University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Ready To Duke It Out With James Madison
October 05, 2004 | Football
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Oct. 5, 2004
Massachusetts (2-3, 0-2) at #19 James Madison (3-1, 2-0)
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004 • 1:30 p.m.
Bridgeforth Stadium/
Zane Showker Field (13,559/Turf)
Harrisonburg, Va.
UMass Ready To Duke It Out With James Madison
• The UMass football team returns to Atlantic 10 play for the remainder of the season this weekend, as the Minutemen travel to Virginia to face No. 19 James Madison on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on the UMass Radio Network and available over the internet at umassathletics.com. Live stats will also be available.
• The Minutemen aim to get back on track after battling hard in a 29-7 loss at Division I-A Boston College last Saturday. In that game, the defense was strong in holding the Eagles to just six points in the second half. Junior safety Shannon James (Stratford, Conn.) picked off two passes in the game and was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week. The game was played before an attendance of 43,262, the third-largest crowd to watch a UMass football game ever.
The Teams and Rankings
• UMass enters the game with a 2-3 overall record, 0-2 in the Atlantic 10. The Minutemen have suffered three consecutive losses, falling to Richmond, 24-14 on Sept. 18, No. 4 Delaware -- the defending I-AA national champions, 21-7 on Sept. 25 and at Boston College. The Minutemen opened the season with a pair of wins at Delaware State (51-0 on Sept. 4) and vs. No. 4 Colgate (30-20 on Sept. 11). UMass is currently ranked No. 20 Don Hansen's weekly poll and is No. 24 according to ESPN/USA Today.
• James Madison enters the game with a 3-1 record, 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 The Dukes come off a 31-21 win over Hofstra last Saturday night at home. JMU opened the season with win over Lock Haven, 62-7 on Sept. 4 and No. 5 Villanova, 17-0 on Sept. 18. Their only loss of the season came at Division I-A and top-10 team West Virginia, which beat the Dukes, 45-10 on Sept. 25. The Dukes are ranked in all three polls this week, at No. 19 in The Sports Network and ESPN/USA Today polls. They are also No. 23 according to Don Hansen.
James Honored As Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of Week
• Junior free safety Shannon James (Stratford, Conn.) was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week on Sunday after his strong performance at Boston College in Saturday's 29-7 defeat.
• James picked off BC quarterback Paul Peterson twice including a 47-yard return which led to UMass' first touchdown in the game. The return was also the longest run-back of his career. With the two picks, James now has five interceptions this season, second-most in the Atlantic 10. He also has 13 in his career, tied for the fifth most of any player in UMass history. The converted cornerback, also had seven tackles, six of which were solo.
• It was the second time James has earned A-10 Defensive Player of Week as he also earned the honor last season after a huge game in an upset win over No. 2 Villanova on Oct. 25.
UMass Goes For 500th Program Victory
• UMass goes for its 500th program victory on Saturday, as it enters the game with a 499-494-51 record, dating to the start of the team in 1879. Last season, UMass pushed its all-time record over .500 for the first time since the 1887 season. Prior to the victory over James Madison on Sept. 27, 2003, the last time UMass had an overall record over .500 came following a 17-10 victory over Williston Academy on Oct. 8, 1887, which made its all-time record 11-10-3. In fact, UMass was once 87 games under .500 (218-305-46) in its all-time record, following a 20-6 loss to Boston University on Oct. 31, 1959. Since then, the Minutemen have posted an impressive 279-189-5 record to move over the .500 mark.
Taking On The Top Teams
• UMass faces arguable its most difficult schedule in school history as it faces both the defending national champion and the defending national runner-up as it beat Colgate (30-20 on Sept. 11) and faced Delaware on Sept. 25 (losing 21-7). Both teams were ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time of the game, spanning three weeks. In addition, UMass faced perennial Division I-A top-25 team Boston College (losing 29-7 on Oct. 2) which has been to five consecutive bowl games.
• Overall, UMass faces six teams in this week's Sports Network Top 25: No. 4 Delaware, No. 9 New Hampshire, No. 12 Maine, No. 19 James Madison, No.20 Colgate and No. 23 Northeastern.
• The Atlantic 10 is showing to be perhaps the nation's top conference as it has seven teams in this week's Top 25 and eight in the top 26, if you include UMass at No. 26. The seven teams in the Top 25 matches a conference record which last occurred on Sept. 9, 2002 and the last two weeks.
• In Don Hansen's weekly poll, four Atlantic 10 teams are in the top 10 and 10 are in the top 40 including Richmond and Towson. In the ESPN/USA Today weekly poll, six UMass opponents are ranked.
The Series: UMass vs. James Madison
• UMass holds a 6-3-1 lead in the all-time series against James Madison. The Minutemen have won the last four games in the series, spanning back to 1998. Three of the four wins have come at McGuirk Stadium: 31-26 on Sept. 27, 2003; 43-20 on Oct. 20, 2001 and 28-26 on Oct. 10, 1998.
• In the last game at Bridgeforth Stadium, UMass beat the Dukes, 14-7 on Oct. 26, 2002. All-time, the series is tied at 2-2 in games in Harrisonburg.
• Seven of the first 10 games in the series were decided by a touchdown or less including each of the last two games.
• Head coach Don Brown is 4-0 all-time vs. the Dukes, all coming while he was the head coach at Northeastern from 2000-2003.
Connections Of Note Between UMass/JMU
• Six Minutemen on the roster call the state of Virginia home and will have a chance to play in front of the home folks this weekend: Freshman LB Darrlyn Fenner (Hampton, Va.), freshman DB Brandon Freeman (Ruther Glen, Va.), sophomore WR Brandon London (Charlottesville, Va.), sophomore center Alex Miller (Fairfax, Va.), sophomore lineman Mike Pearson (Springfield, Va.), sophomore lineman David Thompson (Norfolk, Va.).
• London, Pearson along with Tracy Belton (Landover, Md.) and Michael Torres (Thiells, N.Y.) all attended Fork Union Military Academy. On JMU's roster senior DE Ryan Bache and junior defensive end and junior DE Shawn Bryant also went to Fork Union.
• James Madison has two players from the commonwealth of Massachusetts in junior LB Isai Bradshaw (Cambridge, Mass.) and sophomore S Isaiah Dottin-Carter (Cambridge, Mass.) Both players played their high school ball at Cambridge Rindge & Latin and went on for a post-graduate year at Bridgton Academy in Maine. Bridgton also produced UMass' senior DB Steve Costello (Kingston, N.Y.) and senior FB Rich Demers (East Boston, Mass.).
Back Home In A Month
• Last Saturday's game at Boston College was the first of four consecutive games away from McGuirk Stadium. The journey began Saturday with the game at Division I-A Boston College. That game will be followed by trips to James Madison (Oct. 9), New Hampshire (Oct. 16) and Rhode Island (Oct. 30) before returning to Amherst to host Maine on Oct. 30 as part of Homecoming 2004. It is the first four-game road stretch for UMass since 1986 when the Minutemen won three-of-four games away from McGuirk beating Maine, Boston University and Harvard.
James Picks Them off
• Junior defensive back Shannon James is second in the NCAA and second in the Atlantic 10 in interceptions per game with five in the first five games (1.0 per game). Only Towson's Allante Harrison has more with six picks in five games. James picked off two passes for the second time this season in the game at Boston College, including a career-best 47-yard return. He also picked off two passes in the win over Colgate for 41 yards and added another against Richmond.
• In his career James has 13 interceptions which puts him tied for fifth all-time in school history -- in just his third season. With his two picks at BC, he passed Jarad White (1996-99), Darryl Wood (1982-85) and Ron Harris (1974-76) and is now tied with Breon Parker (1993-95), Dwayne Lopes (1980-82) and Kevin Sullivan (1977-78).
Peebler Flying Up All-Time Charts
• Senior All-American wide receiver Jason Peebler is moving up the all-time UMass lists for career receptions and career receiving yards. Since the start of the 2004 season, he has moved all the way from seventh to second in career receiving yards with 512 over the first five games. He now has 1,931 yards with only Adrian Zullo (1998-2002) ahead of him on the all-time list. Peebler needs 961 to pass Zullo -- a tall task, but at his current rate of 102.4 yards per game, he could pass Zullo in a playoff game this season.
• Peebler has also gone from 11th to tied for seventh on the career receptions list since the start of the year. With 94, he is currently tied with DeShon Hardy (1999-2002) on the list. He passed Jimmy Moore, who had all 92 catches of his career in the 1998 National Championship season.
• He is 12th in the nation and third in the Atlantic 10 in yards per game at 102.5. Peebler is also 14th in the A-10 in scoring per game with 6.0 on his five touchdowns and sixth in the A-10 in all-purpose yards at 115.2.
• His 20.5 yards per catch average for his career, is the best in UMass history.
• Peebler has been sensational this season with three 100-yard receiving games in the first three contests of 2004, as he has been the top target of quarterback Tim Day. He hauled in five passes from Day in the season opener at Delaware State for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Against Colgate, he had four catches for 161 yards and a pair of TD's and against Richmond, he had four catches for 130 yards with one touchdown. For his career, Peebler has seven career 100-yard games, with the first four coming last season.
• Overall, Peebler and Day have connected for five plays of 50 or more yards (80, 50, 58, 64 and 50) with four of them going for scores.
• Peebler, who has been named a preseason second team All-American by I-AA.org, is one of the top offensive threats for the Minutemen this year, after having a breakout season in 2003. Peebler led the team with 50 catches for 1,003 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, while setting a school single season record with an average of 20.1 yards per reception. He also placed third on the UMass single season list for receiving yards, while ranking second on the list for receiving touchdowns. In addition, Peebler led the team with 78 points scored, while ranking second on the squad with 1,187 all-purpose yards. At the conclusion of the season, Peebler earned second team All-America honors from College Sports Television, in addition to being a second team All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection.
• He was named the UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week on Sept. 13 after his big game vs. Colgate.
Koegel Gets His Kicks With Punts
• Sophomore punter Christian Koegel (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) was named the Atlantic 10 Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 27 after a huge game against No. 4 Delaware.
• Koegel averaged a single-game school-record 53.0 yards on six punts and dropped four inside the 20-yard line in Massachusetts' 21-7 loss to the Blue Hens. Four of Koegel's six punts went for over 50 yards. He had a 76-yard boot in the first quarter which was downed at the Delaware one yard line. That punt was the third-longest in school history.
• Against Boston College Koegel set another school record for punting yardage in a game with 526 yards on 12 boots for a 43.8 average. Koegel's 12 punts were one short of a school-record as well.
• For the season, Koegel has averaged 43.3 yards on 32 punts. six of those have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Walker Ties School Record For Tackles
• Sophomore linebacker Charles Walker (North Lauderdale, Fla.) tied the school record for tackles in a game with 23 last Saturday vs. Delaware. Walker tied the record set by John McKewon in 1986, also set against the Blue Hens. He had 14 solo tackles and nine assists. He also had two sacks in the contest. Walker had just 13 tackles his entire freshman season, playing mostly on special teams.
• Walker currently leads the Minutemen in total tackles with 47 on 31 solo tackles. He is also tied for the team lead in sacks with 2.5.
Baylark Running on High Octane
• Sophomore running back Steve Baylark had his seventh career 100-yard rushing game with 115 on 18 carries against Colgate on Sept. 11. He also scored two touchdowns in a game for the fourth time in his career. His 100-yard game was especially impressive against Colgate, as the Raiders allowed just one 100-yard rusher last season on their way to the national championship game. The Colgate game was also sweet as he outgained 2003 Walter Payton Award winner Jamaal Branch, 115 to 62 yards.
• In five games this season Baylark has 71 carries for 344 yards for 68.8 yards per game, which ranks eighth in the Atlantic 10. Last season, Baylark picked up 1,177 in his first year with the Minutemen, passing the 1,000-yard plateau against Delaware.
Day Continues Sparkling Passing
• Junior quarterback Tim Day has been very strong in the early season, his first as the Minutemen's full-time starter at quarterback. In his first two games this season, he was nearly perfect, as he completed an amazing 30-of-40 pass attempts for 589 yards and six touchdowns. Day set the UMass single-game record for completion percentage in the season-opener at Delaware State (9/4), as he nailed 17-of-19 passes (89.4 percent) for 290 yards and four touchdowns. All of those marks set career high as well.
• Day is currently No. 22 in the nation and sixth in the Atlantic 10 in passing efficiency with a 139.76. Day is also eighth in the league with 201.8 yards of total offense.
• In two games this season, Day surpassed his entire career totals in passing yards, with 589 (had 339 entering 2004) as well as touchdowns with six (had two).
• Overall through five games, Day has completed 58.3 percent of his passes (74-of-127) for 1013 yards. He has hooked up for eight touchdowns -- five to Jason Peebler and thrown just four interceptions.
Top-Notch Defense
• UMass' defense has been strong on the early season, pitching the program's first shutout since 2000, with the 51-0 whitewash of Delaware State in the season opener. UMass began the season with an 87:38 streak of holding its opponents scoreless before Colgate's Lane Schwarzberg made a field goal with 2:22 left in the first half of the second game of the year.
• In allowing 18.8 points per game, UMass is ranked 28th nationally in scoring defense and fifth in the Atlantic 10.
Top Tacklers
• The trio of UMass linebackers Charles Walker, Brad Anderson (Ijamsville, Md.), and Serge Tikum (Silver Spring, Md.) lead the Minutemen in tackles. Walker tops the squad with 56 tackles, 39 solo. Anderson has 37 while Tikum has 31. Shannon James tops the secondary in tackles with 33.
• Walker tops the team in sacks with 3.5 for 12 yards and tackles for loss with four for 16 yards.
• Anderson has posted nine tackles in three of the last four games and is also second on the team with three tackles for a loss along with one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery.
• Linemen Ola Sanusi (Detroit, Mich.) has 1.5 sacks and 20 total tackles. Sanusi drew his first start in place of an injured Keron Williams (Lake Park, Fla.) and had nine tackles, one TFL, a forced fumble and a pair of pass break-ups.
• With James leading the way, the secondary has been stellar for the early season. Strong safety James Ihedigbo (Amherst, Mass.), cornerbacks R.J. Cobbs (Parsippany Hills, N.J.) and Tracy Belton (Landover, Md.) have all started each game. Ihedigbo has 25 tackles -- 21 of which are solos. Cobbs, who converted from a running back to defensive back this season has 29 tackles and a pair of pass break-ups. Belton also has 24 tackles.
Five Starters Anchor Offensive Line
• The UMass offensive line, which posted a solid season in 2003, returns four starters from last season a one from 2002 to pave the way for the Minuteman offense this fall. Leading the way is senior left guard Rob Kane, a second team All-Atlantic 10 selection in 2003, who has started 39 of 41 games in his career. Other Minutemen returning to the starting lineup are junior tackle Colin Stoetzel (Grafton, Mass.) with 25 career starts, sophomore center Alex Miller (Fairfax, Va.) with 17 career starts and sophomore guard David Thompson (Norfolk, Va.) with 18 career starts. That group is joined by junior tackle O.J. McBride (Sunrise, Fla.) who started eight times in 2001 and 2002, before missing the entire 2003 season due to injury.
• This season, UMass has rushed for 112.6 yards per game. Last year, the line allowed the Minutemen to rush for 148.8 yards per game on the year, while supplying pass protection to let UMass throw for 231.6 yards per contest and surrendering only 27 sacks in 13 games.
Minutemen Against Ranked Teams In I-AA
• UMass faced its second ranked team -- both at No. 4 -- on Sept. 25 when Delaware came to town. The Minutemen beat then-No. 4 Colgate for its fourth consecutive win over a Top 5 ranked team back on Sept. 11 (30-20).
• UMass faced four ranked opponents last season going on the road for all four games. The Minutemen earned victories in the first two games against ranked foes last season and have won five of the last seven overall vs. Top 25 teams.
• Last season, they downed No. 16 Maine, 24-16 on Sept. 20, then defeated No. 2 Villanova on Oct. 25, 19-14. The squad then lost a triple overtime affair at No. 6 Delaware and the NCAA Playoff contest at No. 6 Colgate.
• The Minutemen played three games against ranked foes in 2002, defeating No. 2 Maine, 20-10, and No. 4 Villanova, 17-16, while falling at No. 18 Northeastern 42-17.
• Since the beginning of the 1998 season, UMass now stands 14-15 against ranked opponents. The Minutemen concluded the 2001 season 1-3 and the 2000 season with a 1-2 record against ranked opponents, while going 2-3 against ranked teams in 1999 and 6-3 in 1998. UMass' six victories over ranked opponents in 1998 set a school single season record.
• The Minutemen also stand 8-11 against ranked teams at home over the last 10 years, including a 3-8 mark against top 10 teams at home. Prior to back-to-back victories in 2002 over Maine and Villanova, UMass had lost eight straight home games to top 10 opponents, since a 43-29 win over No. 7 Delaware on Oct. 23, 1993.
McGuirk Magic
• UMass has been tough to beat in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium since the start of the 1998 season. The Minutemen have gone 30-10 (.750) at home over the last six years, improving their all-time record at McGuirk to 138-71-2 (.660). Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while posting a home mark of 51-23 during that span. Last year, UMass went 7-0 at home to set a new record for most home victories in the 39-year history of McGuirk Stadium. The 2003 squad also became the first UMass team to go undefeated at home since 1993, when it posted a 5-0 mark at McGuirk Stadium.
Minutemen Seek 20th Conference Title
• This season, UMass will be looking to win the Atlantic 10 Conference title for a record 20th time, while also attempting to repeat as conference champions for the first time since 1981 and 1982. With last year's victory over Rhode Island, the Minutemen won the Atlantic 10 championship for the first time since 1999. UMass finished the 2003 regular season with an 8-1 league record, and tied Delaware for first place in the conference. The Minutemen have won more league titles than any other team in conference history with their 19 championships (1960, '63, '64, '66, '67, '69, '71, '72, '74, '77, '78, '79, '81, '82, '86, '88, '90, '99 and '03).
UMass Aims For Third Eight-Win Year In Row
• UMass enters the 2004 season looking to post eight or more wins for the third-straight season and the fifth time in the last seven years. The Minutemen have recorded eight or more victories in back-to-back years four times in school history, but have never accomplished the feat in three straight seasons. UMass previously posted eight or more wins in back-to-back years in 1963 (8-0-1) and 1964 (8-2); in 1977 (8-3) and 1978 (9-4); and in 1998 (12-3) and 1999 (9-4). The Minutemen are currently on another two-year streak, with records of 8-4 in 2002 and 10-3 in 2003. All told, UMass has won eight or more games in a season 14 times in its history.
Minutemen Picked Third In North Division
• UMass was predicted to finish in third place of the North Division in the 2004 Atlantic 10 preseason poll, voted on by the league's coaches and media. Maine placed first in the poll and collected 12 first place votes, with Northeastern coming in second with seven first place votes. Following the Minutemen, New Hampshire placed fourth (two first place votes), Rhode Island was ranked fifth and Hofstra came in sixth. Villanova was picked to win the South Division with 13 first place votes, followed by Delaware (second, 11 first place votes), William & Mary (third), James Madison (fourth), Richmond (fifth) and Towson (sixth).
UMass Stars Earns Preseason Honors
• Five members of the UMass football team have been selected to the 2004 preseason All-Atlantic 10 Conference teams. Junior tailback Steve Baylark, junior free safety Shannon James senior offensive tackle Rob Kane and senior wide receiver Jason Peebler were all selected to the first team in voting by the conference's coaches and media. In addition, senior cornerback Steve Costello earned second team honors. The teams were announced at Atlantic 10 Media Day in Richmond on August 4.
Four Captains In 2004
• This fall, UMass has four captains for the first time since the 1993 season and only the second time in school history. The four players who have been elected to serve as captains this fall are senior cornerback Steve Costello, senior offensive tackle Rob Kane, senior wide receiver Jason Peebler and junior linebacker Serge Tikum. Here is a list of players who have served as captains for the Minutemen over the last 11 years.
Extra Points
• UMass has scored in 110 straight games since a 34-0 loss to Rhode Island on Sept. 30, 1995 ... The Minutemen have scored in 119 consecutive home games since a 17-0 loss to Holy Cross on Sept. 17, 1983.
