Former UMass Coach Paul Gorham (1999-2003) is now head Coach at Sacred Heart.
His Sacred Heart bio is here . The Pioneers went 3-8 this year in the NEC.
Monday, December 10, 2007
KAEO Paul Gorham
Former UMass Coach Paul Gorham (1999-2003) is now head Coach at Sacred Heart.
His Sacred Heart bio is here . The Pioneers went 3-8 this year in the NEC.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Sunday Morning Digest
Well, Delaware defeated the Salukis to go the the National Championship against Appalachian State. SIU-centric articles here and here and here .
And we told Delaware not to kick to Craig Turner .
Woah! The Hens and the Mountaineers in the National Championship. Not two of my favorite teams. Ben Albert is Associate Head Coach for Delaware, so I've got to go with the Hens .
Under the "How-did-I-miss-that-information" category is that fact that former UMass guy Chet Gladchuk is Athletic Director at Navy. Paul Johnson, the Navy Coach left to become Head Coach at Georgia Tech.
UPDATE: David Coulson has an SIU-Delaware article here .
One from the Delaware side here .
Saturday, December 08, 2007
More UMass and Playoff articles
The Salem News has an article on UMass Fullback Chris Zardas' injury. It's a stark reminder of how much football players put their body on the line. Zardas certainly looked like he was becoming a real asset to UMass when he was injured.
The UMass football Blog wishes Chris and all the other Minutemen injured this season a quick and complete recovery.
Around the playoffs:
Delaware plays the Salukis in Carbondale at 4:00 pm today.
A Delaware writer looks at the playoffs .
A story from the Saluki side here .
Hens-Saluki matchups here .
If you missed last night's Richmond-Appalachian State game, you missed Amanti Edwards going off on the Spiders .
This article gives some the records set by Edwards and the Mountaineers .
Dave Coulson has a write-up on the Richmond-Appalachian State game here .
The UMass football Blog wishes Chris and all the other Minutemen injured this season a quick and complete recovery.
Around the playoffs:
Delaware plays the Salukis in Carbondale at 4:00 pm today.
A Delaware writer looks at the playoffs .
A story from the Saluki side here .
Hens-Saluki matchups here .
If you missed last night's Richmond-Appalachian State game, you missed Amanti Edwards going off on the Spiders .
This article gives some the records set by Edwards and the Mountaineers .
Dave Coulson has a write-up on the Richmond-Appalachian State game here .
Friday, December 07, 2007
Austin and Hatchell Walter Camp All-Americans
Matt Austin and Jason Hatchell have been named Walter Camp All-Americans.
Walter Camp Foundation press release here .
UMass press release here .
Coach Brown and AD John McCutcheon honored
Last night Coach Brown and UMass AD John McCutcheon were honored by the All-American Football Foundation. Coach Brown was awarded the Johnny Vaught Coach of the Year Award.
Coach Brown's wife Debe Brown also received an award.
AD John McCutcheon received the Robert R Neyland Outstanding AD Award.
Note that Coach Brown currently leads all UMass Football Coaches in winning percentage. The following lists UMass coaches in total games coached, then wins and then shows winning percentage
Coach Brown's wife Debe Brown also received an award.
AD John McCutcheon received the Robert R Neyland Outstanding AD Award.
Note that Coach Brown currently leads all UMass Football Coaches in winning percentage. The following lists UMass coaches in total games coached, then wins and then shows winning percentage
- Vic Fusia --93 games--59 wins--.645
- Mark Whipple--75 games--49 wins--.629
- Dick McPherson--73 games--45 wins--.623
- Jim Reid--67 games--36 wins--.552
- Bob Pickett-64 games--36 wins--.563
- Don Brown--50 games--36 wins--.720
Friday FCS articles
The UMass Daily Collegian looks at the SIU game .
David Coulson picks against the CAA again .
Bruce Dowd looks at the CAA's run in the playoffs .
Eric Gemunder looks at this week's games (a pdf download) .
And the Salukis finally think they have the attention of the Carbondale fans .
David Coulson picks against the CAA again .
Bruce Dowd looks at the CAA's run in the playoffs .
Eric Gemunder looks at this week's games (a pdf download) .
And the Salukis finally think they have the attention of the Carbondale fans .
Thursday, December 06, 2007
UMass Football Blog update
I've used my time up here in the Maine woods to to some housekeeping on the Blog now that the playoffs are over for UMass.
I've updated the links section and deleted all the dead ones. Several links have been added. I have a policy of linking to sites that link here. If you find any links that need to be worked on add a comment or e-mail me.
The auto-login feature is still a pain in the butt, but I've figured out how to get the image back in the header.
I've updated the links section and deleted all the dead ones. Several links have been added. I have a policy of linking to sites that link here. If you find any links that need to be worked on add a comment or e-mail me.
The auto-login feature is still a pain in the butt, but I've figured out how to get the image back in the header.
Thursday morning reading
Charles Burton of the College Sporting New looks at the latest round of FCS playoffs.
BTW, check out UMass' final stats.
Meanwhile, the Saluki's are the only seeded FCS playoff team still standing.
If the Hens win the National Championship, K.C. Keeler may be on the move .
Richmond and Applachian State play Friday.
It's a long way to the Spring Game and College Basketball has lost it's bounce for college students. I've noticed in the BB games I've watched on TV there are a lot of empty seats around the nation.
BTW, check out UMass' final stats.
Meanwhile, the Saluki's are the only seeded FCS playoff team still standing.
If the Hens win the National Championship, K.C. Keeler may be on the move .
Richmond and Applachian State play Friday.
It's a long way to the Spring Game and College Basketball has lost it's bounce for college students. I've noticed in the BB games I've watched on TV there are a lot of empty seats around the nation.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
More playoff stuff
The Daily Collegian covers the players that made UMass football a success in 2007.
It's a Golden Era for the Salukis.
Keeper has both CAA teams as underdogs in the next round.
On the other hand, we're still rated higher than the Hens .
I always read Matty Vautour's Hampshire Gazette Sports Blog. There, I found a link to this story about Marcel Shipp and Steve Baylark helping underprivileged kids .
Kent Schmidt of the College Sporting News has a semi-final playoff article here.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Six UMass Players named All-New England
The UMass website has an article about six UMass players being named All-New England.
Seniors:
Juniors:
Congrats to the six players. There will be more post-season honors coming.
Seniors:
Juniors:
Congrats to the six players. There will be more post-season honors coming.
Tuesday Morning reading
Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican has an article with Coach Brown discussing the SIU game and he also looks at UMass' recruiting needs in 2008.
Despite its strong showing so far, the Salukis are still searching for fans. Coach Kill was diplomatic about the showing. The student newspaper categorized the turnout as "pathetic".
Delaware gets SIU next. And the Hens are smiling.
Despite its strong showing so far, the Salukis are still searching for fans. Coach Kill was diplomatic about the showing. The student newspaper categorized the turnout as "pathetic".
Delaware gets SIU next. And the Hens are smiling.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Thoughts on SIU
Well, at first I was pretty disappointed. As evidenced by this Blog I pretty much bleed Maroon & White. However, after a day’s reflection, I have to be thankful for a great 2007 season. We won the CAA in its first ever season. Since 1998, UMass has won the league championship four times (99, 03, 06 and 07). Four championships in nine years. That’s pretty damm good. One flaw in the playoff system is that 15 of the top 16 teams in the nation end their season with loss. Undefeated McNeese State and Montana didn’t even make it out of the first round. The Pundits favorite team UNI, barely escaped New Hampshire ----- a team we dominated. Delaware put an end to them in next round. We are still one of the top eight teams in the nation and we went down swinging.
The roots of the SIU loss are complex. It just was not as easy this year. Different team, different players with different skills and personalities. Different coaches. While I believe this team was very talented, it just did not all fit together easily as it did in 2006. This year, it was a struggle.
One reason for the loss and the struggle was we were playing a pro schedule with a FCS team. If coach Brown was a pro coach he would have placed a number of players on the IR and the team would have been picking up players from the waver wire. Even in training camp, the O-line struggled with injuries. We rarely kept the same line intact for more than a game or two. We had injuries at TE with Brad Listorti essentially out for the season and both Matt Silver and Ian Jorgensen battled injuries. So did fullback E.J. Barthel.
I think Liam Coen’s knee was considerably more than “tweaked”. He did not look comfortable most of the season.
Losing Tony Nelson and Chris Zardas in the Fordham game really hurt. In the close SIU game, they could have made a difference. By December 1st , we were running out of bodies.
Defense:
I thought the defense looked gassed. Remember they had just come off three big efforts against Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Hofstra. To me, it looked like they just went to the well and it was dry. The proof of the effort they made was the hitting. The SIU game was one of the most physical games I’ve seen. We needed some turnovers and except for Sean Small’s interception, we did not get any.
Offense:
The offense’s trouble was more complex. Despite the personal losses, we were more than competitive. Our wide receivers Rasheed Rancher, J.J. Moore, Mike Omar and Jeremy Horne romped.
However, despite the 25 first downs, 7.5 yards/play and the record setting passing day, I doubt that the O-line were very happy with their play. We are a blitzing team and we struggled with SIU’s blitzes. When Liam had time, he was effective. I also doubt that despite his numbers, he was happy with the three interceptions.
Overall impression:
I feel that despite the UMass manta of taking it one game at a time, we sometimes felt that all that talent was going to prevail no matter what. It felt as if we lost concentration sometimes. The first half of Colgate, the first 40 minutes of William & Mary, the first quarter of SIU. The whole season it seemed as if we felt we could step on the gas and pull away from anyone. But against Rhody and SIU the spurt never came.
And we made some mistakes. That holding call in the first quarter that stopped a drive and we had to settle for a field goal. Liam’s interception in the end zone that cost us at least three points. That’s seven points and an overtime game right there.
To bring this to a full circle, it’s a pretty good year when we go 10-3, win the CAA Championship, advance to the quarterfinals, lose by seven points on the road and feel dissatisfied with the ending...
IMHO UMass still has tons of talent. I look forward to Coach Brown crafting a new team for 2008 and I can’t wait to see all our players play in the new year. I'm still proud of them. Wanna bet that we’ll have some terrific recruits on Feb 8th? When is the Spring Game this year? I’m ready..... :)
The roots of the SIU loss are complex. It just was not as easy this year. Different team, different players with different skills and personalities. Different coaches. While I believe this team was very talented, it just did not all fit together easily as it did in 2006. This year, it was a struggle.
One reason for the loss and the struggle was we were playing a pro schedule with a FCS team. If coach Brown was a pro coach he would have placed a number of players on the IR and the team would have been picking up players from the waver wire. Even in training camp, the O-line struggled with injuries. We rarely kept the same line intact for more than a game or two. We had injuries at TE with Brad Listorti essentially out for the season and both Matt Silver and Ian Jorgensen battled injuries. So did fullback E.J. Barthel.
I think Liam Coen’s knee was considerably more than “tweaked”. He did not look comfortable most of the season.
Losing Tony Nelson and Chris Zardas in the Fordham game really hurt. In the close SIU game, they could have made a difference. By December 1st , we were running out of bodies.
Defense:
I thought the defense looked gassed. Remember they had just come off three big efforts against Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Hofstra. To me, it looked like they just went to the well and it was dry. The proof of the effort they made was the hitting. The SIU game was one of the most physical games I’ve seen. We needed some turnovers and except for Sean Small’s interception, we did not get any.
Offense:
The offense’s trouble was more complex. Despite the personal losses, we were more than competitive. Our wide receivers Rasheed Rancher, J.J. Moore, Mike Omar and Jeremy Horne romped.
However, despite the 25 first downs, 7.5 yards/play and the record setting passing day, I doubt that the O-line were very happy with their play. We are a blitzing team and we struggled with SIU’s blitzes. When Liam had time, he was effective. I also doubt that despite his numbers, he was happy with the three interceptions.
Overall impression:
I feel that despite the UMass manta of taking it one game at a time, we sometimes felt that all that talent was going to prevail no matter what. It felt as if we lost concentration sometimes. The first half of Colgate, the first 40 minutes of William & Mary, the first quarter of SIU. The whole season it seemed as if we felt we could step on the gas and pull away from anyone. But against Rhody and SIU the spurt never came.
And we made some mistakes. That holding call in the first quarter that stopped a drive and we had to settle for a field goal. Liam’s interception in the end zone that cost us at least three points. That’s seven points and an overtime game right there.
To bring this to a full circle, it’s a pretty good year when we go 10-3, win the CAA Championship, advance to the quarterfinals, lose by seven points on the road and feel dissatisfied with the ending...
IMHO UMass still has tons of talent. I look forward to Coach Brown crafting a new team for 2008 and I can’t wait to see all our players play in the new year. I'm still proud of them. Wanna bet that we’ll have some terrific recruits on Feb 8th? When is the Spring Game this year? I’m ready..... :)
Yet more SIU articles
Still more articles on the Minutemen's loss to SIU.
The Boston Herald has an article in which Coach Brown thinks we'll be back.
The Daily Collegian has an article here .
Three articles from the Saluki side here and here and here .
The Sports Network has a FCS article by Charles Burton.
The College Sporting News has look at the weekend's game .
UPDATE: Matty Vautour remembers that it was still a great season. He has another SIU game article here .
AROUND THE PLAYOFFS:
And the Delaware Hens were all over undefeated UNI.
Matty Vautour will have some insights in about a hour or so, but the Gazette is not up yet.
I'm also working on my own SIU article, which I hope to have up probably this evening.
The Boston Herald has an article in which Coach Brown thinks we'll be back.
The Daily Collegian has an article here .
Three articles from the Saluki side here and here and here .
The Sports Network has a FCS article by Charles Burton.
The College Sporting News has look at the weekend's game .
UPDATE: Matty Vautour remembers that it was still a great season. He has another SIU game article here .
AROUND THE PLAYOFFS:
And the Delaware Hens were all over undefeated UNI.
Matty Vautour will have some insights in about a hour or so, but the Gazette is not up yet.
I'm also working on my own SIU article, which I hope to have up probably this evening.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Road connection works
It seems as if I have a good wi-fi connection. So, if nothing else goes bad, the UMass Football Blog will be up all week.
About a week before the SIU game Blogger lost the "remember me" function for log-in. And just two days ago, Blogger lost the ability to post an image in the header. So far, I've not been able to recover either function.
Blogger does not really have any customer support.
I'm thinking seriously about moving the Blog to a private web host. Now that the season is over, I'll have time to look into moving.
About a week before the SIU game Blogger lost the "remember me" function for log-in. And just two days ago, Blogger lost the ability to post an image in the header. So far, I've not been able to recover either function.
Blogger does not really have any customer support.
I'm thinking seriously about moving the Blog to a private web host. Now that the season is over, I'll have time to look into moving.
Aftermath
Well, it's 5:17 am and I'll be leaving in an hour or so. Remember, if I have an internet connection, I will continue to make posts this week. However, if I can't connect, the UMass Football Blog will be up and running again on Friday, Dec 7th after I return.
Not a lot of good stuff up so far on the wires. Mostly game recaps.
The Boston Globe has a game article here.
The Chicago Tribune has an article here .
The Boston Herald has two articles here and here .
The Springfield Republican has an article here .
The Southern has two Saluki articles here and here .
UPDATE: The CAA site has a good update on all three CAA teams. Both Delaware and Richmond won.
Not a lot of good stuff up so far on the wires. Mostly game recaps.
The Boston Globe has a game article here.
The Chicago Tribune has an article here .
The Boston Herald has two articles here and here .
The Springfield Republican has an article here .
The Southern has two Saluki articles here and here .
UPDATE: The CAA site has a good update on all three CAA teams. Both Delaware and Richmond won.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
UMass Football Blog Publishing Schedule
Regular UMass Football Blog readers should be advised that the Blog and Mrs Blog have to make an unscheduled trip so that Mrs. Blog can help out with a family situation.
We are supposed to have internet connection, but as was proved several times on road trips, that may not happen.
So, it I do have internet access, I will continue to publish the blog, but the hours may be different than my normal 8:00 am update.
If I do not have internet access, I be back up and blogging by Friday morning (Dec 7th).
Thanks to the UMass Football team for a great season and a gutsy effort all year long!
Go UMass!
We are supposed to have internet connection, but as was proved several times on road trips, that may not happen.
So, it I do have internet access, I will continue to publish the blog, but the hours may be different than my normal 8:00 am update.
If I do not have internet access, I be back up and blogging by Friday morning (Dec 7th).
Thanks to the UMass Football team for a great season and a gutsy effort all year long!
Go UMass!
Congratulations to SIU
Congratulations to SIU.
The Saluki's played a fine game to win a trip to the semi-finals. Good luck and I hope you win the national Championship.
UMass writeup here .
ESPN360 will carry the game
If for some reason, you don't get NESN with your TV package, there is another way to get the UMass-SIU game if you have broadband internet.
ESPN360 will be carrying the game. It works with Verizon DSL and a host of local providers.
My setup did did not work with FireFox, but it did work with Internet Explorer. Other people did get the connection to work with their Firefox browser.
Saluki Saturday
Before I start, may I say-----"Go UMass!"
The Chicago Trib has a story about the big day in Carbondale.
The Boston Globe has a story about the road test for UMass .
The Boston Herald has a SIU game article here .
Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican has a game article here .
The Southern has a Saluki-centric article here .
The Boston Globe has an article about UMass offensive lineman Sean Callichio.
FCS long timer Eric Gerymunder has his weekly FCS newsletter here (click on "weekly preview")
The Springfield Republican has an article on the fact that it's a good season to be a Minutemen Fan .
And it my be a bad season for the Northeastern Huskies .
The Chicago Trib has a story about the big day in Carbondale.
The Boston Globe has a story about the road test for UMass .
The Boston Herald has a SIU game article here .
Jeff Thomas of the Springfield Republican has a game article here .
The Southern has a Saluki-centric article here .
The Boston Globe has an article about UMass offensive lineman Sean Callichio.
FCS long timer Eric Gerymunder has his weekly FCS newsletter here (click on "weekly preview")
The Springfield Republican has an article on the fact that it's a good season to be a Minutemen Fan .
And it my be a bad season for the Northeastern Huskies .
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