UMass Football News--October 25th, 2017

Matty Vautour says McGuirk has been a special place for Adam Breneman.

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Philip Sanzo of the Daily Collegian says Appalachian State is the type of win UMass needs.

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GSU OC Bryan Cook liked what he saw of JUCO QB Kado Brown during last Saturday's game against UMass.

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Good News: UMass' win over GSU moved the Minutemen out of ESPN's Bottom Ten. The Bad News: we lost to the #6  Coastal Carolina.

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More on Appalachian State QB Taylor Lamb's record-setting day against Coastal Carolina.

Lamb was named the Sun Belt's co-offensive player-of-the-week.

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More trouble for BYU as starting RB  Ula Tolutau was cited for possession of marijuana.

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UMass Football News--October 24th, 2017

Keepers College Football ratings has issued his first power rankings for 2017. UMass is #119 (out of the bottom 10).

His algorithm has UMass as a 4.66 point favorite over Appalachian State.

Vegas Insider has the Mountaineers as a 3.5 point favorite.

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Matty Vautour looks at the Minutemen's chances for more wins this season.

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Enjoy the win again!

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Two of Appalachian State's best players Jalen Moore and Devan Stringer have injuries and are "day-today" if they will available for the UMass game.

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The Clarion-Ledger says Mississippi State's strong win over Kentucky means the Bulldogs are capable of bigger things.

BTW, the kickoff time for the UMass-Mississippi State game has been announced.

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Maine's defense has been strong over the Black Bears last two games.

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BYU finds glimmers of hope in a loss to 1-6 Eastern Carolina.

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As Matty Vautour points out in his article above, the FIU-Marshall game may have ramifications for UMass. The Herald-Dispatch thinks the second quarter is the key for the Thundering Herd.

The Miami Herald report FIU wants to recruit more speed and also looks at the remaining games on the Pnathers 2017 schedule.

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UMass Football News--October 23rd, 2017

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps Saturday's win over GSU.

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Georgia Southern fired Tyson Summers after the Eagles lost Saturday. Remember, we got FIU's coach fired too.

Kinda tough to fire a coach after 1.5 seasons, although GSU seemed to have multiple problems. During what little of the game NESN broadcast, the announcers said at one point GSU had players ejected for targeting for six consecutive games. That speaks to an undisciplined club.

Savannah Now on Summer's firing.

SB Nation reports why.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has fan reaction.

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UMass is up to #15 nationally in passing offense.

The Minutemen's big rushing day against GSU moved UMass out of the bottom 30 in rushing yardage.

UMass is a Top-30 team in passing efficiency.

The Minutemen are #39 in total offense.

After scoring 105 points in the last two games, UMass is scoring 29.9 points/game.

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From worst to first as next Saturday UMass hooks up with Sun Belt Conference leader Appalachian State .

UnderDog Dynasty reports Appalachian State slugged its way to victory over Coastal Carolina.

Tyler Lamb, App State's QB had a record setting game against the Chants.

Appalachian State is focused on their passing game.

Appalachian Online give grades for the Mountaineers win over Coastal Carolina.

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BYU fell to a weak 1-6 East Carolina team.

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UMass Football New--October 22nd, 2017

Caroline O'Conner image

The UMass fans at the game--- including me, stood and clapped at the end of a cathartic win over Georgia Southern. It was not a grind-it-out 27-24 win that I had hoped for. UMass broke out. The Minutemen set offensive records. We had the biggest win margin of the FBS era. We forced defensive turnovers. There have been a lot of long somber drives back to New Hampshire in the Blog household. Last night there was joy for all UMass fans. Enjoy it. Minutemen fans earned it as much as the team did.

• UMass had 320 yards rushing with a 7.3 yards a carry. The defense held GSU to 3.3 yards a carry.
• The Minutemen had an all-time 670 yards of offense.
• UMass did not give up a sack.
• GSU had it's third player ejected for targeting in two games.
• In further proof the stars were aligned, all three New England teams won: BC beat Virginia, UConn beat Tulsa and Rutgers even won a Big 10 game.

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UMass writeup here.

GSU write-up here.

Mark Chiarelli of MassLive reports a revised lineup and a first half blitz allows UMass to win big.

Chiarelli also says UMass set program records despite some unusual personnel situations.

Matty Vautour says a fast start sparked the first win of the season.

Matty also reports Ross Comis and Andrew Ford drove the Minutemen to a win.

The UMass Daily Collegian report UMass picked up a blowout win.

Savanah Now says UMass dominated.

SB Nation says it's time to fire Tyson Summers.

The Enterprise News says BC and UMass cruise to wins.

MDJ online reports UMass romps past mistake-prone Georgia Southern.

UPDATE:

UnderDog Dynasty says GSU moves to 0-6 after being drubbed by UMass.

Fox Sports reports Bilal Ally and Ross Comis lead UMass past Georgia Southern.

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Hawaii had a bye.

Appalachian State scored 20 unanswered points to edge Coastal Carolina.

Old Dominion suffered their fifth straight loss.

Temple lost to Army in overtime.

Alabama trampled Tennessee.

Ohio crushed Akron.

Mississippi State clobbered Kentucky.

Maine edged Albany by two points.

The gloom in Provo deepened as BYU fell to 1-7.

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Game Day --Georgia Southern

Well, today is the "Battle for the Bottom". The Minutemen have already lost to one dreadful team--Coastal Carolina. Losing to Georgia Southern would certainly cement our status as #130 on FBS.

UMass can win this game. We need to score points and not miss scoring opportunities. With Georgia Southern's clock control offense, the Minutemen won't get a lot of chances. The defense needs to stop big plays. No blown assignments. No wide receivers open by 20 yards.

If we win, UMass can get some momentum for the second half of the season. It's going to be a beautiful day weather-wise. I'll be there cheering for our side. Hope you will be too.

Go UMass!

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The game will be available on NESN.

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Matty Vautour reports UMass will try to deal with GSU's option attack in a battle of winless teams.

Savannah Now says winless UMass and Georgia Southern try to turn the corner.

Joel Thompson of exTREMEal has live stream information on the Eagles-Minutemen game.

SB Nation looks for UMass to cover the spread.

Athlon Sports predicts UMass 27-Georgia State 20.

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UMass Football News--October 20th, 2017

A quick look at Georgia Southern:

The Eagles return three starters on offense and four on defense from last year's 5-7 team. The Eagles have been having a terrible year. They run the triple option and have only been averaging 3.9 yards/carry. GSU has been averaging 17.60 points/game and giving up 38.60.

One thing the Eagles do well is control the clock. They average about eight minutes more possession time than their opponents. UMass cannot have many three-and-outs as we won't get the ball back.

On September 9th, New Hampshire beat GSU 22-12. UNH scored 15 points in the first quarter and led the entire way. GSU did hold UNH scoreless in the second half.

I would feel better about this matchup if we had not played so poorly against Coastal Carolina. UMass gave up 6.8 yards/carry against a very weak option team. We can't do that against Georgia Southern. The Eagles are built to control the clock. They are not built to come back when behind. The UMass offense needs to score early and often. With GSU's starting QB Shai Werts questionable for the game, the Eagles may show some new looks.

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UMass has a full schedule of events for Homecoming weekend.

I don't think I've linked to the Minutemen's game notes for GSU. They're here.

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Mark Chiarelli of MassLive wonders if the extra time off will help the Minutemen during the second half of the season.

Matty Vautour says Georgia Southern brings memories, but no 2017 wins to McGuirk this Saturday.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts' previews Saturday's game and predicts a Minutemen victory.

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The GSU site "Eagle Sports Insider" interviews Mike Traini about the UMass-GSU game.

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The George-Anne says it'll be "the war of the winless".

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MassLive reports Amherst will be busy this weekend with both UMass and Amherst College celebrating Homecoming. The former Lord Jeff's will unveil a new mascot.

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The Deseret News breaks down BYU final six opponents including UMass.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Brandon Perry

Perry #21/ Keith Warner image

Brandon Perry, a 5-9 155 pound CB from Houston, TX has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

UMass is the first offer for Perry.

UMass Football News--October 19th, 2017

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" chats with Eagle Sports Insider writer Justin Judy about Saturday's game between the Minutemen and GSU.

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Sports On Earth ranks all 130 teams at mid-season. UMass is #127.

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HCP Press.com previews Saturday's game between Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina and predicts App State 47-Coastal Carolina 7.

Myrtle Beach.com report Appalachian State created the FBS model Coastal Carolina wants to follow.

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Fearless kick returners play key roles for the Maine Black bears.

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Meanwhile, FIU is tied for the best 6-game start in school history.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Henry Pearson

The Record image

Henery Pearson, 6-3 235 pound TE from Paramus Catholic in NJ has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Rivals two-star recruit.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article from August 2017 features Pearson.

Besides UMass, Pearson has FBS offers from Army, Rutgers, Appalachian State and Marshall.

UMass Football News--October 18th, 2017

Tyris Lebeau has gone 5-0 GP-GS 3 UT 5 AT 8TT on special teams.

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Georgia Southern has their game notes for UMass up.

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Savannah Now reports Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts is questionable for the game at UMass. If he is unable to go, then the Minutemen may be facing Labaron Anthony or JUCO transfer Kado Brown.

I dunno if this is good news for UMass or not. The Eagles offense has been terrible with Werts. Their passing game is heaving the ball down the field and hoping the defense will be caught cheating up to stop the option or a pass interference call.

With our luck, they'll start a backup and he'll come out on fire...

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The Huffington Post has a story on college football at Fenway Park.

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The Salt Lake Tribune says BYU looks for life anywhere it can find it.

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Alabama is a 34 point favorite over Tennessee and SEC wonders just how bad it's going to be.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Joshua Bowers

Big County Preps image

Joshua Bowers, a 5-9 166 pound CB from Tarpon Springs, FL has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article from Prep Scouting Report features Bower.

Also runs Track & Field.

Quote from the above article:

"At last week's Pinellas County Athletic Conference meet, Bowers ran an 11.03 in the 100 and a 22.27 in the 200, winning both."

UMass is the first FBS offer for Bowers.

UMass Football News--October 17th, 2017

Sports Chat Place previews the UMass-Georgia Southern game and picks the Eagles over the Minutemen.

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The Berkshire Eagle says Williams college made a turn around in football and so can UMass.

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Georgia Southern HC Tyson Summers says he's done too much micromanagement.

GSU students hold a "Fire Summers" rally.

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SB Nation reports BYU has been college football's most disappointing team in 2017.

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Red & Black ranks the SEC including the two UMass foes Tennessee and Mississippi State.

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Temple aims to win six or more games.

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Holy Cross fires HC Tom Gilmore after the Crusaders dropped four straight to fall to 2-5.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Dacoda Weaver

Hudl.com image

Dacoda Weaver, a 6-5 325 pound OT from Lakeland, FL has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

UMass is the first FBS offer for Weaver.

UMass Football News--October 16th, 2017

UMass opens as a seven point favorite over GSU.

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Savannah Now reports Georgia Southern was down by one point in the fourth quarter and had the ball and a chance to win the game---and the stands were eerily quiet.

The bottom four teams in passing yards per game are all option clubs. The Eagles are the best of the lot with 93.4 yards/game.

Conversely, Navy, Army and Georgia Tech are 1,2 and 3 in rushing yards per game. Georgia Southern is #27 with 212.3 yards/game.

The George-Anne says frustration is growing as the Eagles fall to 0-5.

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I watched the Mississippi State-BYU game on the SEC network yesterday. The Bulldogs looked like the real deal as they manhandled BYU. Mississippi State had a power running game (306 yards rushing) and added 240 more in passing. The Bulldog defense held BYU to eight first downs and 176 total yards. UMass is going to have their hands full in Starksville.

At BYU, the Cougars are dealing with rock bottom.

BYU feels "their backs are against the wall".

BYU did bring off a social media sensation as the Cougar mascot "Cosmo" joined the Cougarettes dance team for a great routine.

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UMass Football News--October 15th, 2017

Well, Georgia Southern fell to New Mexico State 27-35 at home. That sets up the Bottom Bowl against UMass next week.

I watched about half the game on ESPN3. The Eagles looked neither fast nor talented. In addition GSU had two of their defensive players ejected for targeting, including their leading tackler. I believe that means they will not be available for the first half against UMass.

Safety RJ Murray and LB Tomarico Reese were the defensive players ejected.

In addition, the Eagles QB Shai Werts was injured on the last play of the game.

If we lose to the Eagles, we will be, officially, the worst team in football.

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Hawaii beat San Jose State to stop a four-game losing streak.

Coastal Carolina was demolished by Arkansas State 51-17. I still can't believe we lost to a team that would have finished 2-6 in the CAA.

Old Dominion was routed by Marshal 35-3.

Temple was upset by formerly punchless UConn 28-24.

Tennessee dropped a defensive battle to South Carolina 15-9.

Ohio pulled away late to defeat Bowling Green 48-30.

Appalachian State had a 20-point comeback to defeat Idaho 23-20.

Mississippi State ran over BYU 35-10.

Maine crushed hapless Rhode Island 51-27.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Michael Nesmith verbals to UMass

Hudl.com image

Back on August 11th, I blogged about Michael Nesmith, a 6-0 190 pound Safety/OLB from Hallandale, FL.

Yesterday, he Tweeted he's committed to UMass.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post about Nesmith's verbal.

Hudl.com has some video from this fall's games.

Ran a 10.70 100 meters in April 2017.

Chose UMass over an offer from Akron.

UMass Football News--October 14th, 2017

Hawaii looks to snap their losing streak against San Jose State.

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Coastal Carolina looks to break their four-game losing streak against 2-2 Arkansas State.

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Old Dominion plays Marshall in a match-up of strength vs strength.

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UConn looks to change their season with surprise victory over Temple today.

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Fox Sports expects a close game between Tennessee and South Carolina.

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Ohio needs a win today over Bowling Green to keep their hope of a MAC championship alive.

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Georgia Southern seeks their first win versus New Mexico State.

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Appalachian State looks to remain perfect against the Idaho Vandals.

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Mississippi State meets BYU in a battle of sputtering offenses.

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Maine looks for their eleventh consecutive win against Rhode Island.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Marco Domio II

Twitter image

Back on October 10th I blogged about Marco Domio, a 6-2 190 pound DB from Houston, TX.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a post about Domio and updates his recruiting interest from UMass.

UMass Football News--October 13th, 2017

Some actual UMass Football News: Matty Vautour reports UMass will be back to full strength for Georgia Southern.

Adam Breneman, Lee Moses, Isaiah Rodgers and Bakhari Goodson all return. Matty Vautour says UMass is working on defending Georgia Southern's triple option offense.

Georgia Tech, Army and Navy run the triple option. They're 10-3 in 2017.

How to defend the triple option with a 4-2-5 defense.

The Georgia Southern-New Mexico State game will be on ESPN3.

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So far in 2017 Breneman has gone 5-5 GP-GS 36-500 13.9 AVE 2 TD's 41 LONG 100.00 AVE/game

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Underdog Dynasty previews this week's Appalachian State-Idaho game.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Darian Green

Tracey Roman image

Darian Green, a 6-0 214 pound OLB/RB from Cerritos, CA has Tweeted  he's received an offer from UMass.


247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

Maxpreps has stats.

UMass is Green's first FBS offer.

UMass Football News--October 12th, 2017

Matty Vautour Tweets most of the injured UMass players: Brenenman, Rogers, Moses have returned to practice.

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A Scout.com writer looks at Mississippi State's remaining games and thinks UMass will be an "underdog in every one of it's remaining games".

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Two UMass opponents play this Saturday and Mississippi State is wary of BYU TE Matt Bushman.

The Atlanta Journal thinks the Bulldogs will respond in a big way against 1-5 BYU.

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Eleven days after the biggest win in program history, the Montgomery Advisor says Troy laid a "dinosaur egg" in a Wednesday night loss to South Alabama. I watched that game and both the Troy players and coaching staff looked hung over from the big win at LSU. The loss certainly put a big crimp in Troy's bowl ranking.

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UMass Football recruiting 2018--Nigel Kirby

Broncbuster football image

Nigel Kirby, a 6-8 250 pound TE from Garden City Community College has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Formerly at Eastern Michigan.

Garden City bio here.

Kirby has eight offers including Bowling Green from the MAC and several Sun Belt schools.

UMass Football News--October 11th, 2017

The Las Cruses Sun-News reports winless Georgia Southern still presents problems for New Mexico State's run defense.

New Mexico State heads east to play GSU at Paulson Stadium.

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Appalachian State's Jalen Moore was Sun Belt offensive player-of-the-week. Moore had three games where he rushed for more than 240 yards.

Tailgating at Appalachian State is a unique culture.

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An historic five-game losing streak sends BYU reeling into Mississippi State's Davis Wade stadium Saturday.

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UMass Football recruiting 2018--Marco Domio

Twitter image

Marco Domio, a 6-1 190 DB from Houston, TX has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has some stats.

UMass is Domio's first FBS offer.

UMass Football News--October 10th, 2017

The Knoxville News-Sentinel has 88 images from the UMass-Tennessee game here.

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Georgia Southern has been struggling with attendance with an 0-5 record.

A couple of quotes from the article:

"MacDonald says buying season tickets and reserving a parking spot for the season costs him more than $2,000."

“There’s only three Saturday games. If they were winning, it would feel different. Winning trumps everything.”

An Eagles fan says the program is "in a state of sorrow".

Georgia Southern is going to try new uniforms against New Mexico State.

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BYU is trying to stay positive during an historic losing streak.

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UMass Football Recruiting--Alex Morris

Houston Chronicle image

Alex Morris, a 6-1 188 pound Safety from Humble, TX Tweets he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

This article from April 2017 features Morris.

Morris has 6 offers with UMass as the only school in the Northeast.

UMass Football News--October 9th, 2017

After six games, UMass is #64 in total offense, #84 in scoring offense and #113 in rushing.

Andrew Ford is #12 in passing yards.

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I forgot to report on FIU when I listed the UMass opponent's scores yesterday. The Panthers lost at Middle Tennessee 37-17. That brings FIU to 1-1 in C-USA. If the Panthers make the conference championship game, the December 2nd game against UMass is canceled.

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The State says Tennessee was in a "dog fight" against UMass.

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Two UMass opponents hook up next Saturday when BYU plays at Mississippi State.

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I watched the best college football game of last Saturday: Western Michigan's wild seven overtime win over Buffalo.

In one of the overtimes, a Western Michigan TE caught a TD, then his sister ran onto the field and started hugging him.

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UMass Footbal Recruiting 2019--Bobby Wolfe

247Sports image

Bobby Wolfe, a 6-1 175 pound DB from Houston, TX has Tweeted he's received an offer from the Minutemen.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Former Old Miss commit.

Wolfe has nine offers including Power Five schools LSU and Baylor. UMass is the only offer from the Northeast.

UMass Football News--October 8th, 2017

Teams UMass has lost to again did nothing to enhance the Minutemen's self esteem as they went 1-4 yesterday. UMass opponents have gone a collective 3-17 against FBS teams...

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Hawaii lost their fourth straight with a 14 point defeat at Nevada.

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Coastal Carolina also lost their fourth straight, to Georgia State. Again, I can't believe we lost to the Chants.

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Old Dominion was crushed by FAU 58-28.

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Temple won 34-10 over East Carolina.

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Tennessee had a bye.

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Ohio lost to Central Michigan 23-26.

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Appalachian State had six INT's in a win over New Mexico State.

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Mississippi State had a bye.

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Villanova dominated Maine 31-0.

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Georgia Southern and BYU lost earlier in the week.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Arnold Mbembe

Arnold Mbembe, a 6-6 235 pound DE from Vanier College in Canada has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

YouTube has video.

Be Recruited has some stats.

One of Canada's top recruiting prospects.

Mbembe also has an offer from Buffalo.

UMass Football News--October 7th, 2017

BYU lost to Boise State last night 24-7. The Cougars continue to be winless in FBS games. We feel your pain BYU fans.

Cougar OG Keyan Norman is a true student-athlete.

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It was also a painful evening for UConn who lost to Memphis 31-70. The Huskies hung with Memphis for about 25 minutes and then gave up two TD's late in the second quarter (sound familiar?). After that, it was all Memphis. UConn is also winless in FBS with a comeback win over Holy Cross their only victory.

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Under Dog Dynasty previews today's Appalachian State-New Mexico State game.

New Mexico State will be going Independent in 2018. So far, A.D. Ryan Bamford has not scheduled the Aggies as an opponent for UMass. It's a long trip out to New Mexico. The Aggies had plane trouble getting to Appalachian State.

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Maine plays at Top-25 FCS Villanova.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2018--Jacquez Carter

Logan Newell image

Jacquez Carter, a 6-2 164 pound dual-threat QB from Naples, FL has Tweeted, he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

The News-Press says Carter was "electric" in a game this September.

Won trophy as the area's best player in January 2017.

Besides UMass, Carter has offers from Toledo and Utah State.

UMass Football News--October 6th, 2017

Georgia Southern's AD pledges patience with the Tyson Summers era of Eagles football.

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Keepers College Football rankings has Hawaii and Temple as favorites this week. Old Dominion, BYU, FIU and Coastal Carolina are underdogs.

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Appalachian State looks to bounce back against New Mexico State.

New Mexico State, perennially one of FBS's bottom programs, has a high flying offense this year.

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Florida International has won three straight games.

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Down trodden and injury-plagued BYU will try to upset Boise State tomorrow.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Anthony Watkins

Hudl.com image

UMass has offered to Anthony Watkins, a 6-0 180 pound Safety from Fort Worth, TX according to this Twitter post.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

MaxPreps has stats.

On 09/07/17 Watkins ran for 12-231 (19.25 yards/carry) and 4 TD's.

The Minutemen are Watkins first offer.

UMass Football News--October 5th, 2017

UMass has been losing to some weak teams so far in 2017. The Minutemen's opponents have gone 8-13 against FBS teams. Wins over the Minutemen have accounted for six of the eight FBS win total.

Hawaii 1-3 (UMass the only FBS win)

Coastal Carolina 1-2 (UMass the only FBS win)

Old Dominion 1-2 (UMass the only FBS win)

Temple 1-3 (UMass the only FBS win)

Tennessee 2-2

Ohio 2-1

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has a list of potential recruits that attended the UMass-Ohio game.

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Georgia Southern fell to 0-4 losing to Arkansas State last night at home. The Eagles triple-option offense does control the clock as they had a substantial edge in time of possession 39.04 to Arkansas State's 20.56. UMass will have to take advantage of limited offensive possessions and score when we have the ball.

GSU was unable to stop Arkansas State's passing game.

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The Herald ranks UMass #12 of 13 opponents of BYU football.

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Maine adds Liberty to their 2019 schedule. UMass will also play Liberty on November 2nd, 2019.

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UMass Football Recruiting--Martell Irby

Bill Wechter image

Martell Irby, a 5-8 204 pound RB from San Diego, CA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

On September 1st, Irby rushed for 178 yards and 3 TD's on fifteen carries. Also played QB, slotback and safety in that game.

Irby holds six offers including Arizona and Air force.

UMass Football News--October 4th, 2017

All for Tennessee comments on having Chris Berman on the UMass sidelines as an honorary assistant coach.

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The Salt Lake Tribune reports BYU had four sacks against Utah State last week, the most since the Cougars had four against UMass last year.

BTW, the Cougars have the second worst offense in FBS football. Temple, Old Dominion and Georgia Southern are all in the Bottom 11. UMass is #66 with 412.5 yards a game.

A number of Boise State players say "Everybody hates BYU".

Vanquish the Foe says the Cougars bad season is no reason to give up being an Independent.

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Athlon Sports previews tonight's game between Georgia Southern and Arkansas State. The game will be available on ESPN2.

Savannah News reports Georgia State is struggling right now.

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Maine gets All-CAA WR Micah Wright back after serving a suspension.

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Mississippi State lost big to Auburn Saturday, but still managed to sign the #2 recruit in Mississippi.

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UMass Football recruiting 2018--Vinnie Patteri

Twitter image

Vinnie Patteri, a 6-0 175 pound kicker from Saline, MI has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

Hudl.com has video.

Video from Kohl's kicking camp.

247Sports page.

According to 247Sports the offer is as a preferred walk-on.

UMass Football News--October 3rd, 2017

Matty Vautour looks at college football's undefeated teams and estimates their chances for the college football playoffs.

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Adam Breneman has gone 5-5 GP-GS 36-500 13.9 AVE 2 TD 41 LONG 100.2 YARDS/G.

That puts him 11th in total receiving yards nationally.

19th in receiving yards per game.

21st in receptions per game.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass took one step forward and two steps back against Ohio.

The Athens Post says the Bobcats running game is the best in the MAC.

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Arkansas Online says Troy's win over LSU was the biggest victory in the Sun Belt conference's history.

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UMass Football Recruiting --Loren Metz

Kirchdorf Wildcats image

Lorenz Metz, a 6-8 280 pound DT from Germany has Tweeted  he's received an offer from UMass

247Sports page here.

Hudl.com has video.

UMass is the first American team to offer Metz.

UMass Football News--October 2nd, 2017

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Ohio game.

The Daily Collegian says UMass gave up 58 points in a shootout loss.

The Athens news reports UMass lit up the Bobcats defense.

The Post says the Bobcats stout rushing game led Ohio to victory.

Our old friends at "Hustle Belt" says the Ohio offense played well in a victory over UMass.

The Daily Sentinel reports Ohio held off UMass.

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I forgot to mention Neal Brown's Troy team had a big win over #22 LSU.

SB Nation has a story about how Brown put Troy on the map.

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Sports Chat Place previews Wednesday night's game between Georgia Southern and Arkansas State. the game will be on ESPN2, so UMass fans will be able to watch the Minutemen's next opponent.

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Don't look now, but FIU is 3-1 after a 19 point comeback against Charlotte.

Special teams have been a key component to the FIU Panther's 3-1 record in 2017.

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UMass Football New--October 1st, 2017

Well it was an exciting game. It was like a heavyweight fight with two teams trading punches. It ended with another close loss by UMass. It spoiled a career day by Andrew Ford. He threw for 390 yards and five touchdowns. He threw one INT but was crossed up by his receiver. Poor special teams tackling gave Ohio good field positions several times. A fumble set up a Ohio field goal.

I thought the defense looked tired in the second half. We also lost some players during the game. Having three starting DB's out really hurt. Xavier Steele had a tough time in his first extensive playing time at CB. The defense did a good job containing Ouellette, but their mobile QB Nathan Rourke made a lot of yards.

Miracles of miracles, Logan Laurant kicked two solid field goals. I think we need the two weeks off to heal up. If we can put things together, I still think we have chances for wins against Georgia Southern, Maine and FIU.

Two Ohio players were ejected for targeting. The Bobcats also had a roughing the passer penalty that extended a UMass drive.

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UMass write-up here.

Ohio write-up here.

MassLive reports Ford and Breneman suited up for UMass and Bilal Ally gains more playing time.

Matty Vautour reports Ohio took control in the second half.

He also reports Ford and Breneman returning energized the offense, while injuries did the opposite for the UMass defense.

The Athens Post says Ohio won by means of a stout rushing attack.

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All of UMass' opponents also lost.

Colorado State won big at Hawaii.

Coastal Carolina lost a close game to Louisiana Monroe.

Old Domionion had a bye.

Temple lost to Houston 13-20.

Tennessee was blown out at home by Georgia 0-41.

Georgia Southern had a bye.

Appalachian State had a bye.

Mississippi State lost big to Auburn 10-49.

BYU lost to Utah and may have had the worst month in program history.

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