University of Massachusets Athletics
Football Takes On Richmond In Season Finale
November 19, 2001 | Football
Nov. 19, 2001
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Game Day Quick Facts
THE SERIES WITH RICHMOND: UMass holds a 10-7 lead in the all-time series with Richmond, which began in 1984. The Spiders are visiting Amherst for the first time since the 1997 season, as the last three meetings between the schools all took place in Richmond. The Minutemen have an all-time record of 5-3 against the Spiders in Amherst, but Richmond has won the last two contests. Richmond's last visit to McGuirk Alumni Stadium marked the first game in Atlantic 10 Football Conference history on Aug. 30, 1997, with the Spiders winning 21-6.
Series Quick Facts
Overall: UMass leads, 10-7
At Amherst: UMass leads, 5-3
At McGuirk Alumni Stadium: UMass leads, 5-3
Current Win Streak: Richmond, 1 game
Mark Whipple vs. Richmond: 2-1
Jim Reid vs. UMass: 3-3
Most UMass points: 51 (Sept. 19, 1987)
Most Richmond points: 52 (Sept. 19, 1987)
Fewest UMass points: 6 (Aug. 30, 1997)
Fewest Richmond points: 6 (Nov. 6, 1999)
Largest UMass margin: 28 (42-14, Nov. 9, 1991)
Largest Richmond margin: 17 (24-7, Oct. 13, 1984)
In overtime: Tied, 1-1
FINALLY, IT'S FRIDAY: Against Richmond this week, UMass will be playing on a Friday for only the 13th time in school history. The Minutemen have an all-time record of 4-6-2 on Fridays, going 0-3-1 in their last four games. Overall, UMass stands 25-53-7 in games which were not played on Saturdays. Most of the games the Minutemen have played on days of the week other than Saturday came in the program's early years, with only 10 games taking place on non-Saturdays since 1910. Here is a look at every Friday game UMass has played in its history:
Nov. 22, 1889 Williston Academy W, 12-8 Nov. 22, 1889 at Williston Academy W, 18-6 Oct. 7, 1892 Mount Hermon T, 10-10 Oct. 13, 1893 at Wesleyan L, 12-18 Oct. 5, 1894 at Trinity L, 0-10 Oct. 12, 1894 at Wesleyan W, 10-0 Oct. 11, 1895 at Wesleyan L, 0-26 Nov. 22, 1901 at Tufts W, 6-0 Sept. 25, 1903 at Holy Cross L, 0-6 Nov. 24, 1905 at Tufts L, 6-8 Nov. 5, 1937 at Coast Guard L, 6-7 Sept. 29, 1939 at Springfield College T, 0-0
HOME SWEET HOME: This season, the Minutemen have turned in all of their best performances when playing at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. UMass has a record of 3-2 in home game with three straight victories, while going 0-5 in road games. In their home games, the Minutemen have outscored their opponents by an average of 23.6 to 20.6, while rushing for 100.4 yards per game and passing for 251.6 yards per contest. UMass has also held its opponents to 173.4 passing yards per game and 182.0 rushing yards per contest at home, and stands +1 in turnover margin. By comparison, the Minutemen have been outscored by an average mark of 40.8 to 10.6 in their five road games this season, while rushing for only 91.8 yards per contest and passing for only 180.8 yards per game. UMass opponents have rushed for 192.4 yards per game and thrown for 247.6 yards per contest on their own home turf, and stand +12 against the Minutemen in turnover margin. Redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Guice (Coral Springs, Fla.) has turned in most of his top performances at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, passing for 239.6 yards per game with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions at home, compared to 179.8 yards per contest with one touchdown and nine interceptions on the road.
BROWER CONTINUES TO SHINE: Sophomore defensive end Valdamar Brower (Florence, Mass.) has been one of the biggest bright spots for the UMass defense this season. Against Rhode Island last week, Brower had 10 total tackles, with a career-high six tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. Earlier this year in the victory over Northeastern, he totaled eight tackles with four tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a key sack in the fourth quarter to help UMass secure the win. At Villanova, Brower recorded his first career touchdown on an interception of a pass he deflected in the Wildcat end zone. Against James Madison, Brower led the Minutemen with a pair of sacks for 17 yards, while against New Hampshire, he recorded three tackles for loss and a sack for nine yards. At Hofstra, Brower recorded seven tackles, with two sacks for 14 yards, a pass breakup and a blocked field goal. He now leads the team and the Atlantic 10 with 10 sacks for 70 yards this season, to go along with 52 total tackles and 23 tackles for loss. Last season, Brower led all UMass defensive linemen with 57 total tackles, while also recording five sacks and 11 tackles for loss. For his career, Brower now has 109 total tackles, including 15 sacks and 34 tackles for loss.
WHIPPLE ENTERS WEEK WITH 103 WINS: Now in his fourth season as head coach of the Minutemen, Mark Whipple (Brown, 1979) has 103 victories in his collegiate coaching career. Whipple owns a career record of 103-51 (.669) in 14 years as a collegiate head coach, including four seasons at UMass (31-18 / 1998-present), four years at Brown (24-16 / 1994-97) and six seasons at New Haven (48-17 / 1988-93). With this year's victory over Northeastern, he became the seventh coach in school history with 30 wins at UMass. Last year, Whipple became the first Minuteman coach in 20 years to lead his team to three consecutive winning seasons. The last UMass coach to accomplish the feat was Bob Pickett, who led the Minutemen to four straight winning years from 1978-1981. Whipple was the fastest coach in school history to record 20 victories, picking up the 20th win of his UMass career against Connecticut in 1999. He needed only 26 games to reach the 20-win mark. Previously, Mike Hodges held the record for fewest games needed to reach 20 wins, going 20-7 in his first 27 games as UMass head coach. Whipple also became the first coach in school history to win 20 games in his first two seasons.
QUINLAN TAKES OVER AT TAILBACK: Senior tailback Kevin Quinlan (Somerville, Mass.), who was a dependable backup to Marcel Shipp over his first three seasons, has taken over as the starter for UMass this season. He just missed a 100-yard game at Marshall, rushing for 96 yards against the Thundering Herd on only 16 carries. Quinlan also led the team in rushing against William & Mary (16 carries for 56 yards and a score), Delaware (13 rushes for 43 yards), New Hampshire (16 carries for 49 yards), Villanova (12 rushes for 51 yards and a touchdown), Maine (12 carries for 45 yards and a score) and Rhode Island (14 rushes for 68 yards). For the year, he has now rushed for 499 yards and three touchdowns on 131 carries, in addition to catching 27 passes for 131 yards. Quinlan's top game last season came at Northeastern, where he rushed 38 times for a career-high 241 yards and two touchdowns, recording the ninth-best single-game rushing performance in school history. He also broke the 1,000-mark in career rushing yards against Northeastern last year, and currently has career totals of 408 carries for 1,905 yards and 19 scores. Quinlan needs 39 yards this week to move past George Barnwell (1,943 yards / 1982-1985) for eighth place on the UMass career rushing list.
ROBINSON PLAYS BIG AT SAFETY: Senior free safety Jeremy Robinson (Syracuse, N.Y.) continues to show why he is one of the nation's top defensive backs. In the victory over Northeastern, he led the team with 12 total tackles, nine of them solo stops. At Villanova, Robinson recorded 13 total tackles, the second-highest single-game total of his collegiate career. His previous season-high for tackles was 11, against William & Mary in the season opener. In addition, Robinson recorded a pair of interceptions earlier in the season at Delaware, marking the second time he has picked off two passes in a game during his collegiate career. For the season, Robinson now leads the team with 82 total tackles, including 65 solo stops. He has also totaled three interceptions, five pass breakups and three fumble recoveries. Last year, Robinson ranked third on the team with 75 tackles, while also posting a sack, four interceptions and eight pass breakups. In 1999, Robinson ranked second on the team in tackles with 103, to go along with four sacks, six interceptions and six pass breakups, and was named a first team All-American by the Associated Press. For his career, Robinson now has 321 total tackles (including 232 solo stops), with 15 interceptions for 171 yards and 25 pass breakups. He currently ranks fourth all-time at UMass in interceptions, sixth in interception return yards, sixth in solo tackles, sixth in pass breakups and eighth in total tackles.
THE LAST MEETING - RICHMOND 31, UMASS 24 (9/16/00): Marcel Shipp rushed 27 times for 112 yards and a touchdown, but it was not enough as the third-ranked Minutemen fell at Richmond 31-24. The Spiders started the game on fire, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead on a 25-yard touchdown run by Sean Gustus and a 27-yard field goal from Doug Kirchner. The Minutemen came back in the second quarter to take the lead, as Richard Lucero hit Adrian Zullo with a pair of scoring strikes, from 16 and 43 yards. UMass increased its lead to 21-10 early in the third quarter, taking the opening drive of the second half and marching 66 yards, with Shipp scoring the touchdown from 14 yards out. But the Richmond offense came back to life, with TyRonne Turner scoring on a one-yard run and Gustus hitting Ryan Tolhurst with a 69-yard pass to give the Spiders a 24-21 lead. The Minutemen tied up the game at 24-24 on a 21-yard field goal by Jason Cherry, before Gustus found Tolhurst again with a 56-yard touchdown pass to conclude the scoring. Lucero completed 18 of 32 passes on the day for 292 yards and two touchdowns, with Zullo catching a team-high five passes for 82 yards and two scores. DeShon Hardy also had a big day, catching four passes for 93 yards and returning three punts for 74 yards. Gustus supplied almost all of the offense for the Spiders, rushing 20 times for 119 yards and a score, while also completing six of 11 passes for 173 yards and two more touchdowns. Kole Ayi led the UMass defense with 11 tackles, while Joe Ferrer totaled seven tackles with three tackles for loss. David Giles totaled 11 tackles and an interception to lead the Spiders.
SANGER IS A WEAPON: Junior punter David Sanger (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) continues to show why he is one of the top punters in school history. He has punted 60 times for 2,480 yards (41.3 average) this season, with 16 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line, and ranks second in the Atlantic 10 and 16th nationally in punting average. He also has UMass ranked 10th nationally and third in the Atlantic 10 in net punting average this year. At Villanova, Sanger averaged 40.6 yards on seven punts and placed five kicks inside the 20, including two which were downed at the one-yard line. Earlier in the season against James Madison, Sanger averaged 50.3 yards on eight punts, to break John Romboli's school single-game record for punting average (50.2 at Boston College on Nov. 22, 1975). In addition, his 71-yard punt against the Dukes ranks as the eighth-longest in school history, and he was named Special Teams Player of the Week by the Atlantic 10 Conference and Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette. Last year, Sanger punted 38 times, landing 14 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He also averaged 39.4 yards per punt, helping UMass to an Atlantic 10-best (and sixth in Division I-AA) net average of 36.8 yards per punt. Over the course of his UMass career, Sanger has now punted 160 times for 6,492 yards, and his average of 40.6 yards per punt ranks as the best in school history. Forty-nine of his 160 career punts have pinned opponents inside the 20.
GUICE STARTING UNDER CENTER: Redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Guice is in his first season as UMass' starting signal caller, and has turned in some big performances. He has been named the Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week twice, following last week's win over Rhode Island (14 of 25 for 175 yards and two scores) and after the victory over James Madison (23 of 47 for 332 yards and five touchdowns, and tying the school single-game record for touchdown passes). Against New Hampshire, he completed 28 of 63 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 16 times for 13 yards and another score against the Wildcats, to give him 416 total offensive yards on 79 attempts. Guice broke the school records for total offensive yards, total offensive attempts, passing yards and passing attempts against New Hampshire. He became the first UMass player to ever throw for over 400 yards, breaking Brian McNally's record of 389 yards passing against Connecticut on Oct. 23, 1976. For the season, Guice has now completed 178 of 363 passes for 2,097 yards and 11 touchdowns with 19 interceptions. He has set a new UMass single-season record for passing yards by a freshman, breaking Gary Wilkos' old mark of 1,171 yards in 1989, and is the first Minuteman freshman to throw for 2,000 yards or 10 touchdowns. Guice also ranks third on the UMass single-season lists for passing attempts, completions and passing yards, while ranking ninth on the single-season chart for passing touchdowns.
MINUTEMEN FACING TOUGH SLATE: One of the main reasons why UMass has a 3-7 record so far this season is that the Minutemen have faced one of the nation's toughest schedules. Through games of Nov. 17, UMass' schedule ranked as the second hardest among all Division I-AA schools according to Jeff Sagarin's rankings, thanks to games against Division I-A Marshall, Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison, Maine, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Villanova and William & Mary. Richmond's schedule currently ranks first in Division I-AA, with Delaware's placing third.
HARDY PUTS UP BIG NUMBERS: Senior wide receiver and punt returner DeShon Hardy (Neptune, N.J.) continues to be UMass' top receiving threat. In the victory over Northeastern, Hardy had a team-best three catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Against New Hampshire, Hardy ranked second on the team with seven receptions for 71 yards, and at Hofstra he led the team with five catches for 60 yards. At Delaware, he set career highs for both receptions and receiving yards, catching 10 passes for 135 yards. The 10 receptions tied Hardy for the fifth-best single-game performance in school history, while he became only the sixth UMass player to reach double figures in catches for a single game. At Marshall, Hardy led the team with four catches for 90 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Hardy has also seen a bit of action as an option quarterback, rushing for 25 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. For the year, he leads the team in receiving with 41 catches for 610 yards and two scores. He has also caught at least one pass in 15 straight games and 20 of his last 21 contests. For his career, Hardy now has 71 catches for 1,045 yards and four touchdowns, to go along with 69 punt returns for 525 yards. He ranks 10th all-time at UMass in career receptions, and needs only and 59 yards this week to crack to the school top 10 in receiving yards.
CAIN GETS BACK IN THE FLOW: Sophomore linebacker Jeremy Cain (Tamarac, Fla.) has returned to the UMass starting lineup for the last six games, and has responded with some big performances. Last week against Rhode Island, he totaled 10 tackles with three tackles for loss and a sack. Cain recorded a career-best 14 tackles earlier in the year against New Hampshire, including 12 solo stops, five tackles for loss and a sack for eight yards. He also totaled nine tackles against James Madison, with two tackles for loss and a pass breakup, and had nine tackles against Northeastern. Cain also had seven tackles and a sack against William & Mary in less than two quarters of action, before leaving the game with a sprained knee. He did not play at Marshall or Delaware due to the injury, and was on the field for only four plays at Hofstra. Despite all the time he has missed, Cain still ranks fourth on the team with 61 total tackles this season, and stands third on the squad with 11 tackles for loss. Last year, Cain played in all 11 games and recorded 45 total tackles as the first linebacker off the bench. For his career, he now has 106 total tackles, including 70 solo stops and 12 tackles for loss.
MCGUIRK MAGIC: Since Mark Whipple took over as the head coach of the Minutemen prior to the start of the 1998 season, UMass has been tough to beat in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The Minutemen have gone 16-6 (.727) at home from 1998 to present, improving their all-time record at McGuirk to 124-67-2 (.648). Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while posting a home record of 37-19 (.661) during that span. The Minutemen also have a mark of 12-3 at McGuirk Stadium against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents under Whipple.
BROWN BECOMING A TOP RECEIVING THREAT: Junior wide receiver Neal Brown (Danville, Ky.) has turned into one of the top wide outs for the Minutemen this season. He led the team or tied for the team-lead in receptions for a stretch of five straight games, including a nine-catch, 118-yard game against New Hampshire in which he set career-highs for both receptions and receiving yards. Brown's other performances during that span included five receptions for 45 yards at Maine, three catches for 58 yards against Northeastern, three receptions for 42 yards at Villanova, and six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown against James Madison. For the season, Brown has caught at least one pass in every game and ranks second on the team with 36 receptions for 396 yards and two scores. Brown is in his first season with the Minutemen, after transferring to UMass from the University of Kentucky in August. During his two seasons with the Wildcats, Brown caught 10 passes for 48 yards, including a two-yard touchdown pass at South Carolina in 2000.
MINUTEMEN BRING IN ACADEMIC HONORS: Graduated defensive back Brian Smith was honored last season for his work both on the field and in the classroom. Smith was named to the Verizon / CoSIDA Academic All-District I first team, marking the third straight year he had been selected to the squad. In addition to starting every UMass game during his final three seasons, Smith carried a 3.36 grade point average in Accounting. Smith was also named to the Division I-AA Athletic Directors Academic All-Star team, marking the second time in his career he was chosen to that squad (he also earned the honor in 1998). Smith was joined by sophomore defensive end Valdamar Brower, sophomore linebacker Jeremy Cain, graduated senior wide receiver Steve Ley, graduated senior defensive end Dan Schneider, junior placekicker Doug White (Claremont, Calif.) and graduated senior offensive lineman Ryan Woods on the 2000 Academic All-Atlantic 10 team.
MINUTEMEN NEAR TOP OF NCAA STAT LEADERS: Three different Minutemen currently rank among the NCAA Division I-AA statistical leaders, through games of Nov. 17. Junior punter David Sanger leads the way by standing 16th nationally with an average of 41.3 yards per punt. The rankings:
Category NCAA Rank Player/Team Avg. Net Punting 10 UMass 37.0 Punting 16 David Sanger 41.3 Completions 24 Matt Guice 17.8 Total Offense 45 Matt Guice 201.8 Field Goals 49 Doug White 0.7
MINUTEMEN AMONG THE A-10 LEADERS: Two Minutemen rank among the Atlantic 10 leaders in various statistical categories, through games of Nov. 17. Junior punter David Sanger stands second in the league in punting (41.3 yards/punt), while junior placekicker Doug White stands fifth in field goal percentage (.636). As a team, UMass stands third in the conference in net punting (37.0 yards/punt).
RICHMOND HEAD COACH JIM REID: Former UMass head coach Jim Reid (Maine, 1973) is in his seventh season at the helm of the Richmond football program. A three-time Yankee Conference Coach of the Year and two-time Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year, Reid sports a 41-37-1 mark during his time with the Spiders. Two times in the last three seasons, he has led Richmond to the Atlantic 10 title and an NCAA playoff appearance, posting an overall record of 9-3 in 1998 and 10-3 mark in 2000. Prior to his time with the Spiders, Reid coached at UMass for 19 years and served as head coach from 1986-1991, compiling a 36-29-2 record in that span and leading the Minutemen to three Yankee Conference titles and two NCAA playoff appearances. He served as defensive coordinator at Boston College in 1994 and at Richmond from 1992-1993. Reid was an assistant at UMass from 1973-1985 under Dick MacPherson, Bob Pickett and Bob Stull. He sports an overall mark of 77-66-3 in 13 years as a collegiate head coach.
THE UMASS-RICHMOND CONNECTION: In addition to head coach Jim Reid, two other Richmond staffers have close ties to the University of Massachusetts. The Spiders' running backs coach, Bill Durkin, was a four-year letterwinner (1989-1990, 1992-1993) at offensive guard for UMass and also served as a co-captain in both 1992 and 1993. A member of the Yankee Conference's 50th anniversary all-time team, Durkin earned All-America honors in 1993 and was named All-Yankee Conference twice. Richmond defensive line coach Rich Cavanaugh is also a former Minuteman, lettering three times as an offensive tackle (1989-1991). A native of Holyoke, Mass., Cavanaugh earned first team All-Yankee Conference honors in 1990.
SENIOR SALUTE: The following UMass seniors will be taking part in the final game of their collegiate careers against Richmond: Linebacker Bill Barry (Bedford, N.H.), cornerback Eddie Bowman (Philadelphia, Pa.), wide receiver Tre Brady (Temple Hills, Md.), tight end Eddie Campbell (North Arlington, N.J.), fullback Pete Cariello (Yorktown, N.Y.), placekicker Jason Cherry (Butler, Pa.), wide receiver DeShon Hardy, tailback Omari Howard (Syracuse, N.Y.), tailback and co-captain Kevin Quinlan, free safety and co-captain Jeremy Robinson, wide receiver Rafael Santos (Holyoke, Mass.) and wide receiver Paul Tupa (Rolla, N.D.).
UMASS ON THE RADIO: All University of Massachusetts football games can be heard live on the UMass Football Radio Network, with WHMP 1400 AM (Northampton) serving as the flagship station. Bob "Down with the Sickness" Behler is in his third season as the play-by-play announcer, while former UMass head coach Bob Pickett is in his fourth year as color analyst. This week's list of affiliates on the UMass Radio Network includes WXKS 1430 AM (Boston), WHMP 1240 AM (Greenfield), WBRK 101.7 FM (Pittsfield), WHMP 1600 AM (Springfield) and WORC 1310 AM (Worcester). In addition, WMUA 91.1 FM, the UMass student station, will carry all Minuteman football games in 2001.
THE MARK WHIPPLE SHOW: Head coach Mark Whipple's weekly radio show, "The Mark Whipple Show," airs live from The Hangar Pub & Grill in Amherst each week. This week, the show will take place on Monday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on WHMP 1400 AM (Northampton), 1240 AM (Greenfield) and 1600 AM (Springfield). Bob Behler serves as the show's host. The show is open to the general public.
COACH'S CORNER WITH MARK WHIPPLE: Every Sunday night at 11:30 p.m., the Coach's Corner with Mark Whipple can be seen on WGGB TV, channel 40 in Springfield. The short segment, which runs at the tale end of the Sunday night news, features highlights from Saturday's game and a look ahead to the next week's opponent. The show will run through the end of UMass' season.
MINUTEMEN ON TELEVISION: The Minutemen had four games carried on live television during the 2001 season. The first televised game came at Marshall, which was carried by the Thundering Herd Network in West Virginia, with WSAZ-TV in Huntington serving as the flagship station. The game was also available nationwide, as part of the ESPN Gameplan package. The Delaware game was televised on CN8 in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware. The Hofstra contest was shown on Fox Sports New York, and was available locally on Fox Sports New England. The final televised contest was last week's game with Rhode Island, which was shown on the Atlantic 10 Television Network. The game was carried locally by Fox Sports New England. The Minutemen have a record of 10-6 in televised games since the beginning of the 1998 season, including a 7-3 mark against Atlantic 10 opponents.
UMASS ON THE 23RD: In this week's game against Richmond, the Minutemen will be playing on November 23 for the seventh time in school history. UMass enters the game with a 1-4-1 mark on Nov. 23, including a 1-3-1 record in home games. The Minutemen lost their last game played on this date, dropping a 35-28 contest to New Hampshire in 1991. UMass' lone victory on this date came during the 1935 season, a 19-13 win over Tufts. The Minutemen are 0-1 in conference games played on Nov. 23, with the only game coming against New Hampshire in 1991. UMass first played a game on Nov. 23 in 1929, when it battled Tufts to a 0-0 tie.
ABOUT THE SPIDERS: Richmond enters this week's game with an overall record of 2-8 and a 2-6 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Richmond has one of the top ground attacks in the Atlantic 10, leading the conference with an average of 236.2 rushing yards per game. Junior quarterback Cordell Roane leads the way with 710 yards and three touchdowns on 159 carries, while senior tailback J.R. Punell has 374 yards and two scores on 90 rushes. Roane also leads the team in passing, completing 26 of 68 attempts for 354 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions. The Spider defense leads the conference by allowing only 290.0 total yards per game. Junior linebacker Adrian Archie leads the way with 86 total tackles and seven tackles for loss, while senior defensive end Jonathan Wilfong has 54 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and eight and a half sacks.
MINUTEMEN NAME CAPTAINS: Prior to the Sept. 1 season opener against William & Mary, senior free safety Jeremy Robinson and senior tailback Kevin Quinlan were named UMass' captains for the 2001 season. Two of the most experienced players on the team, Robinson and Quinlan are two of only eight current Minutemen who played in the 1998 NCAA championship game victory over Georgia Southern. Six of UMass' seven captains since the 1998 season have gone on to play football professionally.
STRONG AFTER SEPTEMBER: After opening the season with an 0-5 record, the Minutemen should be happy that the month of September is finally over. Since the beginning of the 1998 season, UMass stands only 4-9 in games played during the month of September, but has gone 27-9 in all other months combined. The Minutemen stand 12-5 in the month of October during that span, 11-3 in November, 3-1 in December and 1-0 in August.
EXTRA POINTS: Sophomore linebacker Mark Kimener (Oakton, Va.) recorded 12 tackles with a sack and a forced fumble against Rhode Island last week. He now ranks second on the team with 66 total tackles on the season ... Freshman wide out Jason Peebler (Modesto, Calif.) enters the Richmond game with 16 receptions for 228 yards on the season. Peebler now has the second-most catches ever by a UMass freshman, ranking behind only Adrian Zullo (29 receptions in 1998) ... Three former Minutemen are currently on National Football League rosters: rookie linebacker Kole Ayi of the New England Patriots, third-year linebacker Khari Samuel of the Detroit Lions and rookie tailback Marcel Shipp of the Arizona Cardinals ... UMass has scored in 79 straight games since a 34-0 loss to Rhode Island on Sept. 30, 1995 ... The Minutemen have scored in 102 consecutive home games since a 17-0 loss to Holy Cross on Sept. 17, 1983 ... With last season's 7-4 record, UMass recorded seven or more victories in three straight seasons for the first time since 1963-1965, when the Minutemen went 8-0-1 (1963), 8-2 (1964) and 7-2 (1965).
