UMass Football News--September 16th, 2024

 I love Taisun Phommachanh. He led UMass to a win over CUSA champ New Mexico State and was electric. He played a flawless game against Army. In his one drive against the Auburn defense, he was the best player on the field.

This year, however he has not shown the spark he had in 2023. UMass has only scored four TD's in three games. Against Buffalo, our longest pass play was 24 yards. Our longest pass play for the season is 39 yards. Phommachanh has not looked quick this year. He holds the ball a long time in passing situations. His running game looks a step slower and he goes into a slide three steps earlier than last year. 

I know the coaching staff will want to use the CCSU game to work on the running game, but I'd give Ahmad Haston at least one quarter to see if he could add some life to the UMass offense. The season is rapidly evaporating.

I'd like to see more reps for Brandon Campbell too. I know he probably does not have all the offense yet, but he leads the RB's in yards/carry (abet by not much), however he did have 5 yards/carry at Buffalo.

We need to beat CCSU 40-17 not 24-10. The Minutemen offense needs to show some life or it's going to be another season in purgatory for UMass fans...

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Mass Live says UMass suffered a heavy loss against Buffalo.

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Sports Business Journal says being an Independent in college football is becoming harder and harder. 

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There is no Vegas line for UMass vs CCSU. Pick Dawgs says if there was one, they'd pick the Blue Devils.

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UMass Football News--September 15th, 2024

 One step forward, three steps back. UMass was handled by a mediocre Buffalo team. The defense again played good enough to win. The Bulls only had 15 first downs, 6-of-14 third down conversions and Buffalo punted 5 times. In addition, the defense generated a turnover close to midfield.

The offense was horrid though. Three points will not win any games. UMass only had 11 first downs, rushed for 1.9 yards/carry, went 3-of-17 on third down conversions and punted 8 times. The offense had no rhythm and never showed any life. UMass did not generate any points off the previously mentioned Buffalo turnover.

All together, a disappointing and dispiriting effort. 

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UMass write-up here.

Buffalo write-up here.

The Hampshire Gazette said Buffalo ran away with the game in the second half.

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Eastern Michigan beat Jacksonville in overtime 37-34. 

Toledo stunned Mississippi State 41-17. I watched that game and the Rockets just dominated an SEC team. Toledo is 3-0 and the MAC could have two teams in the Top-25 this week. The score could have been even more lopsided as a Rocket RB had the ball punched out as he crossed State's goal line for a touch back.

Central Conn State beat St. Francis 27-20.

Miami (Ohio) fell to Cincinnati 27-16. 

Northern Illinois had a bye.

Missouri edged Boston College 27-21. 

Wagner whacked Delaware state 30-7. 

Liberty moved to 3-0 with a win over UTEP.

Georgia squeaked by Kentucky 13-12. 

UConn led Duke into the fourth quarter, but lost 26-21.

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If you need a boost in morale, watch this beautiful and inspiring musical composition by John Williams played from the Polaris Dawn spacecraft (in the highest orbit since Apollo Moon missions).

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Game Day -- Buffalo 2024

 

Well, UMass played a lot better at Toledo. Probably enough to beat a talented Rockets squad if the special teams mistakes and the big passing plays were subtracted. As it turned out it was a double-digit defeat and we've had a lot of those.

Today at Buffalo we have an opponent with a new coach. Against a decent Patriot League opponent Lafayette, the Bulls had 23 first downs and 403 yards of offense in a 30-13 win. Buffalo actually did a decent job against powerhouse Missouri. The Tigers were 9-15 on third downs and 1-2 on fourth. The Bulls made Missouri work for their 38 points.

Today, I think UMass can win this game. If we play like we did at Toledo and cut down on the mistakes, we're good enough to win. Road wins are hard to come by and a UMass victory would be a big morale booster both for the team and the battered egos of Minutemen fans.

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

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The Hampshire Gazette reports UMass continues its MAC road tour at Buffalo.

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The UMass Daily collegian uses the same metaphor in previewing the Buffalo game.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the Buffalo game and predicts UMass 28 Buffalo 23.

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Fox Sports predicts Buffalo 23 UMass 22. 

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Sports Chat Place thinks UMass will beat the spread. 

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UMass has the game day media details including streaming audio for those who don't have the CBS sports  channel.

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UMass Football News--September 13th, 2024

 Hustle Belt previews the UMass-Buffalo game.

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Covers says take the under in the Bulls-Minutemen game.

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Yard Barker previews a game between two of UMass' opponents: Toledo and Mississippi State.

The  Clarion predicts Bulldogs 37 Rockets 20.

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Former UMass RB Greg Desrosiers will probably see more action for Memphis as their starter is out for the season with a knee injury. 

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Sports Wire predicts Duke 44-UConn 8.

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The PAC-12 raids the Mountain West  for four teams to rebuild the league.

This will probably mean CUSA will be raided by the Mountain West for some of their western teams like New Mexico State.

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UMass Football News--September 12th, 2024

 Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the loss to Toledo.

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UMass adds Penn State  to their 2028 schedule. The Nittany Lions will be the second Power Four team for the Minutemen in 2028 as they will also play @ Colorado.

With a near 100% probability Coach Prime won't be there in 2028...

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Despite its loss to Toledo, UMass moves up one notch in the MAC Power Rankings after Week #2.

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USA Today predicts UMass 24 Buffalo 21.

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The Minutemen-Bulls game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network, available on many cable systems.

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Looks like the UMass' home game against Missouri may be a sellout. 

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UMass Football News--September 11th, 2024

Jakobie Keeney-James/Chris Tucci image

Don Brown's week #3 press conference.   

Josh Atwood also spoke at the presser.

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As of Week #2:

UMass is #89 in total offense. 

UMass is #119 in penalties.

UMass #70 in total defense. 

UMass is #110 in scoring offense. 

UMass is #114 in scoring defense.

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 Georgia remains #1, Missouri jumps to #6 and Northern Illinois, with their win over Notre Dame, leaps into the Top-25. Liberty is in the "receiving votes" list.

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Buffalo's 38-0 shutout against Missouri was the first time the Bulls had been held scoreless since 2016.

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UMass Football News--September 9th, 2024

 

OK, the mysteries of Mennonite Wi-Fi having been solved, I'm back in business.

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Vegas has Buffalo a 4.5 point favorite over the Minutemen.

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UMass has  its game notes up . 

Buffalo's game notes not up yet.

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The Athol Daily News report penalties plague 0-2 Minutemen.

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The Daily Collegian says its been feast or famine for the UMass pass defense. 

The Collegian also says UMass continues its MAC tour with Buffalo next.

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The Hampshire Gazette reports Don Brown reflects on the Toledo loss. 

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UMass Football Blog News--September 9th, 2024

 Traveling. I'm having connection problems. 

Be back soon.

UMass Football News--September 8th, 2024

Well the Minutemen lost, but showed signs of life against a talented and fast Toledo team in the Glass Bowl. UMass had nearly 400 yards of offense and Taisun Phommachanh was effective throwing and passing the ball. 

The UMass defense made the Toledo punt six times and held the Rockets to 83 yards rushing.

However the defense gave up some big plays for Toledo scores. Special teams doomed UMass' effort as the Rockets scored on a kick return in a play no UMass defender got even close to the returner. A botched on-side kick that ended up with a Toledo possession and an added 20 yards of penalties, which meant the Rockets were going to kick a field goal to make it a two-possession game anyway. UMass showed spirit and played well in spots, a big difference from the listless loss to Eastern Michigan.

On to Buffalo.

UMass write-up here.

The Rockets website says it was a hard-fought Toledo win. 

The Hampshire Gazette said big plays sunk the Minutemen.

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Wild Day for the MAC.

St Francis out muscled Kent State, running up 402 yards and upsetting the Golden Flashes.

And in an historic stunner, Northern Illinois beat the Irish at Nortre Dame.

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Eastern Michigan lost reasonably to Washington 30-9.

Central Connecticut State beat Fordham.

Miami (Ohio) had a bye.

Wagner lost to Lehigh 49-13.

Georgia beat Tennessee Tech 48-3. 

UConn demolished Merrimack 63-17.

Missouri held Buffalo to 169 total yards and won 38-0.

Western Michigan lost to Ohio State 56-0.

 

Game Day Toledo 2024

 

Well, UMass had a less than stellar start last week against Eastern Michigan. QB Taisun Phommachanh looked rusty. He needs to get the ball out a lot quicker. Fourteen points is not going to win a lot of football games.

The Minutemen did run the ball fairly well and they need to build on that. Toledo has a prolific offense and UMass needs to score in the low 30's to win the game.

The Minutemen defense played well enough to be close against Eastern Michigan. Getting a couple of turnovers would be a big help against the Rockets. Toledo is one of the best teams in the MAC and has stacked up well in the Group-of-Five over the last fifteen years. Winning in the Glass Bowl is a big challenge, but the Minutemen could make it an interesting game.

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

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews the Toledo-UMass game and predicts a 33-17 Rockets victory.

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The Hampshire Gazette says UMass has a tall task against Toledo playing at home in the Glass Bowl.

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The Daily Collegian reports UMass heads to the Glass Bowl for a match-up with Toledo.

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Sports Chat Place think Toledo will cover the 20-point spread.

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The Game will be televised on ESPN+. Radio streaming will be available on WHMP's website.

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UMass Football News--September 5th, 2024

 The UMass Daily Collegian reports the Minutemen head towards the Glass Bowl for a matchup with Toledo.

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 The article is pay-walled but the Toledo Blade reports the Rockets will wear their all-gold uniforms for the UMass game.

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Hustle Belt previews the UMass-Toledo game. Hustle Belt actually does a nice job in these write-ups. It's refreshing to read an non-AI written sports article.

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Bleacher Nation looks at the computer projections for the UMass-Toledo game. Fun fact: the Rockets are 14-0 against the spread when they are 17.5 point favorites or more, which they are in this case.

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Winners and Whiners predicts Toledo will cover the spread.

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Hustle Belt also reports on the MAC conference's slate for week #2.

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UConn and the Big 12 have agreed to see other people.

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UMass Football News--September 5th, 2024

 

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps the Eastern Michigan game.

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Real GM.com predicts Toledo 39 UMass 17.

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Hustle Belt has the MAC conference power rankings after Week #1.

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Hustle belt also previews two teams who will play UMass this year in Buffalo vs Missouri. 

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UMass is ranked #132 in the CBS FBS rankings after week #1.

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Florida State had multiple fans ejected from the stadium during the Seminoles loss to Boston College.

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UMass Football News--September 4th, 2024

 HUstle Belt has four takeaways from last week's MAC conference results (includes UMass-Eastern Michigan).

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Doc's sports says UMass will cover the spread.

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Sports Chat Place says Toledo will cover the -20 point spread.

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UConn's QB in their game against Merrimack will be a game time decision.

Yahoo Sports reports six of the Big 12 presidents are in favor of adding UConn.

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I watched the Georgia-Clemson game on DVR last evening. The Dogs looked like a national championship teams as they dominated Clemson 34-3.

Clemson, as you know, is loaded with four and five star recruits. I believe the Tigers landed the #1 overall recruit of the 2024 class. But in the second half, Georgia just ran them over. It's going to be a long day between the hedges for the Minutemen on November 23rd.

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UMass Football News--September 3rd, 2024

 UMass has it's game notes for Toledo up. The bottom of the page has the after game press questions from the Eastern Michigan game. There is also Don Brown's Monday morning press conference.

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The Rockets have their game notes for UMass up. Toledo has won seven straight games against the Minutemen.

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The Eastern Echo says EMU QB Cole Snyder shined against UMass.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has pros and cons from the Minutemen's opening loss to Eastern Michigan. 

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Week #1 produced some special teams highlights in the MAC conference.

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There is joy in the Heights as Boston College dominated Florida State last evening.

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UMass Football News--September 2nd, 2024

 Toledo opens as a 19.5 point favorite over the Minutemen.

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UMass-Toledo will be televised on ESPN+, which is $10.99/month.  I usually subscribe to ESPN+ in the fall and then cancel for the rest of the year.

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You've head the rumor that UConn and the Big Twelve are still interested?

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Boston College meets Florida State tonight in prime time. 

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MAC teams went 4-0 last Thursday.

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UMass Football News--September 1st, 2024

 Well, that was sub-optimal. Taisun Phommachanh looked rusty in the first half. He took the knee  brace off at halftime and his game picked up. Still, he held the ball a long time on passing plays. The Minutemen's longest pass play was 31 yards.

The UMass defense did OK, but we did not have a sack and the defense did not generate a turnover. 

CJ Kolodziey's punting was a bright spot. He buried the Eagles deep with both his punts.

Everybody in college football played yesterday; half of them lost. On to Toledo.

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UMass athletic dept write-up here.

EMU write-up here. 

Hampshire Gazette coverage here. 

The Gazette also said EMU beat UMass for the fourth straight year.

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Toledo blew out Duquesne 49-10.

Buffalo handled Lafayette 30-13.

CCU lost on on the 29th.

Northwestern edged Miami (Ohio). 

Northern Illinois rang up a whopping 706 yards in a blowout win over Western Illinois. 

Missouri ran over Murray State 51-0.

Wagner handled Virginia-Lynchburg 46-7. 

Mississippi State dominated Eastern Kentucky 56-7. 

Liberty beat Campbell 41-24. 

Georgia's defense stifled Clemson 34-3. 

UConn got run over by Maryland 50-7.

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