Thursday before Michigan --Sept 16th, 2010

Photographer unknown.

Woah! The UMass Marching Band will play at Michigan!

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The Detroit Free Press says the Wolverines are not overlooking UMass.

MassLive.com says it's a different world out there. They also say Michigan is taking the game seriously.

WWLP22 says the football field at Michigan is still the same size as in FCS.

The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass is looking for an upset. They also say UMass has a major task in containing Robinson. Another Collegian columnist says the UMass Football team is already winning.

AnnArbor.com says the Minutemen want to follow the same path as James Madison.

The Detroit News states UMass is excited not awed.

UMass fullback Scott Duggan has been a lifelong Michigan fan.

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The CAA weekly press release with all the league news here. The league site also notes the CAA has seven teams ranked in the top sixteen in FCS.

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Craig Haley has the latest news from the FCS division in his "In the FCS Huddle column".

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Josh Buchanan looks at the results of the 2010 FCS NFL Draft.

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Here's one I have'nt seen before. The Dunkle Sports Index, which bills itself as "The most accurate sports index since 1929" has UMass as the #6 ranked team in FCS. And six CAA teams in the top 10...

They also have Michigan at #30, which is not going to make Wolverine fans happy.
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Wow! Things have really been jumping here at UMass Football Blog Central!


Actually that's the defensive systems station on CVN 72, but the UMass football Blog's setup is almost as good :)

Blog traffic has doubled in the last week. I'm getting pro and anti Michigan e-mail. The trip to the Big House has certainly created a buzz about UMass football that I've never seen before.

Let's keep it up. Go UMass!

Wednesday before Michigan -- Sept 15th, 2010

UMass' game notes for the Michigan game are up. Html here and pdf here.

Michigan's game notes for UMass here (pdf).

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Matty Vautour says the mission for the UMass defense is to knot "the shoelace".

Matty also states NFL-quality opposing players are no strangers to UMass.

MassLive.com talks about UMass' LB Tyler Holmes.

The Cal State Fresno student paper says UMass' goal is to keep Denard Robinson off ESPN's Top 10 plays-of-the-week.

The Toledo Blade says there is nothing small about Michigan's matchup with UMass.

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ESPN has an article on the strong play of FCS teams against FBS teams this season. Here's hoping UMass adds the list.

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CBS.com says there is only one leader in the Heisman race: Michigan's Denard Robinson.

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The Sports Network has an article about Old Dominion's first game against a CAA team.

The CAA's website has all the game notes for this week's CAA games.

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From the WorldTec ticket e-mail that was sent to me:

" UMASS Football Fan Gathering - Friday September 17:

6:00pm - 8:00pm
Guy Hollerin's Sports Restaurant & Bar at the Holiday Inn University of Michigan
3600 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor , MI 48105
Free Admission

Pre- Game Reception – Saturday, September 18:

The Reception will take place at the University of Michigan Golf Course (500 East Stadium Blvd) from 9:30am - 11:30am in the Club House. No tickets will be mailed for this event. Please bring your confirmation for registration check-in at the Golf Course. The Golf Course is a short walk to the stadium.Frank's note: I believe this event is only for people who bought the travel package .

Game Time - 12:00pm - Saturday, September 18:

*Stadium Policy: The University of Michigan has very restrictive policies regarding what items may be brought into Michigan Stadium on game day.
Specifically, NO BAGS OF ANY KIND (purses) are allowed into Michigan Stadium. Umbrellas and seat backs are also prohibited.

For additional stadium policies, please visit the University of Michigan website: http://www.mgoblue.com/genrel/060109aad.html"

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UMass-Michigan Media information

The UMass Media office has released the following:

TV, Radio Information For UMass At Michigan Football
Sept. 14, 2010

AMHERST, Mass. -- Looking for the UMass at Michigan football game on television? Or what radio dials you can listen to the game on this Saturday. The game is being televised live nationally on the Big Ten Network in HD. It will be carried on DirecTV, Dish Network and Comcast Cable. Also, the game will be carried statewide on the UMass Sports Network with a radio broadcasts. All your info can be found here.

For television coverage, simply enter your zip code to see where and how you can receive the Big Ten Network on the BigTenNetwork.com Gamefinder page.

On DirecTV, the game will air on Channel 612 and 612-1.
On Dish Network, the game will air on Channel 5441 and 9502.
On Comcast Cable in Massachusetts, the game will air on Channel 285.
Charter Cable does not carry the Big Ten Network.

The UMass Sports Network will carry the game statewide on radio with the following coverage areas:

Western Massachusetts: 100.9 FM WRNX
Central Massachusetts: 830 AM WCRN
Eastern Massachusetts: 1510 AM The Zone
South Shore of Massachusetts: 95.9 FM WATD


Football Watch Party At Arizona Pizza Company, Saturday

AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass Athletic Department will be holding a "Watch Party" for the UMass-Michigan football game on Saturday, Sept. 18 at Arizona Pizza Company at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley. Head basketball coach Derek Kellogg will be at the Watch Party to meet and mingle with the UMass fans. Come out at 12 noon to watch the Minutemen and Wolverines battle on Saturday.

The game will be airing on the Big Ten Network.

For more information, please call the marketing office at 413-545-1401.
--

Jason Yellin
Associate Athletic Director

Tuesday before Michigan---Sept 14th, 2010

MassLive.com has a story about playing Michigan from Kyle Havens perspective.

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The UMass website has a history of UMass' games with FBS/I-A opponents since the Minutemen resumed playing FBS teams twelve years ago. We never get to play the New Mexico states of the world as seven of the 11 have been ranked in the Top 20.

The UMass article does not mention it, but I'm pretty sure Marshall with future NFL QB Bryon Leftwich was a Top 20 team the year we played them.

Matty Vautour has an article about JMU's win over Virginia Tech and UMass' desire for an upset.

Minnesota's HC Tim Brewster is in the hot seat after losing to FCS South Dakota.

Th PilotOnline.com looks at JMU's win and the two wins the Big South scored over MAC teams.

Mickey Mathews went on to say (and why are we not surprised that Mickey was still talking) the top two or three CAA teams are bowl worthy.

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UMass is up to #16 in the latest Sports Network poll. UMass is #15 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

James Madison received some votes in the NCAA Top-25 poll. Michigan is ranked #20 and #22 in the AP and USA Today polls respectively.

The CAA has seven teams in FCS Top-25.

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Michigan's Denard Robinson has been the focus of a lot of ink since his play in the Wolverine's first two games.

USA Today says he's the most electrifying Heisman Hopeful.

Sports Illustrated says Robinson is the #1 candidate.

Michigan lost two linebackers against Notre Dame.

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From the MGoblog article on Michigan's HC Monday press meeting: "

"Two weeks ago, I'm not sure we'd have been favored" against UMass. Rankings didn't matter then, and don't matter now. Shouldn't bother with polls until October.

RR will bring up Virginia Tech losing to James Madison to remind the guys not to overlook anyone. "Thee's already been what 5? 5 or 6 this year?" FCS beating FBS. In FCS level, the good teams are really really good. If you play an average or below average FCS team, the D-1 teams aren't going to have a problem. "We're playing a good one. UMass is one of the good teams in 1-AA."

"You don't have to be listed as a recruiting service 5-star recruit to be a very good college player or even an NFL guy." Parity b/w 1-A and 1-AA - there are more kids that are getting known now. "All the upgraded facilities." Everyone has somthing to sell to recruits, and kids want to go somewhere they'll play. "We sell the biggest stage and greatest education."

"We'll do whatever we've gotta do to win the game." In the UMass game, they'll do what it takes to get the W, even if it means lots of Denard."

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Monday before Michigan---Sept 13th, 2010

The Boston Herald says the Big House is a Big Test.

The Mass Daily Collegian has a story about Sheeran and Blanchflower's first TD's.

Matty Vautour has three stars from the Holy Cross game. He also has the second week of his review of UMass' chance to make the playoffs column.

Matty's week #2 Top 25.

Matty recaps the Holy Cross game with injury news and Tyler Holmes second INT of the season.

Ron Chemelis says the Big House is a Big Challenge.

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The new Holy Cross Blog "Chu Chu Rah Rah" says next year's UMass-Crusader game in Worcester should be a night game. I don't remember lights at Fitton Field, but the temporary lights UMass hired before the McGuirk lighting would do the trick.

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The Berkshire Eagle looks at the Big East's offer to Villanova and opines maybe UMass should look at FBS/I-A.

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Ann Arbor.com has five observations about Michigan's phenomenal QB Denard Robinson.

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Meanwhile, Keeper's College Football Ratings has UMass up to #3. He also has Michigan by 17.75 over UMass.

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The Day after Holy Cross--Sept 12th, 2010

Click on the images above and Blogger displays a larger view.

Crusader athletic dept write up here.

The Boston Globe says UMass took care of business.

The Boston Herald said UMass attacked early and often.

WWLP22 said UMass cruised by Holy Cross.

The Springfield Republican said after the rout it's on to Ann Arbor.

The Worcester Telegram has two articles: UMass took it to the Crusaders and the Minutemen's next stop is The Big House.

We received some press in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press previews UMass and said UMass crushed Holy Cross.

UMass beat writer Matty Vautour said UMass had an easy win over the Crusaders.

Tyler Holmes on Marcus Camby's appearance at the coin toss.

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If you missed the scores, it was a good day for FCS football as Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Ball State and Akron all lost to FCS teams. FCS teams also put a scare into Purdue, Louisville, Navy and Washington State.

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Michigan rallied to beat Notre Dame 28-24. Michigan had a total of 532 yards of offense against the Irish. Their amazin' QB Denard Robinson accounted for 502 of them. Wow!

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The CAA has recaps from all the league games plus standings here.

CAA extended standings here.

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UMass wins 31-7 over Holy Cross

UMass rolled over the Crusaders 31-7 to go 2-0 in the 2010 season.

The game was as lopsided statistically as you will see. the Minutemen topped Holy Cross in first downs 28-12 and had 300+ more yards in total offense. We had 239 yards rushing to 51 for the Cross.

Kyle Havens was as good as you can ask for as he went 25-38 65.7% 293 yards 2 TD's. He made another improvement in his game as he pulled down the ball a number of times and ran for 7 times for a net 26 positive yards. Next he has to work on his hook slide :)

Kyle was very, very good tonight.

Dan Sheeran and Rob Blanchflower had their first career TD's. Blanchflower has been a force blocking the first two games as well.

Anthony Nelson again looked like an All-american with 8-103 yards. The Crusader defense could not stay close to him.

UMass lost focus big time in the second half as they had some players go down. Starting center John Ihne was taken off in the cart, but he may have needed an IV, as he was back on the sidelines later. Courtney Jackson and Ke'Mon Bailey went down on the same series, but both were standing later.

UMass was missing two starters as Stephane Milhim and Captain Emil Igwenagu DNP.

The punting game was awful as we had two punts blocked and we punted 8 times for a 20.7 average. Ouch!

The punting and the sequence where we had about six penalties in eight plays will give the coaches something to yell about despite the total dominance UMass displayed.

The Minutemen should crack the top 15, maybe the top 10 in the FCS polls tomorrow.

Great win by the Minutemen! BTW, also a great turnout with 16,000 + in 17,000 seat McGuirk. The students filled half of the visiting side. Now if we could teach them to stay past the 2nd quarter :)

Game Day Holy Cross ----Sept 11th, 2010

Matty Vautour says UMass looks to run on the Crusaders.
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The CAA's website has their game day issue with details on all the CAA teams playing today.

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UMass Police start tailgating safety program. It would be nice if the students made some effort to pick up the trash they leave.

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The Boston College Blog "BC Interruption" says Villanova joining the Big East would be great for BC football.

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The Pittsburg Tribune-Review says Pitt welcomes a FCS powerhouse.

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Terrance Thomas, Jr predicts a close UMass win over Holy Cross in his "CAA Today" column.

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The Michigan Rivals site says UConn's defensive scheme did not did not work at all against Wolverines QB Denard Robinson.

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Hope to see everyone at the game today. I would think UMass-Holy Cross should draw 15,000+ to McGuirk.

Go UMass!

A look at Holy Cross

UMass has a slim one game lead in the Minutemen-Crusaders series (22-21-5) that dates back to 1897.

UMass won the last game on 09/06/08 on a last second field goal by Armando Cuko. That game featured seven lead changes.

Last year, Holy Cross had their most successful season in many years. The Crusaders won their sixth Patriot League championship and finished 9-3. They ended the season ranked #14 in the FCS Coaches Poll after losing to Villanova in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs.

The Crusaders return nine starters. Five on offense and four on defense.

On offense, Holy Cross returns two second team All-Patriot league wideouts SR Luke Chmielinski (5-10 185) and SR Freddie Santana (5-9 185).

Senior QB Ryan Taggart (6-2 214) takes over after Dominic Randolph graduated.

Defensively, Holy Cross returns first team All-Patriot league DE Munde Ohimor (6-3 245) as well FS Alex Johnson (6-0 192). Johnson was first team All-Patriot league and third team All-America in 2009.

Last week against a weak Howard team Holy Cross rolled to a 38-7 win. Hard to say what the win over Howard indicates. The Crusaders were out gained 282 to 315 in total yards and Howard tied Holy Cross in first downs. I would think the Crusaders did not show all they had in that game.

Taggert went 17-29-0 186 yards 3 TD 38 LONG 0 SACKs.

The Crusaders also had a 85 yard TD punt return from Santana.

This is a capable Holy Cross team that UMass needs to take seriously.

Friday before Holy Cross-- Sept 10th, 2010

Matty Vautour says after the upset, UMass looks to Holy Cross.

The Worcester Telegram says Griffin and UMass will test Holy Cross.

MassLive.com says UMass looks to make it two straight against the Cross. The article features senior Hofstra transfer Anthony Nelson.

The UMass website has an aerial tour of UMass' athletic facilities -----courtesy of the US Marines.

While we are all watching football, 24 Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Maritime Raid Force were capturing pirates.

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The CAA Blogger has a weekly roundup of news and video (including some from UMass-William & Mary) here.

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The Flat Hat covers William & Mary's intention to keep their winning streak against VMI alive.

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At both Michigan and Notre Dame, the head coaches started small.

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Craig Haley has a week #2 preview in his "In the FCS Huddle" column and predicts a close UMass victory over the Crusaders.

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This week, UNH plays a different breed of cat.

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Thursday before Holy Cross--Sept 9th, 2010

The UMass game notes are up. Html here and pdf here.

UMass Football Radio Show tonight. Player guests will be Brandon Flanagan and Jonathan Hernandez.

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Three articles from the UMass Daily Collegian about the Minutemen: The economy may impact the CAA and UMass, UMass looks for its second straight win and Havens more confident in his second season with the Minutemen.

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The Stamford Black Knights plan to honor alum Vladimir Ducasse in a ceremony this season.

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William & Mary is looking for its 24th consecutive win over VMI this Saturday.

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When Northeastern dropped football, they were contractually obligated to provide financial guarantees to I-A teams that had scheduled the Huskies. Thus, Northeastern has to kick in $160,000 to UConn to help pay for a replacement.

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Why the FCS Playoffs are better: the NCAA has approved 35 bowl games through 2014. That means 58% of FBS/I-A teams will go to a bowl, which in turn means there may not be enough teams with winning records to fill out the slate. A bowl game featuring two teams with 5-7 records?

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Craig Haley has his latest "In the FCS Huddle" column up. He looks at former coaching staffs of Northeastern and Hofstra.

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Since I run a football blog, I get a lot of commercial e-mail. It runs anywhere from European soccer to betting services. This one might interest UMass fans. I'm not being compensated for it.

"Now through Oct. 25, log on to www.CokeZero.com to play the Playbook Challenge. The goal is to solve some common football-related dilemmas, like what to do when you’ve left your game tickets at home, or how to keep your cool when you’re seated next to an annoying fan. Pick the right answers as quickly as you can and you could win daily or weekly prizes from some of the most popular football schools in the country. Play every day for a chance to earn more points and more chances to win. UMass is one of the featured schools this week, which means that one of the large, weekly prizes is UMass themed."


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Wednesday before Holy Cross--Sept 8th, 2010

Holy Cross game notes for UMass are up: html and pdf.

The new, and well written, Holy Cross "Chu Chu Rah Rah" Blog has an article on the Crusaders win over Howard.

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Two articles about the six UMass players to make NFL rosters: NESN and MassLive.

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The Virginia Gazette says it was a bad first impression for William & Mary.

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The Providence Eyewitness News say Coen brings QB knowledge to Brown.

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The CAA News site talks about the seven ranked CAA teams in the various polls.

CAA stats after week one.

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Cal Poly and UC Davis are joining the Big Sky Conference. The Big Sky intends to move towards a 12 team two division league.

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JMU's backup QB Justin Thorpe will be out 6-8 weeks with a knee injury.

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Keepers has UMass by 19.24 over Holy Cross.

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Off Topic rant: Matty Vautour on UMass' soft basketball schedule. If you haven't seen the schedule it's here. The Blog thinks it's time for UMass hoops to improve. It seems like coach Cal has been gone since the last Ice Age. We should be one of the top Atlantic 10 Teams.

Speaking of basketball, one of the Blog's least favorite sports writers Dan Shaughnessy has an essay on how bad a college sports town is Boston. Quote from the article: "Or check with John Calipari and ask him how hard it was to get support in Amherst when he took UMass to the Final Four."

How many consecutive sellouts did Mullins have when UMass Basketball was making its great run during the Calapari years? As I remember it, Shaughnessy and the Boston Globe rarely had anything good to say about UMass sports or UMass basketball in particular.

Tuesday before Holy Cross--Sept 7th, 2010

A whole bunch of stories about Victor Cruz making the Giants: Victor is rewarded, He's assigned #80 on the regular roster, he had tears of joy.

The Giants website has a story about Cruz "From long shots to big shots".

MassLive.com says Victor Cruz and Marcel Shipp are keeping an eye on each other.

The UMass Daily Collegian has a story featuring former UMass (and now Ravens) RB Matt Lawrence.

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UMass moved up to #18 in the The Sports Network's FCS poll. Complete poll here.

UMass was ranked #20 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

Matty Vautour has an article about UMass' jump in the polls and says both Emil Igwenagu and Staphane Milhim have ankle injuries, but should be available for Holy Cross.

He also has a blog post about Mike Mele's role in Tyler Holmes' interception that sealed UMass' win over William & Mary. I also watched the game on Comcast. Remember when Coach Brown use to say: "Follow your reads and they will take you to the ball!". I thought of that while watching the game. On every running play, Mele took a step towards where Grimes was heading--- sometimes he took that step before the Tribe snapped the ball. Nice reads by the senior LB.
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For the first time since November of 2008, UMass players captured both the Offensive and Defensive CAA players-of-the-Week, with Jonathan Hernandez and Tyler Holmes winning the respective honors.

The CAA has its weekly press release up. Guess who leads the CAA with alumni in the NFL?
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Vilanova took a big hit when they lost their only returning starter on the DL to a torn ACL in the Temple game.

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SeaCoast Online talks about UNH's big challenge with Pitt this week.

New Hampshire a running team? They had 313 rushing yards against CCU on Saturday.

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The Boston Globe says there are new leaders at Holy Cross. The Crusaders won big against Howard, but fell to "others receiving votes" category in the FCS polls.

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Speaking of rankings, Keepers has UMass up to #3 in his weekly FCS rankings. The Blog feels that's probably a little high.

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Monday before Holy Cross---Sept 6th, 2010

I've added a UMass-William & Mary image album here. Click on the image and then on the "action" tab to get a slide show or just review any of the images.


Click on the images above and Blogger displays a much larger view.

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The UMass website has a story on the six UMass players to make NFL rosters this year. The super six:

• Vladimir Ducasse Jets bio
  
• James Ihedigbo Jets bio
• Victor Cruz Giants bio
• Jeremy Horne Chiefs bio
• Jeremy Cain Jaguars bio
• Matt Lawrence Ravens bio

Jeromy Miles was added to the Bengal's practice roster on Sunday.

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Matty Vautour says UMass sent a shocking message Saturday. He also looks at the Minutemen's revised playoff chances. UMass jumps to #10 in his FCS Top-25 poll.

Craig Haley looks at the upsets this week in FCS and UMass-William & Mary was one of them.

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This article from the Baltimore Sun about today's Navy-Maryland game talks about how UMass' defense played against the Navy option under Coach Brown.

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UPDATE: UMass, University of Excitement.

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The Day after the win over the Tribe Sept 5th, 2010

UMass beat writer Matty Vautour covers UMass' upset of the Tribe. He also has three stars from the game.

The Boston Globe says UMass rallies for the upset.

William & Mary's student paper the Flat Hat covers the Tribe's loss to UMass.

MassLive.com says Griffin and Hernandez give UMass a one-two punch. MassLive also said UMass refused to be denied.

The Worcester Telegram said Griffin and Hernandez led UMass.

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From the UMass game notes:

For UMass, 17 players made their debuts in maroon and white.

Two true freshmen played in the opener: LB Stanley Andre and DB Antoine Tharpe.

The following players made their college-playing debuts: DB Mike Lee, DB Christian Birt, DB Ryan Carter, LB Stanley Andre, DL Kevin Byrne, TE Rob Blanchflower, DL Theo Agnew, DL Brandon Potvin. K Brendon Levengood. DB Antoine Tharpe. LB Tom Brandt

Also, the following transfers made their UMass debuts: WR Anthony Nelson, TB John Griffin, OL Greg Niland, OL Nick Speller, DL Galen Clemons, LB Chad Hunte.

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The CAA website has reviews of all the CAA games. UMass, JMU, UNH and Delaware won.

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Nationally, there were a couple of FCS/FBS upsets. Jacksonville State beat Ole Miss in overtime. North Dakota State beat Kansas.

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Michigan QB Denard Robinson had 383 total yards of offense to lead the Wolverines to a 30-10 victory over UConn. BTW, Michigan drew a record 113,090 to the game.

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I should have a web album of the UMass-William & Mary game up on Flickr by this evening.

UMass wins 27-23 over William & Mary

Best win since 2007!

Yes Armando's last second kick to beat Holy Cross 2008 and the defense's interception to preserve a win over UNH in 2009 were good. But this one was better.

Section 16's O-Line and running backs were all anyone could ask. UMass had 215 yards rushing (4.1 yards/rush) on a Tribe defense that gave up an average of 61.1 yards/game in 2009.

Our no-name defensive line more than held their own against William & Mary's offense. I was also impressed with the UMass DB's who had good position on William & Mary's receivers all night and eight pass breakups.

We held Jonathan Grimes, a Walter Payton Award candidate, to 67 yards rushing. The defense looked fast and aggressive all game.

Kyle Havens went 15-24 62.5% for 223 yards an 0 INT's.

Brandon Flanagan played well on the D-line.

Anthony Nelson led the team with 78 yards receiving.

John Griffin got the best win of his career.

Jonathan Hernandez was the best player on the field in the fourth quarter.

We had some errors, but for so many new players, I thought we played very well and were flat out the better team.

Stats here.

UMass writeup here.

William & Mary writeup here.

More tomorrow.

Game Day-- William & Mary

A couple of Game Day articles: one from WSHM-TV and the Boston Herald says UMass tackles a tough schedule.

Matty Vautour previews the game and looks at UMass' rookie defensive line.

Several sources, including Matty note Brandon London was cut by the Steelers.

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From the UMass game notes"Saturday's game will be televised up and down the East Coast on Comcast SportsNet New England, The Comcast Network and Cox 11 in Virginia. Jon Gurevitch and Andy Gresh will be on the call. Live streaming video will be available via UMass All-Access. "

That's Dish Network's channel 435 in Northern New England.

UMass's radio network "The game will be carried statewide on flagship 100.9 FM WRNX in Western Mass.; 1510 The Zone in Eastern Mass.; 830 AM WCRN in Central Mass. and 95.9 FM WATD on the South Shore. "
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From the William and Mary side: the Virginia Gazette says it's no gimmie for the Tribe and the William & Mary News says both sides await the opener.

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Villanova lost to Temple on a last minute field goal.

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The New York post says Vicyor Cruz was the biggest underdog to stick with the NY Giants team.

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Fox Sports has a interesting article on Villanova's All- American Matt Szcur and notes that he received exactly one offer when he was recruited.

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The Tribe is a tough opening matchup for a young UMass squad. William & Mary should contend for both the CAA Championship and the National FCS Title.

What the UMass Football Blog would like to see out of UMass:

• Kyle Havens manages the game, reads the Tribe defense and has no turnovers. Havens throws short and goes 16-22.
  
• The new UMass receivers catch every thing Havens throws.
• Like Sec 16, the Blog is a believer in the UMass O-line, and and Messrs Griffin and Hernandez. The Blog would like to see 150+ yards of rushing offense against a very good William & Mary defense.
• On defense, I would like to see everyone flying around. No more games like Delaware and Hofstra, where everyone stood around looking at each other.
• Some pressure on Mike Callahan. Last year's sack total:13 (only 6 against CAA teams). Prior to 2009 sack totals: 2008-18, 2007-44, 2006-39, 2005-25, 2004-23).

Let's GO UMass!!!

Friday before William & Mary--Sept 3rd, 2010

After a long hot fall camp, Matty Vautour says the Minutemen are ready to hit someone else.

Matt Goldstein and Matty face off with this week's football predictions.

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The UMass JTAM has a recap of the results of the eight UMass alums playing in the NFL this week.

Prior to last night's game, Big Blue View Blog had this quote about "Victor Cruz leads the Giants with 12 catches for 251 yards (a 20.9 yards per catch average) and four touchdowns ".

I can't find a box score for last night's game, but Victor had at least one reception for 25 yards.

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UMass-William & Mary is one of the two FCS matchups reviewed in this page from NCAAFootball.com.

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FCS pundits were touting Maine to be improved this year. Last night they lost a dismal 3-0 game to Albany. More here and here. Maine had only 11 first downs.

Buffalo passed for 300+ yards in a 31-0 win over Rhode Island. The Rams can't catch a break as their talented senior QB Chris Paul-Entienne suffered a knee injury in the first practice session of camp.

Delaware beat West Chester 31-0 last night.

The CAA has details on all night's games involving league teams.

Mark Whipple's Miami offense smoked FCS opponent Flordia A&M 45-0.

Future CAA member Georgia State drew 30,000 in the Carrier Dome for their first ever game.

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In May of 2011, Drake University will be part of the first ever American Football game in Africa. Americans playing Mexicans in Tanzania .....

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We're all Michigan fans this weekend. Go Wolverines!

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Thursday before William & Mary --Sept 2nd, 2010

The Kevin Morris radio starts tonight at 7:00 pm on WRNX.

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WWLP22 says no cupcake for UMass in opener.

The Boston Herald has five questions for UMass.

Matty Vautour says the UMass defense is looking for new playmakers.
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The Laconia Citizen says the CAA looks tougher than ever.

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The W&M student newspaper reviews the 2010 Tribe.

The Virginia Gazette says the Tribe's defense is doing their part.

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James Ihedigbo had a big hit on the first play of last night's Jets game.

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Tonight, Rhode Island opens at Buffalo and Towson opens at Indiana.

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Andrew Gaddess of The Sports Network previews week #1 in FCS football and predicts the Tribe will beat UMass 31-6.

Speaking of predictions, FCS' top number cruncher Keeper predicts William & Mary by 5.59 over the Minutemen.

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UPDATE 8:30 PM: Hey, I'm watching Towson-Indiana live on Dish channel 5440 (Alt-10). The Tigers are making a game of it 14-24 in the second quarter.

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A look at William & Mary

William & Mary was one of the top FCS teams in 2009. The Tribe went 11-3 and 6-2 in the CAA and reached the semi-finals of the FCS tourney.

In the regular season they lost only to pending National Champ Villanova and Richmond. W&M crushed their first two playoff opponents (Weber State 38-0 and Southern Illinois 24-3). They lost 13-14 to Villanova in a playoff rematch. In regular season the Tribe beat Virginia 26-14.

William & Mary has had a lot of continuity in coaching. HC Jimmye Laycock will start his 31st season with the Tribe when they open against UMass.

The main reason for W&M's success in 2009 was their stellar defense:

• #1 in scoring defense (12.1 points/game)
• #1 in total defense (229.8 yards/game --57 yards/game better than #2 James Madison!)
• #1 in rushing defense (61.1 yards/game)
• #2 in pass defense (186.6 yards/game)
• #1 in sacks (49-- UMass last with 13)

The Tribe's offense (#3 in total offense) revolved around Jonathan Grimes (#1 in the CAA) SO 14 games 277 yards/game AVE 1294 yards 9 TD's 61 Lg 92.4 Ave/game.

Starters returning:

Offense 6

• RB Jonathan Grimes
• WR Chase Hill
• OL Keith Hill, Jr
• OL Derek Toon
• OL Chris Sutton
• FB Terrence Riggins

Defense 6

• DB Ben Cottingham
• LB Evan Francks
• LB Wes Steinman
• LB Jake Trantin
• DL Mike Stover
  
• DB B.W. Webb (CAA defensive rookie-of-the-year, ECAC rookie-of-the-year)
  

Special teams 1

• P-David Miller

The Tribe returns 30 letterman: 14 offense, 15 defense, 1 special teams.

The 2010 edition of the Tribe was picked #4 in the nation by both the FCS Coaches Poll and The Sports Network.

William & Mary will be a tough challenge to a young Minutemen team. This is a team that could contend again for the FCS National Championship.

Wednesday before William & Mary --Sept 1, 2010

Matty Vautour looks at the UMass offense and says it hopes to improve. He also has an annotated depth chart.

Offense:

• WR Julian Talley, Dan Sheeran
• LT Nick Speller, Vincent Westcarr
• LG Greg Niland, Anthony Dima
• C John Ihne, Quinton Sales
• RG Brian Ostaszewski or Josh Samuda
• RT Stephane Milhim, Sean O'Connor
• TE Emil Igwenagu or Andrew Kervis, Rob Blanchflower
• TB John Griffin or Jonathan Hernandez, Jamar Smith
• FB Scott Duggan-Thad McCummings
• QB Kyle Havens, Brandon Hill
• WR Anthony Nelson, Jesse Julmiste

Defense

• DE Brandon Potvin, Galen Clemons
• DT Kevin Byrne, Theo Agnew
• DT Brandon Flanagan, Bill Nesselt
• DE Courtney Jackson, Bob McLaughlin
• SLB Perry McIntyre, D.J. Adeoba
• MLB Mike Mele, Stanley Andre
• WLB Tyler Holmes, Chad Hunte
• CB Ke'Mon Baley, David Cozzo
• SS Shane Viveiros, Kumar Davis
• FS Darren Thellen, James Carven
• CB Mike Lee, Antoine Tharpe

Special Teams

• PK Brendon Levengood, Caleb Violette
• H Dan Sheeran
• P Caleb Violette, Jeff Strait
• LS Travis Tripucka, John Ihne
• KR Anthony Nelson and Torrey Esalomi
• PR Julian Talley
  

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Ron Chimelis has a story featuring UMass kicker Caleb Violette. He went 1-2 50% 35 Lg Blk 1 in 2009.

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The Boston Globe has a story on new UMass RB John Griffin. He was First-Team All-CAA and the Huskies MVP. Griffin went 207-1009 (led the CAA in regular season) and added 25-178 REC.

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Three articles from the William & Mary side: Callahan finally gets his shot, final preparations for the Tribe and Callahan gets his chance.

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A Michigan beat reporter from the Detroit Examiner predicts Michigan 47 UMass 17.

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The Greenwich Times says Victor Cruz will land a job with the Giants.

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Craig Haley has the latest edition of his "In the FCS Huddle" up.

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Have your eye bleach handy----Offensive linemen in Speedos.

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Add Atari Bigby to my list of favorite sports names. Back in the day, I had an Atari 800 XL, a hell-of-a computer.