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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Recruiting 2012--John Robinson

ESPN reports UMass has shown interest in John Robinson, a 6-2 225 pound LB from Worcester Academy.

Roger Brown story here.

Also showing interest are UNH, UConn, Boston College, Stony Brook, Villanova, Old Dominion and Dartmouth.

Thursday--October 20, 2011

Matty V reports UMass, after reviewing game tape, decided to suspend Ryan Delaire for one game.

Matty says the rivalry with UNH will be hard to give up.

He also has a feature on Jordan Broadnax, who is now the #2 running back.

Imagine the running game we would have if everyone was healthy.

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UNH has its game notes for UMass up (html).

Jeff Thomas says the UMass defense is feeling better.

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Keepers College Football Rankings has UMass #35.

He also has UNH over UMass by 5.1 points.

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Craig Haley of TSN says the race for FCS awards is very competitive this year.

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Philly.com says Villanova is OK with Temple in the Big East for football, but not for hoops.

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Recruiting 2012--Julian Jones

Cantonsville Patch/Noah Scialom image

Rivals.com reports UMass is interested in Julian Jones a 6-2 210 pd WR from Cantonsville Senior HS in Baltimore, MD.

Jones Rivals page here.

Video highlights here.

Also interested are Army, Navy, Maryland, Duke, Lehigh, Towson and Harvard.

Wednesday--October 19, 2011

Matty V reports on the latest in UMass news. Virginia Tech transfer Jerome Lewis was injured in practice. Tom Gilson was named game captain for the UNH contest. Former Minutemen Victor Cruz and James Ihedigbo might be at the Colonial Clash.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has more on the schedule of events for the Colonial Clash.

The Collegian has more on the UNH game.

UNH's R.J. Harris RSFR WR 6-0 194 has been added to the Jerry Rice Award watch list.

I assume you have heard that UNH students successfully fought off the attempt by Manny-State Nazi's to take over the school's dinning commons.

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The Black Bears try to keep it going against Richmond this Saturday.

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William & Mary set several team records against UNH last Saturday.

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TSN reports that police resorted to pepper spray to clear the field after Southern and Arkansas Pine Bluff teams went at it after their game Saturday.

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Recruiting 2012---Malachi Jones

GwinnettPrepSports.com image/Jones #9

UMass has shown interest in Malachi Jones, a 6-1 185 pd WR from Central Gwinnett HS in GA.

Article featuring him here (mentions UMass).

Jones' Rivals page here.

This ESPN article features Jones.

Also showing interest are Notre Dame, Michigan State, UCLA, Middle Tennessee State, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Duke.

Tuesday --October 18, 2011

UMass has released the schedule of events for the Colonial Classic. The UMMB will be there as well as the UNH band.

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Strangeness in the FCS polls this week. UMass is #22 in the TSN poll.

However, UMass is in the "others receiving votes" section of the FCS Coaches Poll. Note that Delaware is still ranked #13 in the nation. Note also that two of the four Hens wins have been over DII West Chester and Delaware State (2-4).

UMass is 6th in the Lambert Poll.

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Trevor Sasek is back as the starting QB for Delaware.

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Darren Thellen makes the Boston Herald's "College Football Heroes" list.

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Speaking of heroes: Jesse Julmiste's current 18-549 30.5 AVE kick return totals rank him as #4 in UMass single season kick return records. He needs 54 yards to pass Steve Parnell's 603 yards (1968). Julmiste needs 239 more yards to break into the UMass Top-10 career kick returner list.

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Two CAA running backs won national honors from TSN this week.

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Recruiting 2012--Nicco Whigham

Rivals Image

Rivals.com reports UMass has offered to Nicco Whigham, a 6-1 195 pound Safety from Cardinal Gibbons HS in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Whigham's Rivals page here.

YouTube highlight video here.

Whigham says he has no leaders at this time.

Besides UMass, he holds offers from Bowling Green, Buffalo, UConn, Marshall, Memphis and West Virginia.

Monday---October 17, 2011

Matty V. says Jonathan Hernandez is OK.  He mentions Ryan Delaire's ejection from the game, which certainly got the Hen fans in my section fired up.

A note on Hen fans.

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Jeff Thomas says UMass' defense and special teams stood out Saturday.

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There are statistics and then there is THE statistic---- turnovers. See any correlations in this table?

TURNOVER MARGIN          G  Fum Int Tot Fum Int Tot Mar  Per/G
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1. Maine...............  6    2  11  13   2   2   4  +9   1.50
2. Towson..............  6    8   4  12   3   5   8  +4   0.67
3. Old Dominion........  7    7   9  16   6   7  13  +3   0.43
4. William and Mary....  7    3   9  12   3   7  10  +2   0.29
5. James Madison.......  7    2   7   9   5   3   8  +1   0.14
6. Delaware............  7    4   9  13   5   8  13  +0   0.00
   Massachusetts.......  6    4   8  12   6   6  12  +0   0.00
8. Richmond............  6    6   3   9   7   6  13  -4  -0.67
9. New Hampshire.......  6    3   9  12  10   7  17  -5  -0.83
10.Villanova...........  7    4   5   9   6  11  17  -8  -1.14
11.Rhode Island........  6    2   4   6   4  11  15  -9  -1.50
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The UMass Daily Collegian looks at the Delaware victory and says the Colonial Clash is next.

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The Boston Globe has a story on James Ihedigbo's creation of the HOPE Africa Foundation.

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If you missed it, UNH lost their ninth straight to William & Mary Saturday. That's quite a streak. UNH has been a strong team the last ten years. It's strange how one team seems to always have the advantage on another.

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Sunday--October 16, 2011

Well, that was better. Yesterday's win over the Hens was one of the most satisfying in a long time. The Minutemen really put together a good game.

Coach Morris said Kellen Pagel had a good week of practice and it showed. He looked much more decisive and handled the offense efficiently. More important, he did not turn the ball over and was accurate in his passing.

I don't know how it was described in the TV broadcast, but the wind was really booming. UMass had the wind in the first and fourth quarters. Emil Igwenagu had another excellent game as the 246 pound TE out jumped two Delaware defenders for a UMass TD.

 Johnathan Hernandez appeared to have a stinger in his arm or shoulder and DNP in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. The Hens were 2nd in the CAA in scoring defense and 3rd in overall defense, so that is the strength of their team. UMass had a couple of drops in the second half that could have extended Minutemen drives.

But it didn't matter, because the UMass defense also had their best game of the season. Shane Viveiros (playing LB) and Ed Saint Vil combined for 12 tackles. The defensive backfield knew their assignments. The Minutemen defensive line was dominate in the fourth quarter.

The UMass defense shut down the Hen running game allowing Delaware star RB Andrew Pierce only 85 total yards.

The much maligned UMass kicking game was excellent. The punters dropped two inside the Hen 5 yard line. Great effort by the whole team.

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Jeff Thomas said the UMass team started strong.

Matty V. said UMass won with early offense and strong defense. Matty also has three stars from the game.

The Boston Globe said UMass surprised the Hens .

The Boston Herald said UMass left the Hens blue.

Delaware Online said the Hens were doomed at the start. They also said Delaware has questions at QB.

Quotes from K.C. Keeler after the game.

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All the CAA results here.

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Saturday--October 15, 2011

Matty V. looks at today's game against the Hens.

He also says UMass' future with the MAC is safe.

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Jeff Thomas says that with all the conference reshuffling, UMass is happy with the MAC.

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Meanwhile, the Delaware trumpet is back .

Noise makers are now OK at Hen games.

K.C. Keeler says poor student attendance is baffling.

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This article says the NCAA is exploring scholarships cuts for both FBS and FCS football. Dropping the number of scholarships to 80 from 85 would be a significant cut. It would probably mean an influx of talent for "Mid-Major' schools like UMass as the football factories would not be able to stockpile players.

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TSN says transfers are making an impact in FCS this year.

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UMass has been on the wrong end of some upsets, but it sure would be nice to turn that around and upset the Hens today. Mrs Blog and I will be in Newark and cheering for the Minutemen.

Let's play well and take it to Delaware. Go UMass!!!!

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Recruiting 2012--A.J. Doyle III

Boston Herald/photographer unknown

I've blogged about A.J. Doyle twice before.

Doyle recently decommitted to North Carolina State. He wants to play QB and UMass is mentioned as one of the schools willing to give him that chance.

Doyle's ESPN page here.

Sporting News has another article on Doyle's decision.

The Boston Herald also has an article on Doyle's reopening his recruitment.

Friday---October 14, 2011

UMass Athletic Dept image

Matty V. has an article about Kellen Pagel's week and his return as starting QB. He also reports Shane Viveiros is back and Mike Lee is out for the season.

UMass' game notes (.pdf).  Hens game notes (html).

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Delaware OnLine says the Hens hope to send UMass off with a loss.

More  on Delaware's tempest-on-a-trumpet. Remember Signman's dented trumpet? Delaware security would've has a stroke if they had heard that baby.

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Sean Shapiro of TSN has the Week #7 preview of FCS football.

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The CAA has its weekly press release up.

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VanDelay Sports picks this week's MAC games. Check out the stats for Temple's Bernard Pierce (Temple Bio).

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Off topic: UMass picked 12th in A10 hoops. Sigh.

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UMass' 2nd commit for 2012--Joe Jones

MaxPreps/Cecil Copeland image

According to Scout.com. UMass has received its second verbal for the  2012 season when Joe Jones, a 5-11 224 pd all-purpose RB from North Gwinnett, GA committed to the Minutemen.

Matty V has a story here.

Rivals.com has a video interview with Jones and mentions UMass.

More recruiting news tomorrow.

Thursday--October 13, 2011

WWLP22 has a story about Coach Morris' interest in the fight against Juvenal diabetes.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has an article about Saturday's game against Delaware.

They also have an article on Jesse Julmiste.

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A couple of days ago, I mentioned I thought Emil Igwenagu had the best chance of any senior Minutemen to make a NFL squad. Jeff Thomas has an article about Igwenagu and discusses his pro potential.

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The Orlean Times (home of St. Bonaventure I believe), mentions the possible impact of football realignments on the A10 and mentions UMass.

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University of Delaware police arrested "Trumpet Man" at last week's Hen game.

Speaking of Delaware, the Bears added Anthony Waters, a free agent from the Hens to their roster.

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Who would have thought it? ODU-Towson may be the biggest game in the CAA this week.

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Wednesday--October 12, 2011

Mrs Blog and I will be on the road for the rest of the week, ending up with us taking in the UMass-Delaware game in Newark. As usual, I'll try to keep the blog going if I have a wi-fi connection.

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Matty V. says Kellen Pagel, Quinton Sales and Ed Saint-Vil will all be available for the Hens game Saturday.

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We're #52 according to Keepers College Football rankings. He also has the Hens over UMass by 13+.

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Jeff Thomas has a stub article on Jesse Julmiste's CAA Special Teams Player-of-the-Week award.

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The NBA lockout means more TV exposure for MAC football.

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The NY Times says the Victor Cruz show is both good and ugly.

The Wall Street Journal says Cruz is doing pretty good, seeing that he has yet to start a game.

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TSN's Craig Haley has FCS news in his "IN the FCS Huddle" column.

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Recruiting 2012--Tajae Sharpe

Chris Faytok/Star-Ledger image

Rivals.com says UMass has offered to Tajae Sharpe, a 6-3 175 pound WR from Piscataway, NJ.

Sharpe's Rivals page here.

YouTube highlight video here.

Sharpe holds offers from Delaware, JMU, Kent State, Pittsburgh, Temple, Towson and Villanova.

Tuiuesday--October 11, 2011

Matty V reports Julmiste is CAA Special Teams Player-of-the-Week. As he should be. The CAA original report here.

He also says we're committed to the MAC. As I have said a zillion times, we need a functioning FBS program to be considered in any conference realignment talks. UMass will still be a "transitional" team (not eligible for bowl bids or the MAC championship) next year. So, I expect the Minutemen to be committed to the MAC---until we're not.

The Boston Globe says UMass is on edge. Of course, being the Globe, they would say that.

The New York Times says the CAA and the Atlantic 10 are eying each others teams.
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The UMass Daily Collegian recaps the CCSU game.

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The Hens are looking forward to playing UMass.

Delaware wants to send us off with a loss.

WDEL says UMass-Delaware play for the final time Saturday.One thing about this season a win or loss is forever. No "We'll get 'em next year".

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Patch.com has a story about UMass' Andrew Dees, who is the UMass running backs and recruiting coordinator this year. Dees' UMass bio here.

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Monday--October 10, 2011

Matty V. talks about CCSU HC Jeff McInerney's decision to kick to Jesse Julmiste.

He also reports Coach Morris says Kellen Pagel is still the UMass starter at QB. He has a sub-feature on Emil Igwenagu's big night against the Blue Devils.

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CCSU's post game writeup.

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The Worcester Telegram has a CCSU game story with a nice image of Igwenagu.

BTW, if I had to bet on the UMass senior that was most likely to make an NFL team this coming spring, I'd take Igwenagu. He'd be an H-back in the NFL.

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MassLive has a seven-image photo gallery of the CCSU game by staff photographer Michael Beswick.

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UMass President Robert L. Caret is embarking on a bus tour of the State to better understand how the University can better serve Massachusetts.

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Things are not getting any better for Boston College. The Eagles announced that Montel Harris and Kaleb Ramsey are done for the season.

Rumors say BC was involved in blocking UConn's move to the ACC.

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Victory Cruz had a wonderful twisting catch against the Seahawks yesterday and was again involved in a seriously weird play.

The Seattle Post says Cruz's greatest day turned.

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The Sports Network says CAA stands for "Crazy Astonishing Agonizing".

TSN also recaps Saturday's action in FCS.

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THIS WOULD SO WORK IN BOSTON

City hires mimes to reprimand bad drivers.

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Sunday---October 9, 2011

Click on image for a larger view

Some good things happened at McGuirk last night as well as some "OK" things and a couple of bad things.

A really good thing was Jesse Julmiste. If you havn't yet seen him in person, make it a point to come out to McGuirk to see him play. Julmiste was leaving contrails in the cool October night. He had four returns for 148 yards and one 90 yard TD. Julmiste took the kickoff then went to Mach 2 and was still accelerating when hit the endzone. His two kick return TD's this year ties an all-time UMass record held by Phil DeRose and Dennis Dent. He also had a 31-yard run on a reverse.

The UMMB seemed to get its mojo back as the band and the visiting HS bands put on a show that the band, new director Tim Anderson ------and George Parks would have been proud of.

The offense did not have a single turnover. Brandon Hill not only did not throw any INT's, he didn't come close to throwing one.

Darren Thellen had two INT's including an 85-yard return for a TD. Emil Igwenagu caught a sideline pass and the 245 pound TE out ran the CCSU defenders for a 58 yard TD.

Oh, and I heard Shane Viveiros will be back for the next game. Since UMass has not announced the reason for his absence, I won't either. However, I hope to God that the previous scheme of moving him to LB will be scrapped and he will be back at safety.

Some OK things: I was mentally writing good things about the UMass kicking game. Brendon Leavengood thumped a 35 yard field goal that would have been good ten yards further. Jeff Strait made a nice play fielding a high snap----then Leavengood missed a extra point and Ray Pendagast hit a worm burner of a punt.

And some bad things: the offensive line seemed to be having an off night as the CCSU defense shut down Jonathan Hernandez and the UMass rushing game in the second half.

UMass had only 14 first downs...

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Jeff Thomas says UMass used big plays to defeat CCSU.

Matty V. said Jesse Julmiste sparked UMass to a win.

He also has three stars from the CCSU game.

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All the CAA results here. If you missed it, Maine (!?), Towson (!???) and UNH are leading the league.

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Boston College was in a "Death Valley Downer" as the Herald put it.

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Game Day CCSU--October 8, 2011

Today is also Band Day, a great tradition at UMass. Hope everyone shows up to support the Minutemen and see the Show.

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MassLive says ball security is job #1 for UMass today.

Matty V. says the Blue Devils bring option football to McGuirk today.

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Delaware Online says the CAA race is wide open this year.

Like UMass, Richmond is on a two-game skid and the Richmond Times-Dispatch says it won't be easy for the Spiders today.

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The big thing today is to squeeze the ball and stop hemorrhaging turnovers. In four games the Minutemen has fumbled 12 times, losing the ball six of them. We have also had 6 INTs.

UMass is tied for dead last in the CAA in turnover margin:

10.Rhode Island........  4    1   4   5   3   7  10  -5  -1.25
   Massachusetts.......  4    3   4   7   6   6  12  -5  -1.25

UMass is tied for #105 out of 120 teams in FCS in turnover margin. Let's have a good day of fundamentals and right this ship.

Go UMass!!!!

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Friday--October 7, 2011

Matty V. says UMass QB Kellen Pagel is questionable for Saturday's game with CCSU. Pagel did not practice this week.

Ed Saint-Vil is also questionable. The Minutemen hope to have Antoine Tharpe back at near 100%.

UMass has its game notes for the Blue Devils up (.pdf download).

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InsideNova.com has an article featuring UMass freshman DB Iric Harris.

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ProJo.com looks at James Ihedigbo's impact with the Patriots. Ihedigbo's Patriots bio here.

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The CAA has its weekly league press release up. The release has all of Saturday's game information.

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The Concord Monitor looks at this week's UNH-Villanova game.

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The NY times looks at the ramifications of TCU leaving the Big East. It discusses the Big East going to a basketball-only league and mentions Atlantic 10 teams Dayton, Richmond and Xavier joining.

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Recruiting 2012---Bryan Goulet

The Eagle-Tribune reports UMass is interested in Bryan Goulet, a 6-8 295 pd OT from Haverhill, MA.

Story here.

Also showing interest are Albany and Boston College.

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Thursday--October 6, 2011

Today's UMass Football Show will originate from the UMass Du Bois Library to draw attention to the Library's exhibit on UMass football history.

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CCSU has it's game notes for UMass up. pdf download here.

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Jeff Thomas has a story on the upcoming Colonial Classic game between UMass and UNH. It should be quite an offensive show. UMass is allowing 264 passing yards a game. The Wildcats are allowing 367------that's last in the nation!

What's the over-and-under for 1,200 total yards of offensive for that game?

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Greg Niland has signed with the Arizona Rattlers.

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Craig Haley of TSN has his week #6 "In the FCS Huddle" column up.

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ESPN breaks down the "Victor Cruz" rule.

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Brandon London has 30 catches for 387 yards so far for the Montreal Alouettes.

London #14/ Christine Muschi/ Reuters image

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Recruiting 2012-- Antonio Harris

Miami Herald image/photo credit unknown

Rivals.com reports UMass is interested in Antonio Harris, a 5-11, 179 pd WR from South Broward, HS FL.

Harris' Rivals page here.

Harris has been named to the Broward County Top-50.

Miami Herald article here.

YouTube highlight video here.

Harris holds offers from Florida A&M and Western Michigan. Getting interest from Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Miami of Florida, Nebraska, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.

Wednesday--October 5, 2011

Jeff Thomas says UMass is working on its issues.

The UMass Daily Collegian says UMass struggled on defense.

They also say UMass has had trouble holding on to the ball.

The Collegian looks at Victor Cruz' impact in the NFL.

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The Collegian also mentions that Emil Igwenagu won the College Football Performance TE-of-the-week award. I can't find a link to those weekly awards. The CFPW website is here.

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UMass has a improved athletics video feed from CBS3 Springfield. Those UMass fans not in the Valley will probably find it helpfull.

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The Richmond Times-Dispatch has CAA notes including ODU's Taylor Heinicke's spectacular debut against the Minutemen.

Fox News has a story about the eight CAA teams in the FCS Top-25.

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Recruiting 2012--Deniko Carter

Cantonsville Patch/Ed Davis image

Rivals.com says UMass is interested in Deniko Carter a 6-5 175 pd WR from Baltimore, MD.

Carter's Rivals page here.

Recently Athlete-of-the-week.

2010 highlight video.

Video of his 9/23 TD catch.

Carter holds an offer from Towson. Also interested are Duke, Temple, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Tuesday---October 4, 2011

Matty V. says Kellen Pagel should be available for the CCSU game.

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UMass fell into the "others receiving votes" section of the FCS Coaches Poll.

The CAA put eight teams in TSN's top-25 Polls. UMass was not one of them.

ODU's win over UMass pushed them to #21.

The Minutemen fell all the way to #53 in Keepers College football rankings.

He has UMass by 18+ over CCSU.

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James Madison's Dae-Quon Scott has a separated shoulder.

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CCSU turned the ball over five times and lost to Sacred heart in their homecoming game.

The Hartford Courant says the Blue Devils are on a two-game skid.

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The Vanderbilt Insider talks with Vice Chancellor David Williams about Vandy football and the series with UMass.

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MassLive. com looks at Victor Cruz' controversial play against the Cardinals.

The Trentonian has a feature on Cruz.

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Recrting 2012--Vondell Langston

John Wilcox/Boston Herald image

ESPN Recruiting reports UMass is interested in Vondell Langston, a 6-0 195 pd OLB from Everette MA.

This ESPN report mentions Langston.

MaxPreps page here.

Also drawing interest from UConn.

Monday--October 3, 2011

Matty V. has three stars from the Old Dominion game.

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More articles on the ODU game:

The UMass Daily collegian said the Minutemen fell to ODU despite a big rally.

The Daily Press reports on all of Saturday's CAA games including UMass' loss to Old dominion.

The Virginia Pilot has lots of quotes from the Old Dominion players.

TSN says the Monarchs are rocking on and off the field.

TSN also says the top-25 rankings will be shook up this week.

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The Boston Herald says UNH looks legit after their win over Holy Cross.

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Victor Cruz was involved in a bizarre play against the Giants win over Arizona Sunday.

However, the NFL was OK with the official's call.

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I looked up ODU's five passing touchdowns in the UMass record book. The results tied an all-time UMass opponent record that had occurred three times before.

• 5---Bryon Leftwich, (Marshall 2001) 
• 5---Rocky Butler, (Hofstra 2000)
• 5---Chris Bolden, (Villanova 1997)

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Sunday--October 2, 2011

Ouch! That wasn't fun. The Minutemen have some significant issues.

1. Defensive back. The crappy one-camera video feed made it tough to follow the game, but it looked like UMass tried just about everyone they brought. In the initial 25 point Old Dominion surge, the Minutemen DB's were often not in the camera frame. Getting behind quickly screws up what we can do. We are not configured as a hurry-up shotgun offense.   Defensive backs have to be a major recruiting focus. We just plain need more bodies and talent. UMass gave up 338 yards in the air and 5 passing TD's.

2. QB. Old Dominion brought in Taylor Heinicke, a true freshman playing his first ever game, and he looked tack sharp. Pagel threw two INT's and there could have been more. Hill looked slow and had trouble with his ball handling.

The first six series for both teams:

UMass:

1. Punt
2. Downs
3. Punt
4. Fumble
5. Interception
6. Interception

ODU

1. Field Goal
2. Punt
3. Touchdown
4. Punt
5. Touchdown
6. Touchdown

3. The kicking game. Since Whipple's first year through Armando Cuko in 2009, UMass had a long series of nationally ranked players in the kicking game. Last night we missed another extra point. The blocked punt for a safety took the wind out of the Minuteman comeback.We passed up a least one field goal opportunity. UMass has not seen this level of performance in a long time.

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The Hampshire Gazette says ODU rolled to a win.

The Boston Globe says UMass loses a wild one.

MassLive.com says the Minutemen rally fell short.

The Washington Post said the blocked kick and Heinicke's passing helped ODU past UMass.

The Virginia Pilot said ODU scored a big win over UMass.

They also said Heinicke made his presence known.

The Daily Press said Old Dominion outlasted the UMass comeback.

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All the CAA results here.

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Misery loves company.

Western Michigan beat UConn.

With rain in Jaffrey, I had the unusual treat of laying on the couch and watching football all day. Wake Forrest beat Boston College. The Demon Deacons looked to have a significant advantage in team speed over the Eagles. Wake Forrest didn't even look all that excited. They were just flat better and knew it.

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Game Day--Old Dominion October 1, 2011

First Row Sports lists the UMass-Old Dominion on today's schedule of live streaming video. I have no idea if the link will work, but I'm going to check at game time.

UPDATE: Matty V. has a link to the Old Dominion website with video for $7.95.

UPDATE II: The free link is working with my Comcast internet.

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Matty V. says UMass is looking to bounce back after the BC loss.

Jeff Thomas says UMass will face the Monarchs for probably the first and last time.

The Virginia Pilot says the Monarchs want a loud crowd tonight.

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Old Dominion's video  football show for the UMass game.

UMass' game notes and the latest depth chart (both .pdf downloads).

Old Dominion's game notes (html)

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Patriots.com has an article on the Colonial Clash (Mrs. Blog and I just received our tickets) and lists the 88 players from New England who are involved in the game

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STATS

UMass' schedule of Holy Cross, URI and Boston College has been a lot tougher than Old Dominion's Campbell, Georgia State, Hampton and Delaware.

ODU is 3rd in the CAA in rushing offense. The Minutemen front seven will try to put the clamps on the Monarchs running game.

3. Old Dominion........  4    170-768   4.5  11  192.0 yrds/game

The Monarchs are 1st in rushing defense. That will get a test today.

1. Old Dominion........  4     155-352   2.3   5   88.0 yrds/game

Old Dominion is 4th in passing offense.

4. Old Dominion........  4   139-88   4  63.3  870  6.3  4 TD's 217.5 yds/game

UMass and Old Dominion are 8th and 9th in pass defense.

8. Old Dominion........  4   159   88   4  55.3  951  6.0  5 237.8
9. Massachusetts.......  3    96   51   2  53.1  721  7.5  8 240.3

Kellen Pagel is 10th in pass efficiency.

10.Kellen Pagel........ UMAS SO  3  85  49   4  57.6  558  3 115.0


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Let's Go UMass!!!!