UMass Football News--December 5th, 2022

 This season's bowl games:

Tulane will play in the Cotton Bowl.

Eastern Michigan in the Birmingham Bowl.

New Mexico State in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Liberty and Toledo will play each other in the Boca Raton Bowl.

UConn will play in Myrtle Beach Bowl.

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St. Francis athletic dept image

Makai Jackson, a 6-0 190 pound transfer WR from St. Francis University has a UMass offer.

Jackson had 85 (!) catches for 991 yards, 9 TD's 45 LONG and 82.56 receiving yards/game.

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Sports Book Wire previews the Tulane vs USC Cotton Bowl.

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UMass Football News--December 4th, 2022

 Tulane is off to their first major bowl since 1940 after winning the AAC championship.

Toledo won the MAC championship with a defensive gem over Ohio.

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If you did not see the TCU-Kansas State game, you missed a great college football contest. If your cable provider shows a replay, it's well worth watching.  

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Western Carolina athletic dept image.

Raphael Williams Jr, a 5-10 165 pound WR  transfer from Western Carolina has a UMass offer. He was a freshman FCS All-American and First Team All Southern Conference. In 2022 he went 47-658 6 TD's.

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Western Carolina athletic dept image

Carlos Davis, a 6-3 225 pound QB also from Western Carolina, has a UMass offer.

Davis started seven games for the Cats in 2022. Went 148-222 149.6 QB EFF 1837 yards 16 TD's 262.4 yards/game.

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UMass Football News--December 3rd, 2022

 2022 opponent Tulane plays for the AAC championship today.

2022 opponent Toldeo plays for the MAC Championship today.

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USA Today gives Coach Brown a "C-" in his first year as HC for UMass.

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Penn athletic office image

Trevor Radosevich, a 6-4 290 pound OL from Penn has received an offer from UMass. This article features Radosevich. He was a three-year starter for the Quakers.

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Monmouth athletic dept image

Oliver Jervis, a 6-5 300 pound OL from Monmouth has received an offer from the Minutmen as a grad transfer. Jervis was a two-year starter for the Hawks.

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UMass Football News--December 2nd, 2022

 Auburn was not granted a bowl waiver, so the Tigers next game will be against UMass on September 2nd, 2023.

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If you told me in August that New Mexico State and UConn will be bowl eligible in 2022, I'd have thought you had lost your mind.

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Oregon Live image

Oregon State QB Chance Nolan enters the transfer portal.

"In 22 games at Oregon State, Nolan was 316 of 520 for 4,153 yards passing and 20 interceptions and 32 touchdowns.  Rushing, Nolan had 508 yards and five touchdowns."

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Even with a 12 team college playoff, it will be difficult for Group-of-Five teams to be considered unless they are ranked in the top-20.

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UMass Football News--December 1st, 2022

 New Arizona State HC Kelly Dillingham will retain former UMass strength & conditioning coach Joe Connolly with the Sun Devil program.

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New Nebraska HC Matt Rhule will add former UMass player E.J. Barthel to the Huskers staff.

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Hustle Belt previews the MAC championship game between Toledo and Ohio.

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Dartmouth athletic dept image

UMass has offered to Dartmouth grad transfer DL Shane Cokes. Cokes is 6-3 275.

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Bleacher Report says the Rose Bowl has reached an agreement that will allow a 12 team CFP in 2024.

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UMass Football News--November 30th, 2022

 Dear Santa:

    All I want for Christmas is a transfer QB, who'll move the team. A grad transfer would be outstanding. We do have Ahmad Haston coming in as a true freshman.

It would be nice to have him have a red-shirt year before (hopefully) becoming a three-year starter.

There are a number of QB's in the transfer portal. I'd like to see a QB with some decent stats at the FBS level, not a career back-up. We tried that in 2021. 

Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims has some good numbers, but has been hampered by injuries:

"During three seasons as the Yellow Jackets quarterback, Sims threw for 4,464 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. He had a career 57.5% completion percentage. Sims also had 1,166 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in his career with the Yellow Jackets. "

Ex-Michigan QB Cade McNamara should be familiar to Coach Brown and staff.

Monmouth QB Tony Muskett had great stats for the FCS Hawks.

"In 23 games at Monmouth, Muskett threw for 5,687 yards, with 51 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He threw a career-high eight interceptions last season, before suffering a knee injury during a seven-overtime loss to Rhode Island."

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UMass finishes the 2022 as #131.

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UMass athletics posts a 90% graduation rate for NCAA annual graduation performance.

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Tulane heads for their first ever AAC Championship game.

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UMass Football News--November 29th, 2022

 Max Longman and Xavier Graham have entered the transfer portal. Joe Horn had entered the portal earlier in November. That leaves UMass down three offensive linemen.

However, the portal giveth as well as taketh. Schools are allowed to add an equal number of transfers for the players they lose to the portal.

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The Spectrum News has a story about Coach Brown returning to Amherst.

Quote from the article:

"The bottom line is I can't tell you how happy I am to be here," Brown said. "It's a great working environment with the staff that I have and I'm just gonna keep working till I get the ship righted and then get it set up for somebody else to take over."​

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Liberty Coach Hugh Freeze will join Auburn as head coach.

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Jimbo Fisher fired his offensive coordinator.  Maybe an opportunity for Mark Whipple now that he's out at Nebraska.

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Toledo, Tulane and Buffalo are narrow favorites in Championship Week.

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UMass Football News--November 28th, 2022

 

CJ Kolodziey has been named to the New England Sports Writers All-New England team.

Kolodziey was the only UMass player chosen for the 2022 team.

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Five 2022 UMass opponents are bowl-eligible.

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The NCAA reveals punishment for Texas A&M's field rush.

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Mark Whipple is recovering from a strained MCl after a sideline collision. 

Nebraska hired former Temple HC Matt Rhule as their new program leader.  No mention if he will keep Mark Whipple as OC.

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Georgia Tech dual-threat QB Jeff Sims has entered the transfer portal. Threw for 4464 yards and 30 TD's for the Wrecks. 

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UMass Football News--November 27th, 2022

 Well, it was a picture perfect November day. The sky was hard blue and sun felt warm. It was not windy and the conditions were as near perfect as you could ask for in late fall. The attendance was over 10,000 and the amazin' UMass fan base continues to show up with little positive reinforcement.

However, football ended the season with a thud. UMass played a mistake-ridden non-competitive game. The Minutemen turned the ball over four times. Two fumbles (one by Olsen) and two INT's. 

Merriweather gained 49 yards on the first series. After he went out, Minutemen backs gained 33 yards for the rest of the game.

You can't put this one all on the coaches. UMass did not execute all day. In one sequence, UMass punted on fourth-and-medium near mid-field. It was the correct call as you don't want to give Army a short field. Koloziey dropped the ball on the Army two yard line, but the entire UMass punt cover team did not have any idea where the ball was. Nobody fielded the ball and we eventually batted it into the endzone for a touch back, which effectively made it a 15-yard punt.

I don't know if it was a hangover from three straight road trips and a big effort against Texas A&M, but nobody made any plays for UMass yesterday.

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UMass write-up here.

Army write-up here.

Gazette write-up here. 

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Tulane won and Toledo lost Friday.

Stony Brook's season is over.

Temple lost to ECU ending their season at 3-9

Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan to tie for the MAC West title. 

New Mexico State blew out Liberty 49-14 (WTF?!) 

Buffalo lost to Kent State in overtime.

UConn is waiting for a bowl bid.

Arkansas State was blown out by Troy.

Texas A&M beat #6 LSU 38-23. The Aggies rushed for 274 yards. They had 207 against the Minutemen defense.

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Game Day --Army November 26th, 2022

 Last ride of the rodeo. I looked at last year's game with the Black Knights. UMass
had 199 yards rushing, but only 9 first downs. Army scored twice late to pull away.

The Army triple option is difficult to deal with. The Black Knights are currently #2 in rushing offense with almost 302 yards/game. They score an average of almost 28 points/game (#73). Army is #25 in third-down conversion at .453. They give up 379 yards/game an allow 23.4 points on average.

UMass needs some offense to win today. If the Minutemen can score more than 20 points, we should have a chance to close the season with a win. 

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

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

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Winners and Whiners predicts Army will cover the 20-point spread. 

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The Record Online reports the Black Knights will face struggling UMass. 

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Tulane beat #24 Cincinnati yesterday and will host the AAC Championship game.

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Western Michigan upset MAC West champion Toledo. 

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UMass Football News--November 25th, 2022

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Texas A&M game.

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UnderDog Dynasty predicts Army 31 UMass 6. 

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As For Football has a podcast on the Black Knights-Minutemen game.

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The Hampshire Gazette says UMass has invested time to prepare for the Army triple option.

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CBS Sports thinks LSU will cover the 10-point spread against Texas A&M.

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247Sports continues to have UMass as #1 in the Bottom 25. 

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Overtime Heroics has a number of coaches on the hot seat including Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M, Neal Brown at West Virginia, Tom Allen (and Walt Bell) at Indiana and Jeff Hatley at Boston College.

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Thanksgiving Day--November 24th, 2022

 

I was up at White River Junction VA hospital on November 15th. I talked with a guy who had been a member of the 1st Air Calvary in Vietnam. During one operation he was shot six times in the legs and, while waiting in the rain for his dust-off, was hit by mortar fragments, which lodged in his spine. Nice guy with a great sense of humor--and he beat me to the elevators.

While surfing the web I came across this article about gratitude. I'm grateful for all I have including UMass football to obsess over.

Hope all UMass fans, staff and players have a great, high calorie day!

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UMass Football News--November 23rd, 2022

 CBS Sports has odds and predictions for Week #13.

Quote from the article:

 "UMass is the perfect opponent for Army to pick up an easy win against"

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports Isaac Ross and Michael Oppong are coming into their own late in the season.

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Noon Time Sports says UConn is one of the five surprise teams in New England for 2022.

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Toledo will be in the MAC Championship game. 

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Sports Illustrated predicts six UMass 2022 opponents will play in bowls.

Tulane in the prestigious Cotton Bowl.

Eastern Michigan in the Lending Tree Bowl.

UConn and Toledo predicted to play each other in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Liberty and Buffalo predicted to play each other in the Quick Lane Bowl.

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UMass Football News--November 22nd, 2022

 Stats Tuesday: After the Texas A&M game. 2021 numbers in parenthesis.

57th in total defense, 367 yards/game (125th, 485 yards/game)

15th in passing defense, 185.1 yards/game (100th, 249 yards/game)

101st in scoring defense, 29.9 points/game (130th 43.3 points/game)

9th in 3rd down defense (128th)

44th in 1st down defense (106th).

UMass has improved by 13+ points a game and 118 yards/game in defense. 

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Fifteen freshmen played for the Aggies against UMass.

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Texas A&M fires a cannon in the face of two UMass players. 

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Jimbo Fisher's post UMass game interview. 

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UMass has their game notes for Army up.

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Navy will wear space-themed uniforms for the Army-Navy game.

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All three service academies won last Saturday. 

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UMass Football News--November 21st, 2022

 Army opens at an 18-point favorite over UMass.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports UMass hung tough in a 20-3 loss to Texas A&M. 

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And lots of angst over on the Aggies side:

Fan Sided says Texas A&M's win over UMass was rock bottom for Jimbo Fisher. 

Touchdown Wire says the Aggies have an unhappy fan base.

247Sports reports it was an uninspiring win for Texas A&M. 

Quote from the above article:

 "UMass is one of the worst teams in college football, but in Week 12, went toe-to-toe for 3.5 quarters with an SEC West team."

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The Record Online says Army seniors came up big in a huge win over UConn.

The Record also say the Black Knights will have a challenging 2023 schedule. UMass plays in Michie Stadium on October 28th.

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UMass Football News--November 20, 2022

 Another heroic effort by the Minutemen defense. UMass held the Aggies to 2-10 on third downs. We had 3 SACKS (more than Texas A&M had), 7 TFL and 4 FF. The last Texas A&M score was facilitated by UMass going for fourth-and-long deep in their own territory. 

In the pouring rain it is easy for a DB to loose his footing or a defender to miss a tackle allowing a TD. But yesterday, UMass did not give up a busted defensive play all game. Five-star QB Conner Weigman scrambled for 68 yards after being flushed out of the pocket, but he managed only ten points each half.

The UMass offense had another off day. After the first field goal drive, I don't think we managed two first down in a row for the rest of the game. Olsen went 9-23 (39%) passing. UMass also averaged 32.4 yards/punt so the Minutemen never were able to flip the field so a defensive stop could give the offense a better starting point.

The only positives on offense was we did not turn the ball over in really bad playing conditions and the UMass OL only gave up 2 SACKS. That was despite going up against all those Aggie five-star defensive linemen..

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UMass write-up here.

Texas A&M write-up here. 

An AP writer says UMass frustrates but could not topple Texas A&M. 

Saturday Down South reports the Aggies survive a lackluster performance against UMass. 

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Tulane blew out SMU on Thursday. 

Bowling Green scored with 9 seconds remaining to upset Toledo.

Stony Brook finished their season with a 24-21 loss to Monmouth.

Temple lost to Cincinnati 32-3.

Liberty lost to Virginia Tech 23-22. The Flames lost to two Power Five teams by a total of 2 points.

Buffalo had a bye.

Army handled UConn 34-17. 

Arkansas State lost to Texas State 16-13.

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Game Day--Texas A&M November 19th, 2022

 It's a big challenge for the Minutemen today. The Aggies are loaded with top-rated athletes. In addition, the Texas A&M fan base makes College Station a tough place to play.

But it's also a great place to play with a great college game day. The Texas A&M offense has been slow this year. It'll be fun to see what Coach Brown's aggressive defense can do. The return of Moose Muhammad (good name) should challenge the UMass defense.

The Aggies have a fine defense. They are 7th in the nation in passing yards allowed and 6th in Red Zone defense. The Minutemen's newly found passing game needs to generate some completions to help the UMass running game.

It would be cool if we could give the Aggies a hard time today.

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

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The New England Football Journal previews the UMass-Texas A&M game.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews today's game. 

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Action Network thinks the Aggies will cover the 33-point spread.

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A Five-star WR decommits from Texas A&M. Gee, that'll only leave them with a dozen or so on the roster.

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Saturday Down South predicts the Aggies will score 40+ points.

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OT, but UMass basketball has been fun to watch so far...

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UMass Football News--November 18th, 2022

 CBS Sport looks at the 33.5 point spread of Texas A&M over UMass.

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Aggies Wire has thoughts on the Texas A&M game with UMass. 

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College Football News predicts Aggies 41 UMass 3.

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Fan Sided wonders if Texas A&M is gearing up to fire Jimbo Fisher.

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The Aggies have multiple players chosen in the XFL draft. 

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The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass is excited about the trip to College Station. 

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CBS Sports looks at Saturday's UConn-Army game and notes the Huskies have covered the spread seven straight times.

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UMass Football News--November 17th, 2022

 Playing Texas A&M is entering a different football world. UMass fans would be all excited if the Minutemen signed a four-star recruit. We'd be stopping random people on the street to tell them the news.

In 2022, the Aggies signed the #1 recruiting class in the nation. Athlon Sport college football magazine has Texas A&M signing 5 five-star recruits and 19 four-star players! This brought some sour grapes from even mighty Alabama.

Texas A&M is 3-7 in the 2022 season, which included a loss to giant killer Appalachian State.

Some sources even place the Aggies in the Bottom Ten, which is probably not true.

In the matter of head-to-head match-ups with highly talented players, this is about as challenging as it gets. It will be interesting to see what Brown's defense can do.

Unless we get some offensive production, the UMass defense will probably get gassed in the second half, hurting our impressive defensive stats so far.

Don Brown said before the season, if you're not excited to be playing Texas A&M, you're not a football player--or a fan. 

Wish I could be there at College Station to watch the game.

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Gigem 247Sports has a quick look at the Texas A&M UMass game.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Arkansas State game. 

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Yahoo News says the Aggies look to stop a six-game skid.

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Texas A&M's pass protection is ranked last in the SEC. Former BC head coach Steve Addazio in OL coach for the Aggies.

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My Aggies Nation has a podcast that discusses whether or not Texas A&M will cover the spread against UMass.

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UMass Football News--November 16th, 2022

 National Football Post reports a losing streak will break when UMass visits Texas A&M.

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Sports Illustrated predicts Texas A&M 28 UMass 10. Minutemen fans would take that.

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Ellis Merriweather has been named UMass Co-Athlete of the week.

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Jimbo Fisher updates the status of three Aggie offensive players. 

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247Sports grades Texas A&M five-star rookie QB Conner Weigman.

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A SB Nation Aggie writer looks at UMass (and can't find any UMass fan sites to link to).

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Texas A&M drops to last in the SEC Nation fan power rankings.

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