Game Day Villanova

Matty V. says UMass and Villanova are looking for one more unforgettable game.

Jeff Thomas says UMass hosts a struggling Villanova team.

Philly.com has some notes on the Minutemen-Wildcat game.

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For those UMass fans that don't get TSN/CSN-NE cable, First Row Sports offers streaming video of the game. The link has worked the last two times I tried it.

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More UMass homecoming information from the UMass Alumni Association.

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Today is National College Football Day.

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WEEI interviews Victor Cruz.

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All of today's league game information here at the CAA Game Day blog.

If ODU beats Richmond today, it could mean a playoff birth for the Monarchs.

The top CAA game this week will be Towson at Maine. Who would have expected it before the season began? Stuff like this is why college football is fascinating.

UNH controls their own destiny in searching for the playoffs.

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Hope to see everyone at the game. The UMass defense went on a tear last week and I'd like to see that continue.

Let's blitz the crap out of the Wildcats and get another win.

Go UMass!!!!

Friday--November 4, 2011

Matty V. reports that UMass QB Kellen Pagel did not practice Thursday and that leaves him doubtful for Saturday's game. Freshman Chris Polony is expected to start for Villanova.

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Villanova has their game notes up (.pdf download)

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The Daily Collegian mentions last year's Homecoming game was one UMass fans prefer not to remember.

The Collegian has a story about this year's Homecoming events.

More from the UMMB site. The George Parks Band Minutemen Marching Band  Building will be dedicated Saturday. It should be an emotional day for the Band and the UMMB alumni.

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Tim Brandt, Johnathan Hernandez and Perry McIntyre all won College Football Performance awards for their play against Richmond.

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NESN says Victor Cruz's hard working attitude was developed at UMass.

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TSN's "In the FCS Huddle" previews week #10 in FCS football.

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LSU vs Alabama---the super bowl of "Oversigning".

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Recruiting 2012---Jordan Lucas

Frank Becerra/Journal News Image

ESPn reports UMass has offered to Jordan Lucas, a 6-0 185 pd athlete from New Rochell, NY.

ESPN ranks him as a three star recruit (and notice who is listed as the recruiter for Virginia).

Played for Worcester Academy this fall.

2010 Senior highlight video here.  Check out this TD run.

Also drawing interest from UConn, Rutgers, Villanova and Virginia.

Thursday--November 3, 2011

UMass image

Matty V .s Kellen Pagel is questionable for Saturday's game against Villanova. UMass Football alums Marcel Shipp, Steve Baylark and Khari Samuel are expected to attend the game.

Marcel Shipp will be inducted into the UMass Hall-of-Fame.

The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen are doing it on both sides of the ball.

The Collegian has a story about Saturday's Homecoming Game against Villanova. 

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He also has an article on the Atlantic 10 adopting the NCAA's new $2,000 stipend rule.

The stipend rule is good for the players, but in my  view, it will further divide college sports into the "haves" and "have nots". BCS schools will have no problems funding the stipend for non-revenue sports, but most of the rest of the college sports universe may not. Most fans tend to fixate on football, basketball and hockey. UMass traditionally had success in women's softball and field hockey. Will we adopt the stipend rule or will we take a recruiting hit in those sports from schools with the ability to offer a recruit the stipend?

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Boston.com interviews Tom Coulghlin about the upcoming Patriots-Giants clash (mentions Victor Cruz and UMass).

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TSN's "In the FCS Huddle" has November as a prelude to 2012.

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The CAA has it's weekly football press release here.

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I watched the Temple-Ohio University football game last night. It was a pretty good game. Both teams had plenty of good athletes.

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Wednesday--Nov. 2, 2011

Jeff Thomas relates the Minutemen were diverted to Boston on the trip home from Richmond. He also says that Caleb Violette may be available before the season is over.

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Victor Cruz gets a mention in this review of the Giants for their upcoming game with the Patriots.

A thousand-yard season is a big deal in the NFL. Victor Cruz is halfway there.

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The rumor is that Temple did not get a bid by the Big East, and it's Villanova's fault.

More on Temple here.

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Nothing is better than winning. The Maine Black Bears got a visit from the University President at practice this week.

Maine would be in line to get a first round home game in the playoffs if they win a seed.

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UMass meets JMU for the last game of the 2011 season. The Dukes had some significant injuries in their loss to ODU.

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Recruiting 2012--Ladaran Wilson

MaxPreps image

Rivals.com reports UMass is interested in Ladaran Wilson, a 6-1 181 pd Safety from Lake Wales, FL.

Wilson's Rivals page here.

This article features Wilson as a "big hitter".

Highlight video here.

Also drawing interest from Bethune-Cookman, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Kansas State, Rutgers, and Temple.

Tuesday---November 1, 2011

Perry McIntyre was named CAA Defensive Player-of-the-Week.

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Despite a 5-3 record and losses to only a FBS team and two top-15 FCS teams, UMass barely registers on the latest FCS Coaches Poll. Delaware, with a 5-4 record and one of the wins against a DII team is #19.

UMass in high in the "others receiving votes" category in the TSN poll.

The Minutemen are 8th in the Lambert Cup poll (.pdf download).

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Keepers College Football Rankings has UMass at #21.

He also has the Minutemen over Villanova by 21+.

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Richmond's Aaron Corp is drawing NFL interest (mentions the UMass game a lot).

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Eli Manning gets support from Victor Cruz.

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Jeremy Horne was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs and then re-signed to the practice squad.

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Former UMass QB Dave Palazzi is leading Leominster HS to ESPN Boston’s statewide MIAA Top 25 poll.

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Monday---October 31, 2011

The University of Richmond Collegian has an image gallery from the UMass-Richmond game.

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The Boston Herald said New England teams (including UMass) went with balanced offenses Saturday.

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The Daily Press has the CAA standings, inverted version.

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Villanova's status is still murky in the the latest Big East machinations.

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Patrick McDermmott/Getty image

Victor Cruz does it again; catching the winning TD for the Giants.

Metro.us says Victor is emerging.

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From one of the many articles on the Northeast storm:

"The National Weather Service reported nearly two feet of snow in Concord and other parts of the state, with 31.4 inches falling in Jaffrey."

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Sunday--October 30, 2011

The UMass defense looked like one of Don Brown's defenses of old yesterday as Minutemen defenders pulled the legs off the Spiders.

The Spiders rushed 27 times for 1 net yard.

UMass had 6 sacks and knocked Aaron Corp out of the game.

The UMass defenders had 13 TFL and 4 INTS for 103 yards in returns. The UMass defense's performance was as good as it gets.

The Minutemen offense was less stellar. UMass punted 6 times. Three times UMass had first-and-goal and came away with zero points. Minutemen TE Emil Igwenagu and Rob Blanchflower had only one catch each. The offense went 3-14 on third downs and 0-3 on fourth downs. One good thing was we did not turn the ball over, which meant Richmond never had a chance to rally.

The kicking game continued to have problems. UMass missed two makable FG's. UMass averaged 26.2 net yards per punt.

With two out of three remaining games at McGuirk, UMass has a chance, with the way the defense is playing, to end their time in the CAA with a statement.

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UMass athletic dept story here. Richmond's writeup here.

Boston.com said Hernandez and the UMass defense smacked the Spiders.

The Boston Herald said UMass picked off Richmond.

The University of Richmond Collegian said the Spiders came out flat.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch stated the Minutemen intercepted the Spiders. They also have an article Corp throws four INTS. The Times-dispatch has notes from the UMass-Richmond game.

MassLive.com related the Minutemen cruised past Richmond.

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All the CAA results here.

Maine crushed UMass' next opponent Villanova 41-25 in the snow.

TSN has some of the results from around FCS here.

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Speaking of snow, Jaffrey got 14-16 inches of the stuff last night and I've got to go dig out. It was an amazin' storm.

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Out my back door this morning. Click on image for a larger view

Game Day --- Richmond

First Row Sports has a link to a free video feed for the UMass-Richmond game. I have no idea if it will work, but it did work for the Old Dominion game. Give it a try at game time.

UPDATE:  The link is working for me with Comcast internet.

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CAA Game Day Central with all of today's League game info here.

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Matty V. has an article on UMass' last trip to Richmond.

The Gazette also has this week's Matty V Vs Matty G.

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Jeff Thomas says UMass is looking to finish the Spiders playoff hopes.

The Richmond times states Richmond is looking to finish the UMass game.

The Spiders' website has their Game Day Game Plan.

The game is sold out.

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Former UMass QB Jesse Hunt is now the starting QB at Stonehill College.

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We could have beaten UNH last week except for mistakes: turnovers, special teams and extra points.

UMass does not need to give the Spiders any short fields. The Spider run defense is one of the worst in the nation. Let's not have any turnovers and run them over with Hernandez.

Let's go UMass!!!!

Recruiting 2012--Nick Schlatz

Boston Herald/Ted Fitzgerald image

The Boston Herald reports UMass is looking at Nick Schlatz, a 6-2 200 pd athlete from Bridgewater-Raynham HS in MA.

Herald article here.

Herald bio article on Schlatz here.

Mentioned in this ESPN Boston Blog.

Also drawing looks from URI and Brown.

Friday---October 28, 2011

Matty V. reports that Brandon Yelovich, who transferred from Rice, is now the starting field goal kicker.

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Richmond AD Jim Miller is the subject of this article from the Richmond Times-dispatch.

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UNH can't overlook URI (talks a lot about the UMass game).

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TSN previews this week's FCS games.

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Off Topic. This article mentions UMass in a revised Big East basket ball league.

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The San Francisco Chronicle says the $2,000 stipend to athletes just makes life even more difficult for non-BCS schools.

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BTW, it snowed enough here in Jaffrey last night, that they were plowing the roads..

Recruiting 2012---Kendall Anderson

Oakton Patch/ Michael Noone image

Rivals.com has UMass interesting in Kendall Anderson, a 5-9 185 pd RB from Centreville, VA.

Anderson's Rivals page here.

His 2011 stats here. Averaging 8+ yards/carry.

Also interested are Boston College, JMU, Maine, Villanova and William & Mary.

Thursday--October 27, 2011

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Ron Chimelis looks at the status of UMass-Temple.

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Jeff Thomas says Julian Talley is "Showtime" on an off the field.

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The UMass Daily Collegian states the Minutemen need to be efficient in the red zone against Richmond.

RED ZONE OFFENSE         G  RedZone Percent TDs  R/P  FG-AT Fumb/Int/Downs/Other
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1. Old Dominion........  8   28-32     87.5  24 14/10  4-4     2/  0/  1/  1
     Rhode Island........  7   14-16     87.5  13  5/8   1-1     0/  0/  2/  0
3. New Hampshire....  7   27-31     87.1  17 10/7  10-12    2/  0/  0/  0
4. Richmond..............  7   26-30     86.7  18  9/9   8-9     0/  2/  1/  0
5. Massachusetts.......  7   25-29     86.2  19 12/7   6-7     1/  1/  1/  0
6. Towson..................  7   24-29     82.8  20 15/5   4-5     0/  2/  1/  1
7. Delaware...............  8   19-24     79.2  14  9/5   5-7     0/  1/  1/  1
8. Maine.....................  7   22-28     78.6  19 10/9   3-4     1/  0/  2/  2
9. James Madison.......  7   17-22     77.3  12 11/1   5-6     1/  1/  1/  1
   William and Mary....  8   17-22     77.3   9  4/5   8-9     0/  3/  1/  0
11.Villanova...............  8   15-22     68.2   7  3/4   8-9     1/  1/  4/  0

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Craig Haley of TSN looks at this week's FCS games in his "In the FCS Huddle" column.

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Wednesday--October 26, 2011

Julian Talley catches the ball against UNH

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Matty V . says the UMass place-kicking position is still open.

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The Richmond Spiders have their game notes for UMass up: html here, .pdf here.

The UMass Gameday for Richmond is here.

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More on the Maine Black Bears comeback win over the Spiders last week. Maine blocked two Richmond extra points.

BTW, the Spiders recently announced their OOC schedule through 2016. Virginia is a winnable FBS game and the Spiders should feast on the likes of Gardner-Webb, VMI, Hampton and Morehead State.

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The CAA has its weekly press release up.

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There's talk of a Big East/C-USA/MWC super conference. I would think there would be room for UMass in that collection someday.

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Tuesday--October 25, 2011

Jordan Broadnax runs against the Hens.

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UMass has been dropped out of the FCS Top-25 polls, but Matty V wonders why Delaware is still in them.

FCS Coaches Poll.

TSN poll.

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Keepers College Football rankings has UMass at #35.

He has JMu over UMass by < 3.

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Besides the Bill Knight trophy, two UNH players won CAA awards this week.

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Two JMU players had surgery this week and will be out for the season.

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Matty V remarks on CAA teams not matching preseason expectations.

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The Boston Herald has a story about the end of the UMass-UNH rivalry.

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WEEI looks at the Patriot secondary and mentions James Ihedigbo.

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Montana leads FCS football in tased football players.

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Monday--October 24, 2011

Brandon Potvin & Perry McIntyre sack Tim Donnelly. Click for a larger view.

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From the Colonial Clash:

Matty V. has three stars from the Colonial Clash.

Jeff Thomas says this is a hard team to figure out.

SeasCoastOnline reports that Kevin Decker showed his versatility.

The Union Leader states the CAA Championship is still UNH's goal.

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RS FR Matt Campbell 6-1 230 is the subject of this article from the Attleboro Patch.

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TSN relates CAA powers Delaware and William & Mary are not likely to make the FCS playoffs.

They also have a story on Maine making the most of the fourth quarter.

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Boston College's 30-14 loss to Virginia Tech left the Eagles at 1-6 in 2011 and grasping for anything positive.

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Jesse Julmiste watch:

Julmiste's 72 kickoff return yards against UNH pushed him to #3 in single season kick return totals. He now has 21 returns for 621 yards in 2011. Number #2 in season kickoff returns is Adrian Zullo (31-681 in 1998).

His current 29.57 yards/kickoff places him #1 in season kickoff return average. Currently #2 is Dennis Dent @ 28.31 in 1978. Julmiste's career totals of 35-841 yards place him at #10 in career kickoff return yards. Number 9 is Stephen Parnell at 36-881 career yards (1968-69).

Julmiste's career 24.02 yards/kickoff average place him #3 behind Gary Pearson's 24.41 (39-952  1979-82).

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Sunday--October 23, 2011

If UNH is a playoff team, and they certainly seem to be, then UMass is very close to being one.

Although UMass lost its second straight to UNH in the Colonial Classic there were still some good things going on.

First the good: UMass's defense that looked over matched against ODU, continued its Renaissance. Despite the two turnovers early, the UMass defense was fully competitive with UNH's high-powered offense. The Wildcats average 34 points a game, 444 yards/ game offense and 294 yards/game passing.

The UMass defense held UNH to 27 points, 334 total yards and 137 yards passing. In addition, the blitzing UMass defenders pushed Decker out of the pocket numerous times forcing him to run with the ball.

The defensive performance was even more impressive since the Wildcats had a good day on kick returns and had very good field position all game.

Also impressive was the UMMB, who sparkled with the half-time performance of jazz standard "Big Noise from Winnetka". Great show.

It came down to UMass mistakes. UMass turned the ball over on our first two possessions. UMass missed two extra points, causing the Minutemen to be down two scores in the last five minutes. UNH hit a 47 yard field goal into the wind, made a two point conversion and hit all their extra points. We were not playoff caliber on special teams.

The UMass offense was inconsistent. The Minutemen moved the ball, but went three-and-out with the ball on the UNH 48 yard line in the third quarter.

With the defensive improvement, I still think UMass can make a run in the rest of the season.

BTW, the announced crowd was 24,000. The parking lots were packed. Did some people not come in for the game?  It certainly looked like there were more than 24,000 people there.

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Matty V indicates UMass couldn't complete the comeback. He also said missed extra points plagued the Minutemen.

Boston.com says UNH bid adieu with a win.

The Boston Herald said UMass couldn't catch the Cats.

The Worcester Telegram said UMass was derailed by a poor start.

Jeff Thomas reports that UMass fell to the Wildcats.

CBS3 has a story on UMass falling short.

Foster Daily Democrat asserts Dontra Peters and the Wildcat rushing game did it for UNH.

The Nashua Telegram relates UNH stopped UMass.

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Maine scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to keep their 2011 run going.

Rhode Island had been losing games by close scores all season. They finally unleashed their frustration on Delaware.

All the CAA results and box scores here.

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Game Day--Colonial Clash

Matty V. says UMass and UNH clash one more time.

And Matty G Vs Matty V--Week#8.

Boston.com says UMass and UNH part ways after today.

Fosters Daily Democrat says a sad end to UMass-UNH rivalry.

Jeff Thomas says this could be a high-scoring affair.

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The Mansfield Patch mentions local player Tom Gilson's big day.

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The CAA website has its "Game Day' article up. UMass-UNH is the only game on TV.

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K.C. Keeler says Rhode Island's record is "deceiving".

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Boston College is still looking for their first FBS win.

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TSN has "In the FCS Huddle --A primer for the playoffs".

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All right. We did a great job against the Hens last week not turning over the ball. Let's run Jonathan Hernandez down the throats of the Wildcats and get a big win in Gillette.

Hope to see everyone there. Go UMass!!!!

Friday--October 21, 2011

Click on image for a larger view

Matty V. reports on the last ever UMass-UNH game.

Mike Zhe of Seacoast Online does the same from the Wildcat side.

So does Jeff Thomas.

The Boston Herald reports on UNH's Chris Beranger and Matt Evans as they prepare for the game.

Fosters Daily Democrat says UNH is excited to be playing at Gillette.

The Concord Monitor quotes Coach Morris saying UMass will have it's own locker room at Gillette.

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The NY Daily News has a feature on Victor Cruz and how he made it through UMass.

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Brandon Walsh of North Andover has a baseball offer from UMass, but no football offers.

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Villanova's basketball coach Jay Wright says "Let us in the Big East for football".

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Sean Shapiro has TSN's its FCS Week #8 preview and predicts UNH over UMass.

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