 

Hopefully, transfer Marcus Bradley 6-3 275 and Marcus Cushnie 6-2 250 will be blocks Coach Brown can build a defense around. 

This year UMass will have eight DL's with game experience and two true freshmen. Someone did a study of NFL defensive linemen and found the average DL took almost three times as many steps per game than offensive linemen did (because DL's have to chase the play). So DL line depth is an issue. You have to rotate defensive linemen or they're gassed by the fourth quarter. We'll see starting with Tulane if the UMass defensive line has made progress.

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The Hampshire Gazette reports Josh Atwood has traded defense for offense.

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An ESPN writer ranks all 131 FBS teams in tiers. Save time and scroll to the end.

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ESPN details it's opening week coverage of college football. Announcers Jack Benjamin and Brian Kinchen will call the UMass-Tulane game on ESPN+.

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Fan Duel looks at the odds for UConn's opener against Utah State.

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Action Sports predicts six wins and a bowl game for Tulane in 2022.

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UMass Football News--August 23rd, 2022

 The UMass Sports Insider Show will air biweekly on NESN.

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The UMass website has an interview with Coach Miller and breakdown of the Minutemen offensive line.

I think Josh Atwood at center and Max Longman at one tackle position are locks to start. Maybe Ethan Mottinger and Cole Garcia at guard. Probably Ben Bohnenberger or Johnny Hassard for the other tackle.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the 2022 Minutemen special team players.

There have been a number of studies that indicate special teams are involved in victory or defeat in about one third of all games. Missed field goals cost UMass two or three wins during the Whipple era. George Georgopoulos was an excellent punter, but it did not make much of a difference because opposing offenses scored no matter what their starting position was.

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Yahoo Sports has Tulane at -29.5 for the Minutemen game.

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College Football News picks Nevada to beat the spread over New Mexico State.

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UMass Football News--August 22nd, 2022

 

The Hampshire Gazette says Vanderbilt transfer Marcus Bradley wants to make an immediate impact.

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The Yulman Stadium era has not been as kind to Tulane football as anticipated.

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The Wichita Eagle wonders if you can bet on college sports in Massachusetts?

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Saturday Down South predicts the outcome of every game on Texas A&M's schedule.

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The UConn Athletic dept breaks down the 2022 Husky quarterbacks.

Our old friends over at BC Interruption previews  the BC-UConn game.

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UMass Football News--August 21st, 2022

 THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR IS COMING.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a position review of the the Minutmen offensive line.

UMass' inability develop and keep offensive linemen has been a continuing problem for the Minutemen. The UMass scholarship distribution shows no home-grown junior or senior offensive linemen.

I don't think we ever had a first-team All-MAC offensive lineman. The video of last year's UMass-Coastal Carolina game is on line. Coastal just stuffed the UMass offense. Granted the Chants were one of the group-of-five's best teams, but the Minutemen offensive line was manhandled the entire game. 

Sixteen O-linemen (12 scholarship) is more than we have had on the roster for a number of years. Hopefully, coach Miller will continue to make improvements in this vital position. 

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The UMass website has a roundup of the second week of fall practice.

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Former UMass WR Trey Pettway joins the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. 

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Nick Saban has a plan for only 64 teams in FBS football. Northeast teams like Boston College, Syracuse and Pitt would all be out...

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New NCAA rules for 2022 college football.

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UMass Football News--August 20th, 2022

 Laughing Place (?) has a post on UMass' agreement with ESPN to televise the Minutemen's home games.

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CBS Sports has the toughest and weakest non-conference schedules for the various leagues in 2022.

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The "All Aggies" site has staff predictions for the Texas A&M game with UMass. Most of them are in the 55-3 range.

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UConn's defensive coordinator Lou Spanos takes a leave of absence from the Huskies.

UConn is a 27 point underdog in their opener against Utah State.

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Mountain West Wire looks at the 2022 Army team.

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The Big Ten signs a record-breaking media contract. Each Big Ten team will receive an average $75 million annually from the contract. And does not include Bowl games or revenue sharing from the college bowl playoffs.

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UMass Football News--August 19th, 2022

 UMass announces a three-year media agreement with ESPN for UMass football.

This is good news. ESPN+ is a national platform carried by most cable providers such as Comcast or Dish Network. UMass fans can now watch the Minutemen from their TV rather than parked in front of a computer monitor.

I also choose to take it that the sports powers-that-be have concluded UMass football will be more marketable product soon.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post on media agreement with ESPN.

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The Hampshire Gazette reports live tackling brings clarity on the progress of the 2022 Minutemen team. 

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The "All-Aggies" site has a post on UMass defensive players to watch. 

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Number Fire reports Toledo is the odds pick to win the MAC championship.

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Flo Football previews the 2022 Stony Brook football team. The Sea Wolves want to run the rock just like the current staff wants the Minutemen to do. 

Stony Brook has the tools to do it too. Their offensive line features FCS All-American Kyle Nunez and also First Team All-CAA RB Ty Son Lawson.

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UMass Football News--August 18th, 2022

 The UMass Football Twitter feed has a training camp update from TE coach Jeff Moore. As per yesterday's blog post, here's hoping the TE's are a big part of the (hopefully) much better UMass offense in 2022.

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The Sports Gambling Podcast previews the 2022 UMass Minutemen.

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The Texas A&M site "All Aggies" previews their game with UMass.

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UMass 2023 WR commit Rico Watkins gets a mention in this Tallahassee Democrat article about upcoming HS games.

UMass commits Rico Watkins and Tristan Sion also get mentions in this article also by the Tallahassee Democrat.  

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Latest update from opening opponent Tulane's fall camp.

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UConn gets ready for potential Top-25 Utah State for their opener. The Huskies play some really tough match-ups in 2022. They play Utah State, Syracuse, at Michigan, at NC State, Fresno State, Boston College, Liberty and Army. 

UConn will be a substantial underdog in all eight of those games. Central Conn, FIU, Ball State and UMass look to be only chances for a Husky win.

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UMass Football News--August 17th, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has 2022 position review of the Minutemen tight ends.

Two different staffs have mentioned the UMass TE's as a team strength. I would not be surprised to see Josiah Johnson 6-5 235 get a free agent NFL contract and then stick with a NFL team. He's a very good athlete and once he concentrates on the TE position, have a very high ceiling.

In 2021, the Minutemen offense just never got going. The 8-to-12 yard pass to the TE is one of the easiest throws for a QB to make. In 2022 we need to incorporate the TE's to move the chains and keep opposing defenses from stacking against the run. 

Let's hope the TE's have a much increased portion of the UMass offense this year.

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The Daily Hampshire Gazette profiles DB-turned-WR George Johnson III's move to the offense.

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Sports Illustrated reports Texas A&M has multiple players who could impact the college football playoff race.

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HERO Sorts names Stony Brook OL Kyle Nunez as a preseason FCS All-American

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UConn is still working on who's the starting QB. 

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Tulane HC Willie Fritz and various Green Wave players speak to the media about fall camp and their hopes for the 2022 season.

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UMass Football News--August 16th, 2022

Twitter interview with the UMass offensive line's coach Miller on the status of the Minutemen's OL.

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SGPN has a podcast preview of Tulane's 2022 season

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Hustle Belt previews Toledo's defensive front seven. 

Hustle Belt previews the Rockets defensive backfield.

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HERO Sports predicts Stony Brook to finish 10th in the CAA.

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The New England Football Journal has 10 takeaways after visiting UConn's fall camp.

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 The All-Aggies website looks at 2022 opponent UMass' offensive players.

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How the Indiana Hoosiers hope to rebound with new OC Walt Bell. 

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UMass Football News--August 15th, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the UMass 2022 wide receivers.

The Minutemen WR room, is I believe, deeper and more talented than last year. There was some comments on social media last year UMass did not have a lot of speed at that position. However, Minutemen WR's did get open in the second half against Eastern Michigan and Boston College. If they were effective then, and not other times, it's likely that the problem was more on the QB end.

George Johnson III could be an instant starter at one position. Rico Arnold was the Minutemen's leading receiver and two of the season's longest catches. UMass was one of the worst teams in the nation in 2021 in big play offense. We definitely need to get Arnold the ball more this year.

UMass was #123 in passing offense and #128 in team passing efficiency. If we are to improve in 2022, those rankings have to get better. A run-first offense that is facing eight-in-the-box defenses every down will not be effective.

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The Sun Belt conference previews 2022 opponent Arkansas State.

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The ESPN computer predicts the five worst teams of 2022.

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A 247Sports writer predicts bowl bids for five UMass 2022 opponents: Toledo, Liberty, Army, Eastern Michigan and Texas A&M.

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UMass Football News--August 14th, 2022

 The UMass athletic site has week #1 fall camp roundup. Some nice images.

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The New England Football Journal reports the UMass QB competition is wide open.

The NEFJ also has ten takeaways from UMass training camp. 

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Yard Barker has the fifteen worst teams of 2022. UMass, UConn, Temple and New Mexico State make the list.

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CT Insider says two weeks away from opening, UConn has no definite answer at QB. We feel your pain Husky fans.

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Yahoo Sports previews Toledo-LIU. The Rockets have been averaging 51/points a game against FCS. UMass averaged 16 points/game against Rhode Island and Maine last year.

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Stony Brook's RB Ty Son Lawson has been named the CAA's preseason Offensive player-of-the-year.

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UMass Football News--August 13th, 2022

 Flo Football says the return of Don Brown reignites UMass football.

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Yard Barker reports UMass looks for a revival under Don Brown.

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Athlon Sports looks at the over/under for Sun Belt teams including 2022 opponent Arkansas State. 

KAIT 8 reports the Arkansas State Red Wolves are ready for a rebound. 

College football news previews the Red Wolves 2022 season.

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ESPN says 2022 opponent Texas A&M is one of college football's top annual underachievers.

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Speaking of ESPN, the network's subscription ESPN+ is charging its customers a big price hike.  

UMass-Tulane and UMass-Toledo are both being televised on ESPN+

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UMass Football News--August 12th, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the UMass running backs for 2022.

The Minutemen running backs are probably the deepest and most talented unit on offense. Unlike the last few years, UMass has more than just one scholarship running back. Ellis Merriweather was the entire offense. Despite facing defenses set up to stop him, he ran for 1138 all-purpose yards and five TD's.

Kay'Ron Adams looked good before his injury. The Minutemen add Tim Baldwin 6-0 220 this year. He averaged 6.4 yards/carry for Indiana in 2020. In addition Greg Desrosiers 5-11 186 has good speed and could see some action. True freshman Donta Whack could see some snaps this year. 

Could the Minutemen run some option this year? Zamir Wise or Gino Campiotti could probably run that offense. This article reports that after 20 years, the zone read offense is still hard to stop.

The service academies have run option offenses for years because they face talent deficits and to shorten the game. That offense could take some the the pressure off Don Brown's defense as UMass looks to improve overall in 2022.

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The Hampshire Gazette says Brown will take his time choosing a QB.

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The Pro Football Network names its preseason All-Independent team.

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Former Duke defensive analyst Dan Hicks joins UMass football. 

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