Wednesday before Mississippi State--September 21st, 2016

Matty Vautour has a post on Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, who's a New Hampshire native. Mullen's Mississippi State bio.

Matty also reports that Ross Comis is still limited by an injury. Whipple said he like John Robinson-Woodget as a late-game clock killer. I'd use him for more than that. He'd be my choice for a third down and anything inside the five yard marker.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says Comis and Ford are still neck-and-neck for starting QB.

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Bulldog fans will be able to watch the UMass-Mississippi State game on local TV.

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Butch Dill image

Mississippi State has a QB controversy of their own. Bulldog QB Nick Fitzgerald is 6-5 230. He's an SEC-sized quarterback.

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A CBS writer has UMass out of his "bottom 25" list.

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Florida is trying to poach Mississippi State's A.D.

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Fan Sided wants Mississippi State to run the ball more on third down.

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Victor Cruz set the Giants up for a game-winning field goal last Sunday.

The NY Post says Cruz went up and came down with a legendary comeback.

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Tuesday before Mississippi State--September 20th 2016

UMass has its game notes for the Mississippi State game up.

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Bulldogs HC Dan Mullen previews the Mississippi State-UMass game.

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The Bulldogs will wear Patriots-themed unis for their visit to Gillette.

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Matty Vautour reports Coach Whipple didn't shed much light on the QB situation during Monday's phone interview.

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Keepers college football rankings has UMass #110 and Mississippi State at #80 (.pdf download).

He has the Bulldogs as a 19+ point favorite.

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History of Mississippi State traditions. Bulldog fans have special dispensation from the SEC to use cowbells during league games.

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The Clarion-Ledger says Bulldog DB Cedric Jiles and DL Wil Coleman may be available for the UMass game.

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Andrew Cyr of the Daily Collegian reports on the QB situation and relates Coach Whipple said "Mississippi State is a different animal than FIU".

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Maroon & White Nation relates how UMass and Mississippi State ended up playing after both sides needed to fill their 2016 schedule.

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Conference USA took it on the chin last Saturday with FIU and four other C-USA teams losing to Group-of-Five games.

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East Carolina's Zay Jones had a mind-boggling 22 receptions against South Carolina last Saturday.

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Monday before Mississippi State-September 19th, 2016

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" recaps Saturday's game against FIU. As he says, it wasn't artistic, but we've beaten the one Group-of-Five team we've met. That's a start.

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Matty Vautour has a post about Andrew Ford and Adam Breneman were back on the field together at McGuirk on Saturday.

He also reports Victor Cruz and Tajae Sharpe helped their teams to victory in NFL Week #2.

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Las Vegas has Mississippi State by 23 over the Minutemen.

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Mississippi State saturates the Cleveland area with billboards touting former Bulldog players.

The 2017 schedule for Mississippi State is out. We play 'em the week before the Bulldogs play Alabama. Maybe UMass can catch them looking ahead.

For whom the cowbell tolls, says the Bulldogs need a fired up Dan Mullen.

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Sunday after FIU--September 18th, 2016

Good all-around game by UMass. We needed a win and we got one. I think the Minutemen found some stuff out.

1. Andrew Ford looked like the QB I saw at practice. Despite only having two days of practice, Ford looked impressive. He engineered 394 yards of offense. Ford connected with nine different receivers. He had excellent pocket awareness as he slipped the pass rush a number of time. When he did run, he ran with his head up and completed a number of passes outside the pocket. And for 55 of the 60 minutes, he did all this without a running game. Ford converted A LOT of third and longs.

2. Speaking of the running game, I don't know about you, but John Robinson-Woodget would be my official third, fourth and anything-inside-the-five running back. At 6-1 247, Woodget displayed quickness and down-hill running.

3. The defense was again outstanding. The defense has given up 21.0/ points a game with a schedule that has included two Power Five teams. The defense had 5 TFL, 2 SACKS, 3 FF and NINE BrUP's. The defensive secondary, led by Isaiah Rogers had the coverage and when thrown at, didn't allow the receiver to catch the ball. This was a big improvement from BC, where we had the coverage, but didn't make a play.

Enjoy the week, UMass fans. I'm going to.

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The UMass write-up. Be sure to read the post-game quotes .pdf for some world-class sour grapes from the Panthers coach.

Dan Malone covers the win.

Whipple was non-committal about the UMass quarterback situation.

The post-game video is worth watching. Whipple said the quarterback situation is the "best since I was with the Steelers".

Dan Malone and Andrew Cry break down the win.

Matty Vautour report UMass held on to win.

Matty has notes from the win.

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The Boston Herald report UMass gets their first win.

The Miami Herald says FIU falls to previously winless UMass. How about winless FIU plays UMass and stays winless?

The Herald reports gaudy stats for the Panthers' RB was no consolation.

The UMass Daily Collegian reports the Minutemen got the running game going late.

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The Gators may have lost QB Luke Del Rio in a 34-0 win over North Texas.

Mississippi State threw a scare into LSU.

Tulane also threw a scare into Navy.

North Carolina rolled over Old Dominion.

Louisiana Tech and Texas Tech combined for 104 points.

South Carolina edged East Carolina.

Neal Brown's Troy Trojans scored a big upset win over Southern Mississippi.

UCLA edged BYU.

And saving the best for last, Virginia Tech eviscerated Boston College 49-0.

Game Day Florida International

Well today UMass finally plays a Group-of-five team. The weather is predicted to be beautiful at McGuirk. It'll be a great day to get a win.

The defense has certainly played well so far. The Panthers, in the game I watched showed some speed and ability to move the ball. They also showed they make some mistakes. Continued intensity by the defense and getting some turnovers would help today.

The offense needs to get in gear. We need to be able to run the ball. Comis has to make decisions quickly. UMass needs some production from WR's not named Andy Isabella.

Let's put it together and get a win.

Go UMass!!!

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Matty Vautour reports UMass will try to break through vs the Panthers.

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The game will be available on NESN.

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Jacksonville.com has a short preview of today's game.

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FIU's A.D. Pete Garcia will be leaving in 2018.

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Florida plays North Texas.

BC plays Virginia Tech. The Eagles are going for their tenth straight conference loss.

Mississippi State plays LSU at Tiger Stadium.

Tulane plays Navy in a battle of two option teams.

Old Dominion plays North Carolina State.

Louisiana Tech plays Texas Tech in a battle of two high-scoring offenses.

South Carolina meets East Carolina.

Wagner has a bye.

Troy meets Southern Mississippi.

BYU plays UCLA at home.

Hawaii plays Arizona at home.

Friday before FIU--September 16th, 2016

The UMass website has gameday FIU informantion up.

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Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" previews tomorrow's game against FIU.

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Matty Vautour has a post on today's Florida-Louisville game. Memo to A.D. Bamford: one team not to match us up with is Louisville. I watched them play Charlotte last week and it was 56-0 at the half. Up 49-0 with two minutes to play in the half, the Cardinals went into their two-minute drill to score again..

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FIU Football interviews Matty Vautour on Saturday's game.

An FIU writer previews the Panthers-Minutemen game.

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The Daily Herald power ranks BYU's opponents after the second week of the season and has UMass at #12, behind FCS SUU.

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USA Today looks at 0-2 teams that have a chance to get their first victory tomorrow. Two MAC teams lost to FCS teams last week. Miami lost to Eastern Illinois. The shocker was Kent State lost to North Carolina A&T, which is a bottom-of-the-barrel FCS squad.

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When Miami plays at Appalachian State this Saturday, it is the result of a long chain of events in which, UMass was deeply involved.

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The Tennessean asks if Tajae Sharpe is a burgeoning star.

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CBS Local New York says overcoming long odds is what Victor Cruz does.

Newsday report with the first salsa out of the way, Cruz can work on steady improvement.

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Thursday before the FIU game--September 15th, 2016

The FIU website has a video interview with Panther HC Ron Turner about the Maryland game and this week's contest with UMass.

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Dan Malone says 0-2 UMass can't afford to overlook FIU.

Dan also report Marquis Young hopes the holes open up against the Panthers. After getting overpowered last week with BC, I hope the offensive line is highly motivated to show they are better than that this week against FIU.

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Matty Vautour has a podcast with former UMass star Brandon London. London's wikipedia page. London's Twitter feed.

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The UMass Daily Collegian reports UMass is looking for it's first victory of 2016.

The Collegian says Saturday's game against FIU will reveal a lot.

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Team Speed Kills talks about how UMass got pressure on 16 of Luke Del Rio's 47 dropbacks.

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Mike Traini reports UMass had a lot recruiting visitors for the BC game.

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FIU Sports fans are getting restless with Panther sports director Pete Garcia.

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Oklahoma President says Big 12 expansion is not a sure thing.

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ESPN thinks the NFL won't fine Victor Cruz for his 9/11 cleats.

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Thearon W. Henderson image

Tajae Sharpe was graded as one of the top rookies of Week #1 in the NFL.

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Wednesday before FIU--September 14th, 2016

I called the UMass ticket office and they e-mailed me my McGuirk parking passes. No problem. I get a yellow lot parking pass because I have season tickets, but in the case of McGuirk my group is split into two cars, so I needed another pass.

A.D. Bamford says no one will be turned away, so this year will be a good time to get the new parking system in place. To my mind, it hints that there are some plans in the works for McGuirk.

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FIU has their game notes for UMass up.

They also have a first look at FIU vs UMass.

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Dan Malone reports UMass QB Ross Comis was still limited by physical problems. Whipple still expects him to start Saturday. Malone also says backup QB James Sosinski has left the program. Sosinski was in a walking boot during the August practice I attended.

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Matty Vautour also has a post on Comis.

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The Miami Herald reports FIU QB Alex McGough is "probable" for UMass.

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The UMass Daily Collegian says the Minutemen look to get the running game going against FIU.

UMass is dead last in FBS rushing offense. We're also dead last in total offense.

In defense UMass is #63 in total defense (tied with LSU) and #68 in scoring defense. FIU is #107 in scoring defense and #109 in total defense.

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Logan Laurant leads the nation with 835 punting yards; he's #22 in yards/punt with 43.9.

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Vegas Insiders has UMass-FIU as "pick 'em".

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Tuesday before FIU-September 13th, 2016

UMass has their game notes for Florida International up. FIU does not as of 6:30 AM today.

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UMass has a new parking policy for ALL the lots adjacent to McGuirk. You need a parking pass even if you are not in Yellow Lot.

Mike Traini of "Fight Massachusetts" has some more on the parking policy.

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Matty Vautour says the Minutemen's offense needs to get in gear.

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Mike Traini reports that UMass DB Jesse Monteiro was arrested for disorderly conduct at a party Sunday night.

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The UMass Daily Collegian wraps up the Minutemen's loss to BC.

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The Sports Chat Place looks at the FIU-UMass game. There are no odds yet for the game as Panthers QB Alex McGough was injured.

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Maroon & White Nation report Mississippi State fans can watch the Minutemen-Bulldogs game on ESPN 3.

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Victor Cruz played 50 snaps against Dallas.

The NY Post says Cruz's TD catch caused a salsa dance party among the Giants.

Cruz was wearing patriotic cleats to honor the memory of 9/11.

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Monday before FIU--September 12th, 2016

UMass has a gallery from the Boston College game.

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Dan Malone says Ross Comis is UMass' quarterback.

Dan also reports Marquis Young has been contained so far this year.

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The Berkshire Eagle says sacks and turnovers doomed UMass against Boston College.

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Keeper's College football ratings has UMass at #114 (.pdf download).

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Tom Heitman image

Victor Cruz had four receptions and a TD against Dallas.

NJ.com says Cruz had a triumphant return to football.

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Tajae Sharpe led the Titans with seven receptions for 76 yards Sunday.

Matty Vautour says Sharpe and Cruz had productive weekends.

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Sunday--September 11th, 2016

Well if it was a fight between the UMass offense and BC's defense, they would have stopped it. The Eagles were much more physical and overwhelmed the Minutemen offense all day. Ross Comis took an early borderline legal clothesline hit and was never the same. Comis went 11-28 for 145 yards, had 1 INT and fumbled twice.

UMass could not protect Comis and could not run the ball. When we did get a break, such as the interception by Shane Huber we went nowhere. Shakur Nesmith could not catch a nice pass late in the second half that would have flipped the field.

The defense made another strong effort. The Minutemen force nine punts by the Eagles, intercepted Towles once and held BC's running back Jon Hilliman to 54 yards (a 2.5 AVE). The UMass defense had 8 TFL. The majority of BC's rushing came when Towles was flushed out of the pocket.

Logan Laurant had another outstanding day as he helped the defense with a UMass record 547 punting yards and averaged 45.6 yards/punt. He also dropped four punts inside the BC twenty.

UMass needs to find some offense or it's going to be a long year. Some of the problem is the caliber of the opposition, but we need to improve bigtime.

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

The UMass website says the Minutemen were stymied.

Dan Malone says the offense struggled.

Mark Whipple breaks down Ross Comis' struggles.

Shane Huber said two defensive breakdowns contributed to BC's total.

Matty Vautour reports turnovers and the BC defense were too much for the Minutemen.

The Boston Herald reports BC bounced back and UMass faded.

The UMass Daily Collegian said the Minutemen fell flat.

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Florida pounded Kentucky 45-7. The Gators had 546 yards of offense.

Mississippi State stopped a seven game South Carolina win streak against the Bulldogs.

Tulane routed FCS Southern 66-21.

Appalachian State cruised to an easy win 31-7 over Old Dominion.

Louisiana Tech blew out FCS South Carolina State 53-24.

Wagner rolled over NAIA Concordia 38-0.

Troy played Clemson tough and lost 30-24.

BYU lost to Utah 20-19 in a game where two Cougar defenders were ejected for targeting.

After traveling 19,000 miles in their first two game, Hawaii beat UT Martin 41-36.

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Game Day Boston College--September 10th, 2016

2016 is my 40th year with UMass season tickets. There's been a lot of water over the dam in that time. There's has been high points and low. With three years of .500 ball at the end of FCS and losing since the begin of FBS, there's has not been much to encourage UMass fans. We came close last year to beating Temple, which was a Top-25 team at the time. That would have been huge for the program.

Today we face another Power Five team. Realistically, BC should have an edge. It would be great for morale if we could win. The Minutemen played mistake-free ball at Florida. Let's play with energy and see what happens.

Go UMass!!!

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Matty Vautour says BC will be a challenge.

Amherst native Taj-Amir Torres is looking forward to playing UMass.

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BC Interruption has some final thoughts.

One BC Interruption writer thinks UMass will cover the points.

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The Patriot Ledger reports BC and UMass are set to lock horns.

The Quad City Times says Boston College hopes to turn it around against UMass.

The Boston Herald reports the Eagles won't be caught napping against the Minutemen.

The Herald also relates UMass and BC are battling on the recruiting trail.

News OK says Boston College Steve Addazio could be on the hot seat.

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Maryland rolled over next week's foe FIU 41-14. The Terps knocked FIU starting QB Alex McGough out of the game early. His replacement RS Freshman Maurice Alexander went 9-18 131 yards 1 TD LONG 32. Alexander showed some flashes as a dual-threat QB. He ran 9 times for 41 yards.

The Panthers can make some big plays. The UMass defense will need to play well in order to beat them.

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Friday before the Boston College game--September 9th, 2016

Matty Vautour has a podcast about the Boston College game with guest Jon Meterparel.

Matty says a win by the Minutemen would go a long way.

Ryan Bamford is hoping for 30,000 in attendance.

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Dan Malone says UMass needs a win to make it a real rivalry.

Ross Comis hopes to improve in his second game as a starter.

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Howard Herman of Berkshire Eagle reports UMass and BC are ready to play the game.

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For Fred Semerlas BC's 1978 loss to UMass still matters. The UMass-BC-UConn rivalry is still there and it still matters. No one remembers the result of the Boston College-North Carolina game two years ago. The three teams should play each other regularly. It'll help build interest in the three schools and help attendance. UMass needs to get competitive to make this work. I hope that starts tomorrow.

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Athlon Sports previews tomorrow's game and predicts Eagles 14 Minutemen 10.

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Eagle in Atlanta previews the game and predicts BC 20 UMass 10. More bulletin board material:

"Our OL and DL is such a huge advantage that it almost doesn't even matter what the skill players do."

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BC Interruption interviews UMass beat writer Matty Vautour.

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NESN reports BC is a 17-point favorite over UMass.

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SB Nation says take UMass and give the points.

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Cougar Blue power ranks BYU's opponents.

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Athlon Sports previews Maryland-FIU.

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UMass fans should be home in time to view Mississippi State-South Carolina at 7:00 PM on ESPN2. The Bulldogs have lost seven straight to South Carolina and need a win after being upset by South Alabama last week.

Tulane meets FCS Southern University Saturday.

Old Dominion plays Appalachian State, who nearly took down Tennessee last week.

Louisiana Tech plays FCS South Carolina State.

Wagner plays NAIA Concordia.

Neal Brown and Troy University are up against a different class of opposition as they get Clemson away.

BYU faces Utah in the Battle of the Bee Hive State.

Boston College's trip to Ireland is nothing compared to the 19,000 miles Hawaii flew in the Warriors first two games. Hawaii plays UT Martin at home this week.

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ESPN says a veteran approach has Tajae Sharpe poised for success.

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Thursday before Boston College--September 8th, 2016

Nice video about the Gators game from the UMass athletic dept.

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Additional buses have been added for UMass students wanting to attend the BC game. Good work students! It's been a long time since I watched the Minutemen beat Boston College. May you not have to wait a comparable time.

Mike Traini reports 20 bus loads of students will be traveling to the game.

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True freshman OL Raquan Thomas is the feature of this post by Matty Vautour. Great start to Thomas' career. He's got an NFL body. The sky is the limit if he works hard. Everyone was saying he'd be gassed after one quarter at the Swamp, but he played most of the game. Hope he gets to squash some Eagles this week.

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The UMass Daily Collegian has UMass preparing for the Battle of the Bay State.

Andrew Cyr says UMass needs to provide a reason for fans to invest with the team.

The Collegian reports UMass' defense is ready to tackle Boston College.

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The BC student newspaper says the Eagles can capitalize on UMass' struggles.

The Heights says BC needs to take advantage of a easy win over UMass. Bulletin board material from this article for Raquan Thomas and the UMass O-Line:

"If BC can replicate its effort from Week One, it should have no issues dominating UMass’s offensive line and getting to Young."

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The Enterprise News features UMass safety Jesse Monteiro. His UMass bio.

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Boston College's defensive end Harold Landry, who has been limited by a leg injury, should be good to go against UMass.

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UMass LB Shane Huber and BC RB Jon Hilliman played on the same team at St Peters Prep in NJ.

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FIU, UMass opponent after Boston College, plays at Maryland this week. Campus Insiders previews the Terps-Panthers game.

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Wednesday before the Boston College game--September 7th, 2016

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

UMass did knock the Gators out of the Top 25.

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Dan Malone has UMass a two touchdown+ underdog to BC in the Battle of the Bay State.

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BC Interruption has BC vs UMass depth chart.

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Matty Vautour reports UMass players weren't satisfied with just keeping it close against the Gators. Matty says WR Jalen Williams is not practicing, but could play anyway against the Eagles. Right now the WR corps looks somewhat concerning. Except for Andy Isabella, nobody looked like a go to guy for Comis. TE Adam Breneman looked a little rusty in his first game back from two years off. Hopefully, he will be more involved in the offense this week. Some quick passes to the TE will help Ross Comis deal with BC pass rush.

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Ryan McGee of ESPN has UMass in the "Bottom Ten" in his column. Not a great journalistic effort. He has Buffalo and Albany previously playing in DII rather than FCS.

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Keepers College Football rankings has UMass at #120 after week #1 (.pdf download). Note that Keeper is a computer guy and computer algorithms tend to be inaccurate for the first month or so because they're working on last years stats for the first couple of games. Computer rankings are the most accurate at the end of the season, when you don't need 'em.

Massey Computer rankings has UMass at #116, one notch below FIU at #115.

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The Boston Herald says the Eagles must finish better against UMass.

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September 17th foe Florida International found a deep threat in WR Stantley Thomas. His FIU bio here.

The Panthers list three co-starters at RB.

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Fox News has "Who in the world is Tajae Sharpe."

Fantasy Football Today reports Marcus Mariotta says Tajae Sharpe makes it easy.

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Vladimir Ducasse worked out for the NY Giants Tuesday.

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Tuesday before Boston College--September 6th, 2016

UMass has it's game notes up for the BC game.

A cut-and-paste from the game notes:

"UMass featured 10 first-time starters on offense and defense at No. 25 Florida. This total does not include tight end Adam Breneman, who made his first start as a Minuteman but previously started for the Penn State program.

On offense, the new starters included Ross Comis (QB), Marquis Young (RB), Jack Driscoll (OL), Jake Largay (OL) and Raquan Thomas (OL).

On defense, Ali Ali-Musa (DL), Steve Casali (LB), Tedrick Lowery (LB), James Allen (CB) and Lee Moses (SS) marked the first-time starters.

Seventeen members of the UMass football program made their first appearances as Minutemen during the 2016 season-opener at No. 25 Florida. These 17 include Ali Ali-Musa, Bilal Ally, James Bowe Jr., Adam Breneman, Colbert Calhoun, Jack Driscoll, Derek Dumais, Andrew Ford, Malik Lee, Tedrick Lowery, Brandon Mangram, Martin Mangram, Sadiq Palmer, Mario Patton, Travis Reynolds, Isaiah Rodgers and Raquan Thomas."

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Transcript from BC coach Steve Addazio's weekly press conference for UMass.

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Keepers College football ratings has BC over UMass by 24.02 (a .pdf download).

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The Gators felt UMass made it too close for comfort.

247Sports has a 132 image gallery from the Gators-Minutemen game.

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Andrew Ford

The UMass Daily Collegian features transfer QB Andrew Ford.

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BC Interruption kicks off its UMass week coverage.

Paul Johnson says Georgia Tech was lucky to beat Boston College.

Cillian Shields of the Boston Herald says, despite the loss, the Eagles trip to Ireland was a big success.

The Atlanta Journal reviews the BC-Georgia Tech game.

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The Minutemen's next foe after Boston College is Florida International. The Panthers play Maryland this week. 247 Sports takes a look at FIU after their loss to Indiana.

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For the first time since 1936, New Hampshire will play in a new stadium as they open in Wildcat Stadium.

Too bad they didn't take the opportunity to get rid of the track. I think tracks just ruin the atmosphere at football game by moving the fans back from the field. I've been to UNH games more than a dozen times and there is plenty of room next to the field to relocate the track.

Monday before Boston College--September 5th, 2016

Video highlights of the Florida game from the UMass site.

UMass has a small photo gallery here.

YouTube video from the Gators side.

A SEC/Gator fan has a audio review of the game here. He covers the UMass side in the first eight minutes. He's complementary towards the Minutemen.

The entire game is available on YouTube if you weren't able to view it Saturday.

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Dan Malone reports UMass threatened the upset.

Matty Vautour has observations from a promising start.

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Prior to the Florida game, UMass practiced at Ocala High School. I would think the Minutemen would have some nifty video to show potential Florida recruits.

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Unfortunately, Gator WR Dre Massey suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the rest of the year. All UMass fans wish him a speedy recovery.

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Boston College opens as a 16.5 point favorite over the Minutemen. BC Interruption has a post on the point spread.

BC Interruption does not like coach Addazio's game management.

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Houston made it's case for joining the Big 12 look good with a solid win over #3 Oklahoma.

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The day after Florida --September 4th, 2016

Well we didn't look like the 128th ranked team in the country did we?

The Minutemen went toe-to-toe with the Gators for most of the game. I was especially pleased with the UMass defense. If finally looked as if we had enough depth up front to play some attacking defense. We ran some blitzes and line stunts. Da'Sean Downey played a great game with several hurries on Del Rio. The Gators were forced to punt 4 times and the Minutemen stopped three Florida drives that resulted in field goals. At times the defense looked well, almost Don Brown-like.

Quote from the Gators writeup:

"For UF, the most apropos response would have been a vintage Spurrier-like offensive eruption of, say, 60 points and 500-plus yards.

But nope."

UMass held the Gator offense to two TD's. And one of those was a busted coverage by Khari Bailey-Smith who inexplicably let Callaway loose in first quarter.

The Minutemen offense didn't do much, remembering the Gator defense was billed as the best "D" in the nation. UMass found a star in Andy Isabella who had three catches for 95 yards---and the first was a nifty over-the-shoulder catch for 53 yards that flipped the field. Marquis Young battled all night, but didn't have much room against a fast and athletic Gator defense. Ross Comis played as well as could be expected against a tough Gator defense. He didn't throw an INT and didn't fumble despite several big hits.

All-in-all a great effort. UMass looked like they belonged.

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UMass write-up here.

Florida write-up here.

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Dan Malone says the Minutemen threatened an upset.

Matty Vautour says UMass put a scare into Florida.

Matty has a notebook from the game.

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The Boston Herald says UMass put a scare into the Gators.

The Miami Herald reports a late offensive outburst pushed Florida past the Minutemen.

SEC Country said "Del Rio was under duress all night and the backs didn’t have any running room."

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Mississippi State lost to South Alabama.

Old Dominion's game was postponed until this afternoon because of the tropical storm.

Louisiana Tech came within a eyelash of upsetting Arkansas. 

Troy rang up 706 yards of offense against Austin Peay.

BYU beat Arizona on a last second field goal.

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Richmond was all over Virginia.

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Game Day--Florida September 3rd, 2016

The UMass-Gators game is available on channel 408 of Dish Network here in New Hampshire.

UPDATE: Dan Malone has media options for today's game.

UPDATE II: Boston College loses to Georgia Tech in Ireland. No sure what we learned about the Eagles in this. A lush, soggy field slowed the Wreck's triple option offense and BC's killer defense could not fly to the ball. BC stopped Georgia Tech except when it mattered,on the last drive. The Eagles special teams did not impress either. Toles can throw a spiral, but he looked rusty. BC Interruption reacts.

UPDATE III: I'm enjoying the SEC channel's voice-of-doom promos for the next game.

Florida vs UMass! Next on the SEC channel!!

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It's a big challenge today against the Gators. I do believe we have a better football team in 2016. Let's not get rattled by the Swamp and play under control.

I'm excited to see the Minutemen back on the field. This is what we all obsess about all year long. I still remember how quiet Notre Dame stadium was 20 minutes into the game. I hope UMass can keep it close early and then see what happens.

Let's go, UMass!!!

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Matty Vautour report Ross Comis hopes to lead UMass to respectability.

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Mike Traini of Fight Massachusetts previews the Florida game.

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SEC Country says the Gators should feast in the swamp.

Athlon Sports predicts Gators 52-UMass 10.

Only Gators previews the game.

The Miami Herald says the Gators are not overlooking lowly UMass.

SEC Country says Florida's misery streak ends today against the Minutemen.

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I watched Army upset Temple last night. The announcers talked about Temple's last minute win over UMass with a blocked extra point. Temple was tied for second in the nation in blocked kicks with 14 last year.

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When I reported Thursday's game results, I forgot Wagner topped sub-FCS St. Anslem 38-16.

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BC-Georgia Tech starts at 7:30 AM on ESPN 2.

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Friday before the Gators--August 2nd, 2016

Dan Malone reports coach Whipple thinks UMass will be up for the challenge of playing in the Swamp.

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UMass beat writer Matty Vautour has a podcast with UMass announcer Matt Goldstein on the UMass-Florida game.

He also has the Minutemen look to pull off a historic upset Saturday.

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The Boston Herald features UMass WR Bernard Davis.

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The Alligator says UMass confident despite being overmatched.

SEC Country says Ross Comis faces a daunting debut.

Marty Cohen of 247 Sports predicts Gators 48 Minutemen 3.

SEC Country has five questions with Matty Vautour.

Gator Country predicts a complete victory for Florida.

Sports Chat Place has the Gators by 36.

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Ryan Bamford would be open to a football-only return to the MAC.

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Maine almost beat UConn last night. Maine botched their late field goal try and UConn's kicker nailed it to put the Huskies over the top.

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Indiana, with six players suspended, scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to beat FIU 34-13.

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South Carolina edged Vanderbilt 13-10 on a field goal with 55 seconds left.

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Wake Forest edged Tulane 7-3.

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Thursday before the Gators--September 1st, 2016

UMass A.D. Ryan Bamford will be on a live video chat today 3:00-3:30 PM.

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Mark Whipple thinks the Gators are a complete football team.

Dan Malone reports UMass is expecting big things from Penn State transfer Adam Breneman.

Dan also has a report on why national outlets have UMass at the bottom of the FBS heap. No mystery for UMass fans. National writers don't do much but reviews the stats. The Minutemen lost most of their offensive numbers when Frohnapfel and Sharpe graduated. With the toughest schedule in the Group-of-five, and little in the way of returning firepower, the Minutemen would be ranked low. Let's just prove everyone wrong.

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Matty Vautour reports Whipple was pleased with fall camp and practice this week. Matty also reports the true freshman WR's Sadiq Palmer and Elijiah Robinson will make the Florida trip as well as LB Rod Jones Jr. Palmer and Robinson were impressive in the scrimmage I attended and IMHO could end up playing with the 1's by the end of the season.

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Over at BC Interruption they had a round table on expectations for 2016 and the lowest guess was 7-5.

The Boston Herald looks at the good and the bad for the Eagles.

Boston College still has not named a starter at QB.

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KSL.com looks at the second half of the Cougar's schedule and picks BYU over the Minutemen 49-7.

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A Washington State writer thinks the Gators will cover the 36 point spread against UMass.

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Gator WR C.J. Worton is out of the UMass game with a high-ankle sprain.

ESPN Gainsville says Florida has a "three-headed monster" at RB.

The Gators will have five players suspended for the UMass game.

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UConn and Maine play tonight. The game will be on NESN+ and ESPN3.

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