UMass Football News--September 30th, 2018

Well, 2018 was a repeat of 2017. The Minutemen scored 42 points but could not contain another dual-threat QB. By the fourth quarter the Ohio defense was shutting down the UMass offense. It is well  to remember the Bobcats are a good team. They had Cincinnati on the ropes. The Bobcats probably will win the MAC East.

We were not competitive along the defensive line. The Bobcats repeatedly collapsed the UMass front four. Leon Flanagan had a good game, but our DE's kept biting on the fake. Andy Isabella was open all game. UMass was also on the wrong side of a couple of questionable calls.

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UMass write-up here.

Ohio write-up here.

Whipple said the officiating was as bad as he's seen.

The Post said Nathan Rourke shone.

Underdog Dynasty reports the Ohio offense overwhelmed UMass.

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Duquesne had a bye.

Boston College hung on to beat Temple 45-35.

Georgia Southern beat Arkansas State.

FIU blew out FCS Arkansas Pine-Bluff 55-7.

Charlotte lost to UAB 28-7.

USF had a bye.

Troy handled Coastal Carolina 45-21.

Cincinnati ran over UConn 49-7.

Liberty hung 52 points on New Mexico to spoil the Lobos homecoming.

BYU was crushed by Washington 35-7.

Georgia remained undefeated by handling Tennessee 38-12.

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Game Day---Ohio 2018

UMass will be in all-white with maroon hats.

Ohio is a solid club. They seemingly never have a bad year. The Minutemen are 0-3 against the Bobcats, but the games have been close except for 2013. If UMass plays with the energy and focus they displayed against Charlotte, we can win this one. The UMass offense usually scores points against Ohio. We need 35+ today.

The defense needs to keep the Bobcats run game under control and get some pressure on Rourke. Last year we beat a good Appalachian State team. A win over Ohio would go a long way in making 2018 successful.

Go UMass!

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BTW, my Comcast cable schedule is showing the UMass-Ohio game.

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Josh Wallfish has a post on reader's questions for the Ohio game. Not much news on the injury front. Ford and Comis are still questionable. Tyrus LeBeau is still limited. Charlie Timite is out. No word on Addo.

Josh also reports the Minutemen have been making practice count this year.

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Howard Herman of the Berkshire Eagle has a post on UMass looking to make it two in a row at Ohio.

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The Post has an Ohio-UMass game day guide.

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Underdog Dynasty predicts Ohio 41-UMass 33.

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The Athens Messenger has a comprehensive preview of the Minutemen-Bobcats game.

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September 28th, 2018

Click on the poster and Blogger displays a larger view.

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Josh Walfish has his weekly "Inside the Pressbox" feature with a Ohio beat writer.

He also has a UMass history article on the UMass-Buffalo game from the 1998 National Championship season.

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Our former friends from "Hustle Belt" thinks Ohio will cover the spread Saturday.

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The Post thinks Ohio will hold off UMass "rather easily".

The Post also has a football mailbag article about the UMass game.

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Minutemen MLB Cole McCubrey is the focus of this article by the Worcester Telegram.

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Bleacher Report picks UMass over the Bobcats 38-30.

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Athlon Sports picks Ohio over the Minutemen 33-14.

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State of the U power ranks USF #3 and FIU #7 in State-of-Florida schools.

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UMass Football News--September 27th, 2018

Ohio has their game notes for UMass up.

The Bobcats also have a YouTube video preview.

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

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports the Minutemen are preparing for an explosive Ohio offense.

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The Post reports after last week's game, Ohio and Cincinnati have rekindled a rivalry.

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The Herald Extra power ranks BYU's opponents and  has UMass behind McNeese state.

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Another article on Brandon Collier's Premiere Players International.

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UMass Football News--September 26th, 2018

Bryton Barr and Michael Curtis were named as two of the three UMass student-athletes of the week.

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UMass has their game notes for Ohio up.

The Ohio site has a transcript of Bobcat coach Frank Solich's UMass game press conference.

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Josh Walfish reports on the new faces in the Minutemen linebacker corps. Tyris Lebeau and Xavier Steele are out with injuries. Jarell Addo is still suspended (maybe back for Ohio?). Getting more reps are Chinedu Ogbonna and Cole McCubrey.

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The Charlotte Observer tells what went wrong for the 49ers against UMass

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The Daily Collegian says UMass considers Ohio to be a big test.

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WOUB reports Ohio is looking for a bounce back win.

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The Post has power rankings for the MAC for week #5. Ohio is #5 and Buffalo (!?) is #1.

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UMass' win over Charlotte moved the Minutemen out of CBS' Bottom 25 poll.

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USA Today predicts bowl games for Georgia, BYU, BC, USF, FIU and Coastal Carolina.

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UMass Football News--September 25th, 2018

Flo Football has video highlights of Young's game against Charotte.

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Kevin Gutting image

Josh Walfish has plays that mattered against Charlotte.

Josh also reports Bryton Barr's energy led the UMass defense. He also mentions defensive linemen Jake Byczko and Leon Flanagan, JR. The UMass defensive line was really active, putting pressure on the 49ers QB and controlling the line of scrimmage in defending the run game.

Whipple again said Ford and Comis will be a game-time decision for Ohio.

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

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Vegas Insider has Ohio as a 13 point favorite over UMass.

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The Ohio Post has five fun facts about the Minutemen.

The Post also has highlights from Frank Solich's weekly press conference.

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UMass Football News--September 24th, 2018

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Josh Walfish reports Mike Curtis was successful in his first UMass start.

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Underdog Dynasty said an early surge carried UMass.

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The Niner Times reports Charlotte fell short.

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The Boston Herald said Whipple has confidence in all his quarterbacks.

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The Sports Chat place previews the UMass-Ohio game.

WOUB said the Bobcats coughed up a big lead over Cincinnati.

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In this week's AP Top 25, Georgia stays at #2, BYU is #20 and USF received 50 votes. BC not only fell out of the Top-25, they fell out "others receiving votes".

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UMass Football News--September 23rd, 2018

Well the Minutemen turned it on yesterday. The UMass defense out-hit Charlotte. They pressured the QB all day. When the 49ers completed a pass, the defenders were there. The defense had 4 sacks and we stopped the 49ers on four out of five fourth down attempts.

Bryton Barr had an epic day: 21 tackles, 4.0 TFL 1 sack.

Third string QB Michael Curtis engineered 42 points. He ran for 2 TD's and passed for two. When he ran he took good angles and did not get lit up at the end of the carry.

Marquis Young had a 94 yard kickoff return and averaged 6.2 yards a carry.

Click on an image and Blogger displays a larger view.

New Uniforms

The hair team

Coach McCall and the 2018 hoops team

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UMass write-up here.

Charlotte's write-up here.

Josh Walfish reports the Minutemen started fast.

The Daily Collegian said Mike Curtis willed UMass to win over Charlotte.

MassLive reports UMass ended a three-game skid.

Fox Sports said Curtis accounts for four TD's, beats Charlotte.

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Duquesne played Hawaii tough at Aloha Stadium.

Boston College's stay in the top-25 was brief as they were handled by Purdue 30-13.

Miami was up 31-0 and dominated FIU 31-17.

Ohio could not hold 21 point lead over Cincinnati.

Big plays pushed USF past East Carolina.

Undefeated North Texas crushed Liberty 47-7

BYU ran over FCS McNeese State 30-3.

Georgia used turnovers to defeat Missouri 43-29.

Game Day -- Charlotte 2018

If UMass is to do anything this year, we need to win at home. The press reports the defensive secondary may be back to full strength. That should help.

What we really need is to get the offense in gear. UMass is currently #125 in total defense.  The offense ranks #98 in scoring offense. The Minutemen were supposed to have the best offense we've had. Scoring 24 points will not get it done. We need 400+ yards of offense against the 49ers.

I'll be there cheering for the Minutemen.

Go UMass!!!

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Josh Walfish reports UMass QB Michael Curtis will be ready if called to play today.

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The Berkshire Eagle says the Minutemen hope home cooking will cure all ills.

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Underdog Dynasty picks UMass to squeak by the 49ers.

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HERO Sports previews the UMass-Charlotte game.

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How the 49ers new A.D. has changed the atmosphere at the athletic dept.

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UMass Football News--September 21st, 2018

Josh Walfish has his weekly "Inside the Pressbox" feature.

He also has this week's football notebook. Josh reports senior QB's Ross Comis and Andrew Ford are gametime decisions for Saturday. Whipple said Minutemen DB's Bryce McAlister and Bakhari Goodson will be back. TE Kyle Horn is "possible" against Charlotte and possibly fully back by the Ohio game.

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FloFootball has the Minutemen looking to get back on track against Charlotte.

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The Amherst Wire has a story on the changes to the UMass tailgating policy for 2018.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports UMass returns home after a three-game road stint.

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YUR NE has a nice post featuring UMass CB Lee Moses.

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The Boston Herald picks UMass to cover the spread against Charlotte. Note however, he went 0-7 last week.

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Athlon Sports predicts Miami over FIU 52-20. You remember in 2006 Miami and FIU had an epic brawl during the game.

YouTube video of the brawl here.

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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Nick Pendley

Hudl.com image

Nick Pendley, a 6-5 290 OL from Canton, GA has Tweeted he's received an offer from UMass.

247Sports three-star player.

Hudl.com has video.

Video of some April Rivals Camp drills.

2017 All-Region.

Pendley has eleven offers including UConn from the Northeast.

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UMass Football News--September 20th, 2018

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

Mike makes one point that I totally agree with. The 2018 schedule is about as easy as it gets for an independent. The 2019 schedule that includes @ Rutgers, @ Louisiana Tech (currently 2-0), @ Army, @ Northwestern and home against BYU is tougher. Rutgers is terrible, but we do not play well on the road.

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The Herald Extra has UMass as #11 in BYU opponent power rankings.

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This Naples Daily News article mentions UMass freshman Claudin Cherrelus.

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The Spot thinks the Minutemen might benefit in the betting line from returning home.

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The Hattiesburg American power ranks the C-USA conference and has FIU #5 and Charlotte as #9.

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UMass Football News--September 19th, 2018

UMass has the game notes for Charlotte up .

So does Charlotte.

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Josh Walfish reports the Minutemen defense is working on improving tackling skills.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen seek a season-changing win against Charlotte.

The Collegian also has a story about new construction on campus including the practice bubble and new scoreboard.

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Former UMass player Jack Driscoll is banged up, but will continue to start at RT for Auburn against Arkansas.

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UMass is moving lower in CBS Sports Bottom 25.

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UMass Football News--September 18th, 2018

Josh Walfish reports UMass is dealing with mounting frustration. Generally, losing does not make for a happy locker room. Josh says there will be a "players-only" meeting today.

He also says neither Ford or Comis practiced yesterday.

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UMass opened a 10 point favorite over Charlotte, but the line has dropped to 8.5 or 9. Mayber that's when Vegas heard Ford and Comis did not practice.

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Michael Traini recaps the FIU game.

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Sports Illustrated picks Purdue to beat the spread against Boston College.

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Underdog Dynasty power ranks C-USA teams for this week and has FIU #5 and Charlotte as #9.

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USA Today has UMass down six notches to #100 in the national power rankings.

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UMass Football News--September 17th, 2018

Josh Walfish has UMass football notes. He said Minutemen third-string QB Mike Curtis earned mixed reviews for his performance against FIU. UMass did ring up 199 yards rushing. Jordan Fredericks is currently 18-129 7.2 AVE. He has zero runs for a loss. Maybe he should get the ball more than an average of six carries a game.

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No line yet on UMass-Charlotte.

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Underdog Dynasty says FIU fired on all cylinders and steamrolled UMass.

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The Miami Herald reports FIU pummeled the Minutemen.

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BC broke into the AP Top-25 for the first time in 10 years .

The AP poll has Georgia #2, BYU #25 and UCF received 12 votes.

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The New Haven Register has five thoughts from the Huskies 56-49 win over Rhode Island. UConn gave up 550 yards of offense and five drives of 70 yards or more to the Rams.

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UMass Football News--September 16th, 2018

Dear Friends: I got nothing...

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UMass write-up here.

The FIU coverage says the Panthers bombarded the Minutemen.

Josh Walfish reports the UMass struggles continued.

Josh mentions missed tackles loomed large for the Minutemen.

Local 10 News says FIU ran all over UMass.

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Duquesne ran its winning streak to three with a win over Dayton.

Georgia Southern lost to Clemson 38-7.

Ohio lost to Virginia45-31.

USF beat Illinois 25-19.

UConn survived a wild game with Rhode Island 56-49.

BYU stunned #6 Wisconsin 24-21.

Georgia rolled past Middle Tennessee State 49-7.

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Game Day FIU---2018

UPDATE: I just turned off the WHYN internet radio feed. It's absolutely brutal.  It's unlistenable. Robo-comercials every two minutes. It's painful. UMass should try streaming WMUA. Anything would be better than this...

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Not a lot of mystery involved in what we need to do in today's game. Score points. The first team offense has produced two TD's in two games. We can't can't beat people that way. The defense needs to tighten up the pass defense. The 154 passing yards and 2 TD's killed us against Georgia Southern. FIU is a decent Group-of-Five team. They should be in our wheelhouse.

Maybe listening to the game with Josh and Matt will break the bad play streak. I'll be tuning in and hoping for a victory.

Go UMass!

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Josh Walfish reports UMass seeks to increase its defensive pressure.

Two Underdog Dynasty writers preview the UMass-FIU game and both predict a Panther victory.

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The FIU university community rallies around the two Panther players shot in a drive-by shooting.

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Duquesne looks to keep its two-game winning streak going.

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Georgia Southern gets powerhouse Clemson.

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UMass Football News--September 14th, 2018

Josh Walfish has his weekly "inside the pressbox" story.

In his Twitter feed he has some injury status reports for the FIU game.

From the Tweet:

McAllister - PROBABLE
Ally - PROBABLE 
Lebeau - DOUBTFUL 
Timite- OUT 
Steele - QUESTIONABLE 
Goodson - QUESTIONABLE

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the FIU-UMass game and predicts a Panther victory.

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The Berkshire Eagle says UMass wraps up a three-game road trip at Florida International.

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That drive-by-shooting of two FIU football players? The assailants also shot a guy's dog.

Panther RB Anthony Jones, who had been in a medically induced coma has been moved to a regular room.

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I watched the Boston College - Wake Forest game last evening. The Eagles won 41-34. BC again gave up two TD's from special teams miscues. The Deacons were much more a a physical match for BC than UMass and Holy Cross had been.

The Charlotte 49ers moved their record to 2-1 with a win over Old Dominion.


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UMass Football Recruiting 2019--Jonathan Collins III

Ed Hille image

I've blogged about 2019 commit Jonathan Collins a couple of times before.

This article by Philly.com features Collins.

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UMass Football News--September 13th, 2018

UMass has their game notes for FIU up.

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Josh Walfish reports Syracuse transfer Jordan Fredericks is making an impact with the Minutemen. If there's been an offensive bright spot in the last two weeks, it's been Fredericks. He's looked good running the ball. He should get to do it more.

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Daryn Slover image

Former UMass DL Brandon Potvin has joined Malik Hall at Bates as defensive coordinator.

Potvin's and Hall's Bates bios here.

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Athlon Sports picks Wake Forest to beat the spread against BC and win outright.

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Clemson is a 34 point favorite over Georgia Southern.

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