University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Football Closes Out 2004 Season Vs. Hofstra
November 15, 2004 | Football
Nov. 15, 2004
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UMASS (5-5, 3-4) vs. HOFSTRA (5-5, 3-4)
SATURDAY, Nov. 20, 2004 • Noon
McGUIRK ALUMNI STADIUM (17,000/GRASS)
AMHERST, MASS.
METRO TV • UMass Radio Network
UMass Closes Out 2004 Season Vs. Hofstra
• Saturday is the season finale for the UMass football team as the Minutemen seek to finish with a record above .500 for the sixth time in the last seven years. A win would give UMass a second-place finish in the Atlantic 10 North Division. The game is the collegiate finale for UMass' senior class which includes: Ricky Appiah, Luis Ballestas, Leroy Brooks, Rich Demers, Mike Gillespie, Matt Goldstein, Steve Howell, Rob Kane, Jason Peebler, Steve Wysocki and Sean Young.
• The game will be broadcast back to New York on METRO TV, it will not be shown in New England or via satellite such as DirecTV or Dish Network.
• The senior class, led by captains Kane and Peebler has compiled a 26-20 including the 2003 Atlantic 10 Championship and a berth in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
• UMass has won three of its last four games including a pair of wins over ranked teams as the Minutemen beat No. 7 New Hampshire (38-21 on Oct. 16) and No. 19 Maine (35-34 in overtime on Oct. 30). UMass captured its last game, a 26-22 victory at Northeastern in its last game on Nov. 6.
• In the win over Northeastern tailback Steve Baylark piled up his fourth 100-yard game in a row with 181 yards on 29 carries. Baylark scored the game-winning touchdown with 10 minutes left in the game as UMass defense held the Huskies at bay. He has averaged 169.3 yards in his last four games. He went over the 1,000-yard plateau for the second year in a row and comes into the Northeastern game with 1,058 this season. In his first season of action in 2003, Baylark racked up 1,177 yards. He is second in the Atlantic 10 in yards per game 105.8. He has cracked the UMass career top-10 lists for rushing yards (2,235) and carries (486).
James Added to Buchanan Watch List
• Junior safety Shannon James has been added to the Buck Buchanan Watch List as a candidate for Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year. James is tied for the Division I-AA lead in interceptions with eight. He is also fourth all-time in school history in career interceptions with 16. He is the active leader among all Division I-AA college players in career interceptions and leads all juniors -- regardless of division in career interceptions. James is also second on UMass in tackles with 71 along with 5.5 tackles for loss. He has been named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week twice.
• James is ranked fourth all-time at UMass in career interceptions with 16. He has a chance to shatter the all-time record of 18 set by Steve Rogers (1967-69) and tied by Grady Fuller (1980-83), as he has one game left this season and all of his senior season.
The Teams and Rankings
• UMass enters the game with a 5-5 overall record, 3-4 in the Atlantic 10. UMass has defeated three ranked teams this season, beating No. 19 Maine, 35-34 in overtime, winning at No. 7 New Hampshire, 38-21 on Oct. 16 and against No. 4 Colgate, 30-20 on Sept. 11. The Minutemen also beat Delaware State, 51-0, to open the season on Sept. 4 and won at Northeastern, 26-22 in their last game on Nov. 6. The Minutemen suffered four consecutive losses, falling to Richmond, 24-14, on Sept. 18; No. 4 Delaware -- the defending I-AA national champions, 21-7 on Sept. 25; at Boston College, 29-7, on Oct. 2 and at No. 19 James Madison, 28-7 on Oct 9. They also lost at Rhode Island, 27-24 on Oct. 23. UMass is currently among others receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
• Hofstra is also seeking a winning season as they come into the game with a 5-5 overall record and 3-4 in the A-10. The Pride are coming off a 37-34 double overtime loss to Northeastern in their regular-season home finale last Saturday. Prior to the loss, Hofstra won back-to-back games topping Richmond (48-17) and Maine (31-20). The Pride lost all four games against ranked teams this season falling at No. 2 Montana (41-23), No. 25 James Madison (31-21), No. 3 Delaware (20-19) and No. 15 New Hampshire (33-27). Other wins have come against Albany (45-0) in the season opener, vs. Rhode Island (62-43) and at Stony Brook (61-21). The Pride have the highest scoring offense in the A-10 at 37.1 and have scored more than 60 points twice and 40 points on four occasions.
Youth Is Served
• UMass is the youngest team in the Atlantic 10 in terms of playing experience as UMass plays just six seniors on its regular depth chart -- five on offense. There is just one single senior in the two-deep on defense -- back-up safety Leroy Brooks. On offense only three seniors start: wide receiver Jason Peebler, offensive guard Rob Kane and fullback Rich Demers. After those three, just three seniors are on the depth chart as back-ups on offense: wide receiver Dominique Stewart, fullback Steve Wysocki and tight end Sean Young.
• The defense features three freshmen who are listed as starters: Wilner Alexis, David Burris and true freshman Brandon Freeman. Overall, of the 22 players on the defensive two-deep 12 players are in their first or second year of action at UMass with eight players as redshirt or true freshmen.
The Series: UMass vs. Hofstra
• This year's game is the eighth between UMass and Hofstra with the Pride holding a 5-2 lead in the series which has been played each of the last seven years.
• The visiting team has won five of the seven games in the series, but the home team has won two of the last three including UMass' 27-22 win last season. In the win, Rich Demers rushed 26 times for 139 yards while Jeff Krohn passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns in a Homecoming win for the Minutemen. UMass forced six turnovers including four interceptions of quarterback Andrew English.
• This game marks Hofstra's third straight trip and sixth visit to McGuirk Stadium over the last eight years, but the Pride have won four of the previous five games in Amherst.
Connections Of Note Between UMass/Hofstra
• UMass wide receivers coach Joe Applebaum worked as Hofstra's wide receivers coach in 1992.
• The Minutemen feature eight players from New York, but none are from Long Island where Hofstra is located.
• Hofstra has three players from Massachusetts: Garrett Webb (Methuen), Theo Fredurra (Cambridge) and Eric Cromwell (Longmeadow).
Taking On The Top Teams
• UMass faces arguably its most difficult schedule in school history as it faced 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 three teams in this week's Sports Network Top 25 all in the top 11: No. 5 New Hampshire, No. 9 James Madison, No. 11 Delaware. UMass' win over Maine dropped the Black Bears from the polls, as they were No. 19 the last week of October. Colgate is also among others receiving votes.
• The Atlantic 10 is showing to be perhaps the nation's top conference as it has four teams in this week's Top 25 -- all in the top 11 with William & Mary at No. 6. For three weeks in September and October, the A-10 had seven teams in the Top 25 to match a conference record which last occurred on Sept. 9, 2002.
• In Don Hansen's weekly poll, four Atlantic 10 teams are in the top 10 and eight teams are in the top 40 including Hofstra at No. 28 and UMass at No. 32. In the ESPN/USA Today weekly poll, four UMass opponents are ranked -- similar to the Sports Network poll.
James Picks Them Off At A Record Rate
• Junior free safety Shannon James is having a record-setting season and is a top candidate to be an All-American this season. He was added to the Buchanan Watch List, which is awarded to the top Defensive Player in the nation in I-AA. He was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Sunday, Oct. 17 after his third two-interception game of the season at New Hampshire. He was also honored on Sunday, Oct. 3, after his strong performance at Boston College in Saturday's 29-7 defeat.
• James is currently tied for first in the nation and first in the Atlantic 10 in interceptions per game with eight in 10 games. He is second in interceptions per game ay 0.80.
• He is active career leader in interceptions among all college players in Division I-AA with his 16 career picks. He leads all players that are not seniors in career interceptions regardless of division.
• That mark ranks him fourth all-time at UMass as he passed Jeremy Robertson (1998-2001) last weekend with a pick at Rhode Island.
• James has five interceptions in the last six games.
• 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. He picked off UNH's Walter Payton Award candidate Ricky Santos twice along with seven tackles on Oct. 16.
• James has earned A-10 Defensive Player of Week three times in his career as he also earned the honor last season after a huge game in an upset win over No. 2 Villanova on Oct. 25.
Baylark Running For Paydirt
• Tailback Steve Baylark went over the 100-yard plateau for the fourth week in a row vs. Northeastern with 29 carries for 181 yards. The week prior vs. Maine he had 159 yards on 33 carries. That performance followed one at Rhode Island with 138 yards on 26 carries. He now has 11 career games of 100 yards or more and five this season.
• The 100-yard game vs. Northeastern put him past the 1,000-yard barrier for the season, marking his second 1,000-yard campaign in a row as he had 1,177 last season.
• Baylark had the greatest game of his two-year career at New Hampshire on Oct. 16 with 192 yards on 43 carries and three touchdowns. All were career bests. The 43 carries were the third-most in a single game in UMass history. Garry Pearson had 54 vs. AIC in 1982 and Marcel Shipp had 44 vs. Delaware in 1999. The game was his eighth career contest with 100 yards and fifth career game with multiple touchdowns. He set his original career-high of three touchdowns in a game against New Hampshire in last year's game at McGuirk Stadium.
• 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 10 games this season, Baylark has 218 carries for 1,058 yards for 105.8 yards per game, which ranks second in the Atlantic 10 and 23rd in the country -- only Maine's Marcus Williams has a better average in the league (105.9). Last season, Baylark picked up 1,177 in his first year with the Minutemen, passing the 1,000-yard plateau against Delaware.
• Baylark also cracked the top-10 career lists at UMass in total carries and rushing yards in the Rhode Island game. He comes into the Hofstra game with 486 carries for 2,235 yards. He stands sixth on the carries list and fifth on the yardage list which is where he will end the season, needing more than 500 yards to reach No. 4 Frank Alessio (2,887).
Peebler Flying Up All-Time Charts
• Senior All-American wide receiver Jason Peebler has moved 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 815 over the first 10 games. He now has 2,234 yards with only Adrian Zullo (1998-2002) ahead of him on the all-time list with 2,892 yards. He is also second in career receiving TD's with 25 after a 23-yard reception at Northeastern.
• Peebler has also gone from 11th to third on the career receptions list since the start of the year. With 115, he became the sixth Minuteman to pass the century plateau, tying Kerry Taylor (1995-98). He caught his 100th career ball at New Hampshire on Oct. 16 with a 41-yard strike from Tim Day in the fourth quarter.
• He is 28th in the nation and fifth in the Atlantic 10 in yards per game at 81.50 with 40 catches for 815 yards.
• His 19.4 yards per catch average for his career, is the second in UMass history.
• Peebler began with a sensational start to 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 six plays of 50 or more yards (80, 50, 58, 64, 50 and 53) with five of them going for scores.
• He broke out of a mini slump with a 96-yard receiving day at Rhode Island on six catches including a 39-yard touchdown grab from Tim Day.
• Peeler went over the 100-yard receiving mark for the first time since the third game of the season, when he had six catches for 101 yards vs. Maine on Oct. 30.
• 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.
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. He passed his yardage mark in his return to his home state of New Hampshire, as he threw for 293 at UNH.
• In his first 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 10 games, Day has completed 56.4 percent of his passes (172-of-305) for 2,137 yards. He has hooked up for 19 touchdowns -- eight to Jason Peebler.
• Day's season marks are all among the top 10 in UMass history. His yardage total (2,137) is the fifth single-season. His completion total (155) is the fifth-best in school history, his pass attempts mark (309) is the sixth best mark at UMass and his 19 passing touchdowns are the fourth best total in a single-season.
• Day continued to make his mark on the UMass record book as he tied for the second-most attempts in a game with 52 at James Madison and tied for the third-most pass completions with 28 in that same game.
Koegel Gets His Kicks With Punts
• Sophomore punter Christian Koegel was named the Atlantic 10 Special Teams Player of the Week as well as earning a spot on the Don Hansen Gazette Player of the Week Honor Roll 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. The 526 yards also set an Atlantic 10 conference record.
• For the season, Koegel has averaged 41.6 yards on 54 punts. He ranks second in the A-10 and 18th nationally in punting average. Twelve of those have been downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Koegel has at least one punt of 47 yards or more in every game this season.
• Against Maine, he outpunted the Atlantic 10's top punter Mike Mellow, with a 42.2 average, Mellow averaged 41.2.
Walker Ties School Record For Tackles
• Sophomore linebacker Charles Walker tied the school record for tackles in a game with 23 vs. Delaware. Walker tied the record set by John McKeown 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 is third the Minutemen in total tackles with 65 on 46 solo tackles. He also is tied for second on the team in sacks with 3.5. He has missed the two games with an injury before returning in limited action against Maine.
Top Tacklers
• The UMass linebacker corps of Charles Walker, Serge Tikum, L.A. Love and Brad Anderson lead the Minutemen in tackles. Tikum is the team leader in tackles with 77, while Walker has 65 and Anderson has 58. Shannon James tops the secondary in tackles with 71, which is second on the team. James is second on the team in tackles for loss with 5.5.
• Tikum has posted 36 tackles over the last three games including a career-high 14 at Northeastern. He had 11 tackles in back-to-back games vs. Rhode Island and Maine. He had 10 solos vs. the Black Bears and the Huskies.
• Anderson posted nine tackles in four of six games from Sept. 18-Oct. 16 and has four tackles for a loss along with one sack, one interception and one fumble recovery.
• Love has been huge of late with 35 tackles over the last four games in starting in place of the injured Walker and then supplanting Anderson in the starting line-up. Love had a career-high 12 tackles at Rhode Island on Oct. 23 and has 49 total tackles this season.
• Keron Williams has made the most of his tackles, posting nearly half of them for a loss of yardage. Williams has a team-high 13.5 TFL for a loss of 61 yards but has just 34 overall tackles this season. He has 4.0 sacks for 31 yards. Williams has four pass break-ups which is tied for the team lead.
• Linemen Ola Sanusi has 3.5 sacks and 23 total tackles. Sanusi drew his first start in place of an injured Keron Williams and had nine tackles, one TFL, a forced fumble and a pair of pass break-ups against Richmond.
• With James leading the way, the secondary has been stellar for the early season. Cornerback Tracy Belton has started each game this season and has 48 tackles and four pass break-ups. Cornerback R.J. Cobbs, who converted from a running back to defensive back this season has 36 tackles and a three pass break-ups. He missed the New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Strong safety James Ihedigbo has 52 tackles -- 45 of which are solos.
• Belton is also tied for 17th in the nation with five interceptions in 10 games for .50 per game.
• In Cobbs place, true freshman Brandon Freeman has come up with 27 tackles this season including 16 in the last four games, his first three collegiate starts.
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.
• Against New Hampshire, UMass held the Wildacts to minus-2 yards rushing. It was the fewest rushing yards allowed by UMass since they also held Central Connecticut to minus-2 in the 2003 season opener.
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 44 of 46 games in his career. Other Minutemen returning to the starting lineup are junior tackle Colin Stoetzel with 30 career starts, sophomore center Alex Miller with 23 career starts and sophomore guard David Thompson with 23 career starts. That group is joined by junior tackle O.J. McBride who started eight times in 2001 and 2002, before missing the entire 2003 season due to injury. Freshman Matt Austin made his first collegiate start in place of McBride in the James Madison game at tackle and has started every game since.
Finally, Back Home
• The Oct. 2 game at Boston College was the first of four consecutive games away from McGuirk Stadium. The journey began on Oct. 2 with the game at Division I-A Boston College. That game was be followed by trips to James Madison (a 28-7 loss on Oct. 9), New Hampshire (a 38-21 win on Oct. 16) and finished with Rhode Island (a 27-24 last Saturday) before returning to Amherst to host Maine on Oct. 30 as part of Homecoming 2004. It was 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.
UMass Finally Gets 500th Program Win
• UMass finally won its 500th game in program history on Oct. 16, beating New Hampshire, 38-21. after four attempts. The Minutemen come into the Hofstra game with 502-496-51, 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 284-191-5 record to move over the .500 mark.
Minutemen Against Ranked Teams In I-AA
• UMass has three wins over top 20 teams this season after beating No. 19 Maine on Oct. 30. The Minutemen are 3-2 this season against ranked teams and 7-5 against top 25 teams over the last three seasons.
• UMass topped No. 7 New Hampshire on Oct. 16 for its second win over a top-10 team this season. The Minutemen have now won five of their last eight games against top-10 teams.
• The Minutemen faced their second ranked team -- also 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 fell at No. 19 James Madison on Oct. 9.
• 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 16-16 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 9-11 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 31-10 (.756) at home over the last six years, improving their all-time record at McGuirk to 139-71-2 (.660). Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while posting a home mark of 52-23 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.
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 115 straight games since a 34-0 loss to Rhode Island on Sept. 30, 1995 ... The Minutemen have scored in 120 consecutive home games since a 17-0 loss to Holy Cross on Sept. 17, 1983.
