University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass & JMU Duke It Out In CAA Battle
October 26, 2010 | Football
Oct. 26, 2010
- TV: CSN | Listen Live | Live Blog | Live Stats | PDF Notes
#18 UMASS (4-3, 2-2) at #15 JAMES MADISON (4-3, 1-3)
| #18 UMass at #15 James Madison | |
| Date | Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010 • 3:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Bridgeforth Stadium, Harrisonburg, Va. (15,000/FieldTurf) |
| Tickets | BUY TICKETS on TicketMaster |
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Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic |
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Radio |
WRNX (100.9 FM); The Zone (1510 AM), WCRN (830 AM) WATD (95.9 FM) Listen Live |
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Game Info |
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Live Stats |
Live Stats |
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Game Notes |
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CAA Teleconference |
UMass' Kevin Morris | James Madison's Mickey Matthews |
UMass & JMU Duke It Out In CAA Battle
• It will be a crucial game for both sides on Saturday when No. 18 UMass (4-3, 2-2 CAA) and No. 15 James Madison (4-3, 1-3 CAA) meet at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Va. for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Both clubs are coming off back-to-back CAA losses and are looking to right the ship and keep playoff hopes alive.
• After winning two in a row on the road, at Stony Brook (26-21 on Sept. 25) and at Towson (27-14 on Oct. 2), UMass has dropped two straight games, falling on Oct. 16 to then-No. 20 Richmond, 11-10, in a heart-breaker on Homecoming at McGuirk Stadium and then last week dropping a 37-13 decision to New Hampshire in the Colonial Clash at Gillette Stadium. Prior to those, UMass fell in a tight game at No. 20 (FBS) Michigan (42-37). The Minutemen opened the season with back-to-back wins at home over No. 4 William & Mary (27-23) and Holy Cross (31-7).
• UMass is ranked No. 18 in both this week's The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 and the FCS Coaches Poll. The Minutemen had held steady at No. 8 for three weeks, its highest ranking since Sept. 8, 2008 when they reached No. 3, before dropping four spots last week and six more spots this week.
• James Madison is 4-3 on the season. The Dukes got off to a red-hot 3-0 start, including a 21-16 upset victory at No. 13 (FBS) Virginia Tech on Sept. 11, but have lost three out of four since beginning CAA play. JMU is ranked No. 15 in both the Fathead.com/Sports Network Poll and the FCS Coaches Poll.
• This will be the 15th time the two programs have met with UMass holding a 7-6-1 edge, while JMU has won the last two meetings.
UMASS ON TV
• Saturday's game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet New England and Mid-Atlantic with Bob Picozzi and Scott Brunner calling the action and Brian Jackson reporting from the sidelines. • Saturday's game will be UMass' sixth televised game out of eight this season. The Minutemen are scheduled to appear on television eight total times this season.
STATEWIDE RADIO COVERAGE
• Josh Maurer in his third season as "Voice of the Minutemen." He will be joined by color analysts and former Minutemen: Matt Goldstein and Rene Ingoglia. Adam Frenier will man the sidelines.
• The game will be carried statewide on flagship 100.9 FM WRNX in Western Mass.; 1510 The Zone in Eastern Mass.; 830 AM WCRN in Central Mass. and 95.9 FM WATD on the South Shore.
IN THE POLLS
• UMass is ranked No. 18 this week in both the The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 Poll and the FCS Coaches Poll. That is a drop of six spots after the Minutemen had been ranked at No. 12 in both polls last week.
• Prior to that, UMass was ranked No. 8 for three-straight weeks, its highest ranking since Sept. 8, 2008 when the it was ranked No. 3.
• The Colonial Athletic Association owns three of the top six spots and seven of the top 18 in this week's TSN/Fathead.com Top 25: No. 3 William & Mary, No. 5 Villanova, No. 6 Delaware, No. 10 New Hampshire, No. 14 Richmond, No. 15 James Madison, and No. 18 UMass.
• UMass has now been ranked for 70 of the last 74 weeks dating to 2005. UMass was not ranked the final three weeks of the regular-season in 2009 and the last regular-season week of 2008.
CAA RECORD CROWD AT GILLETE
• Last week's Colonial Clash against New Hampshire in the first-ever college football game at Gillette Staium set a record for attendance at a CAA conference game (32,848). It broke the previous record that lasted for just a week. Delaware drew 22,567 on Oct. 16 against Rhode Island to set the previous CAA mark.
• The Colonial Clash was also the largest crowd to ever watch a UMass game against an FCS opponent. The previous high was in the 2006 NCAA Semifinals at Montana. A crowd of 23,454 watched UMass upset the Grizzlies, 19-17 and advance to the National Championship Game.
• The previous largest regular-season crowds to watch UMass in FCS action had all come at Delaware, with Oct. 22, 1988, when 22,301 watch UMass lose at Delaware, 10-7, being the largest.
• Overall, the largest crowd to ever watch UMass came earlier this season at Michigan, when 110,187 watch UMass narrowly fall at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 18, 2010.
THE SERIES vs. JAMES MADISON
• The Minutemen have a 7-6-1 lead in the all-time series against the Dukes, which began in 1986. UMass is 2-4 in games at James Madison.
• The last meeting between the schools was last season on a rainy Senior Day at McGuirk Stadium, Nov. 14, 2009. UMass finished its home regular-season with a tough 17-14 loss to James Madison. It was James Madison's first win in Amherst since 1987, UMass was unbeaten in the last six (5-0-1). Senior tailback Tony Nelson had his 11th career 100-yard game with 117 on 18 carries and a touchdown. Sophomore Jonathan Hernandez gained 40 yards on the ground along with a 16-yard score. James Madison gained 212 rushing yards as tailback Scott Noble (105) and quarterback Justin Thorpe (89) had big days. Thorpe also threw for 120 yards on 8-of-13.
• The last time the teams met in Harrisonburg was on Sept. 13, 2008 when No. 7 JMU won a shootout with No. 3 UMass, 52-38, on an 85 degree at sold-out Bridgeforth Stadium (15,747). UMass trailed 31-10 at the half but scored 28 point in the second led by a career-day from Victor Cruz. He finished with 13 catches for 262 yards and two touchdowns to lead the comeback attempt. Cruz's yard total marked the fourth most in conference history (Yankee/A-10/CAA) while also shattering the school record. JMU quarterback Rodney Landers was sensational all afternoon with 291 total yards including 206 on the ground and 85 in the air. Landers had the most rushing yards against UMass since 2001.
• The Minutemen have lost two-straight at JMU. Their last win in Harrisonburg was on Oct. 26, 2002, 14-7. Shannon James rushed 48 yards for a touchdown that day and Raunny Rosario also scored for the Minutemen on a 5-yard run in the third quarter. UMass' Jeff Krohn finished 13-of-22 for 128 yards, with two interceptions.
PASSING, RECEIVING MARKS SET
• Despite the 37-13 loss to UNH last Saturday, the UMass passing game put up some impressive record-breaking performances. Highlighting those numbers was senior quarterback Kyle Havens passing for a school-record 450 yards. He broke Liam Coen's record of 421 yards against Southern Illinois in 2007.
• Havens was 32-of-55 passing. Both his completions and attempts totals rank second all-time at UMass in a single game.
• Anthony Nelson set a career-high with 190 receiving yards in a game - with 132 in the first-half alone. His previous high was 128, also vs. UNH, back in 2007, when he was playing at Hofstra.
• Nelson's 190 yards, rank as the fourth all-time on the UMass receiving yards list and his 11 catches is tied for fourth-most in a single game in UMass history.
• Nelson and Julian Talley (8 receptions, 111 yards) both went over 100 yards receiving, the first time UMass had two receivers over 100 in the same game since Rasheed Rancher (143) and Michael Omar (114) against Southern Illinois Dec. 1, 2007.
NELSON AMONG NATION's BEST
• Senior wide receiver Anthony Nelson ranks among not only the CAA's best, but among the nation's best receivers in 2010. The Hofstra transfer leads the CAA in both receptions per game (6.71) and yards per game (87.14). Those totals are both 13th in the country.
• Nelson is coming off the best game of his career when he caught 11 passes for 190 yards, both career highs.
• Nelson's performance agains UNH last week earned him being named to the College Football Performance Awards honor roll.
PLAYING KEEP-AWAY
• UMass ranks fifth in the country and first in the CAA in time of possession with an average of 34:12 per game. Run-happy Colgate (37:09) leads, followed by Northern Arizona, Alabama A&M and Sam Houston State.
• The Minutemen's average of 22.7 first downs per game is ninth-best in the country and leads the CAA.
• UMass had won the time of possession battle in every game this season up until the UNH loss last week when it had the ball for 27:24. The Minutemen's high of 39:13 came vs. Holy Cross.
OFFENSE ROLLING
• The strength of this UMass team's offense this season has been the ground game, balanced with a strong passing attack. The Minutemen are averaging 175.9 rushing yards per game (33rd nationally) and 245.0 yards per game through the air (18th nationally), combining for the CAA-leading and 14th-best nationally ranking in total offense (420.9 yards per game).
• The one-two combination of John Griffin and Jonathan Hernandez give UMass depth and options at the tailback position. One of the two had gone over 100 yards in each of the first five games of the season. Griffin has 580 yards on 126 carries with five touchdowns for an average of 82.9 yards per game. Hernandez has run for 546 yards on 137 carries and seven scores for an 78.0 yards per game average.
• UMass has been successful at controlling the ball, winning the time of possession battle with an average of 34:12 to the opponents' 25:48.
• Senior quarterback Kyle Havens leads the CAA in passing yardage and ranks 18th nationally with 245.0 yards per game. His passing efficiency rating of 135.0 ranks third in the CAA and 24th in the NCAA.
HAVENS HEAVING IT
• Senior quarterback Kyle Havens is 140-of-225 passing for 1,715 yards and a 62.2 percent completion rate. He has thrown nine touchdowns with five interceptions, a significant improvement over last season's nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Havens' passing efficiency rating is 135.0 in 2010, compared to 115.90 in 2009.
• Havens threw for a school-record 450 yards in UMass' 37-13 loss to New Hampshire at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 23. He broke Liam Coen's mark of 421 set against Southern Illinois in 2007. Havens was 32-of-55 passing that game. Both his completions and attempts are the second-most in a single game in UMass history.
• Havens now ranks sixth in both passing yards (3,623) and completions (286) in a career at UMass. He ranks seventh all-time in pass attempts (489).
GO FOR IT!
• After leading the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage for the first six weeks of the season, converting 10 of their first 11, the Minutemen rank seventh this week at 73.68 percent (14-of-19). Most recently, UMass was 2-of-4 on fourth-down against New Hampshire..
• UMass' 14 fourth-down conversions is tied for second-most in the country with Colgate (14-of-22) and behind Murray State (16-of-25).
• UMass has already surpassed its total number of fourth-down conversions and attempts from 2009 when it was 8-for-14.
• On third downs, UMass is seventh in the CAA and 40th in the NCAA at 39.64 percent (44-of-111).
UMASS CONNECTIONS WITH JMU/VIRGINIA
• UMass has four players from the state of Virginia: senior DB Ke'Mon Bailey (Richmond, Va.), junior LB Tyler Holmes (Blacksburg, Va,), sophomore punter Caleb Violette (Blacksburg, Va.) and freshman DB Kirk Nelms (Spotsvania, Va.).
• James Madison has no Bay State players on its roster.
HOLMES ON BUCHANAN WATCH LIST
• Junior linebacker Tyler Holmes has been added to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. The award, in its 16th year, goes to to the FCS National Defensive Player of the Year on Jan. 6.
• In the week he was added to the list, Holmes set a career-high with 18 tackles in the win at Towson on Oct. 2.
• Jeromy Miles in 2009 was the last UMass player on the list. Since 2005, Holmes joins Miles, Jason Hatchell, James Ihedigbo, and Shannon James have been on the list.
• Holmes joins four other CAA players on the list: Richmond's Eric McBride, Martin Parker, and Justin Rogers, and Villanova's Terence Thomas.
• Holmes leads the Minutemen with 71 tackles on the season, averaging just over 10 a game. 9.5 of those tackles have been for loss, including three sacks.
• The definition of a ball-hawk, Holmes also has three interceptions and two forced fumbles to lead the Minutemen in both categories.
MICHIGAN BARELY ESCAPES UMASS
• After taking a 17-7 first half lead, UMass saw Michigan score 28-straight points before the Minutemen scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns, but Michigan was able to escape with a 42-37 victory on Sept. 18 in Ann Arbor. The Minutemen ranked 16th in FCS Football suffered their first loss of the season while Michigan, 20th in the AP FBS Poll stayed unbeaten.
• UMass made a valiant effort to make a fourth quarter comeback. Kyle Havens scored a rushing touchdown with 13:47 left, and after a Michigan score, Havens threw touchdown passes to Julian Talley and Andrew Krevis, the latter coming with 2:05 left, pulling UMass within five, 42-37. UMass attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but the kick went out of bounds, allowing Michigan to run out the clock.
• In front of 110,187 fans, a record to ever see a UMass sporting event, the Minutemen led, 17-7, with just over a minute left in the first half, but the Wolverines scored twice in the final 1:01 to take a 21-17 halftime lead and scored on the opening possession of the second half and again in the third quarter to take a 35-17 lead with 3:37 left in the third.
UMASS RUNS BY #4 WILLIAM & MARY
• One area that UMass came into 2010 with depth was tailback and it was on display in the conference opener as the Minutemen downed No. 4 William & Mary, 27-23, before 10,072 fans at McGuirk Stadium on Sept. 4. Senior tailback John Griffin rushed for two touchdowns and junior Jonathan Hernandez gained 201 yards of total offense (132 rushing and 69 receiving) as the Minutemen posted their eighth season-opening win in the last 10 contests.
• UMass has now won four of its last five home games against teams ranked No. 4 in the country and the Minutemen are 8-5 in their last 13 games vs. teams in the Top 5, dating to 2002.
UMASS HISTORY THUMBNAIL
• This is the 128th season of UMass football. UMass has an all-time record of 549-518-51 (.514) in 1,118 all-time games. The Minutemen have won two of the last four conference championships (2006 and 2007). In 2008, UMass posted its seventh winning season in a row with a 7-5 record. Over the last eight years, UMass has made three NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2007, UMass went 10-3, going 7-1 in the inaugural season of the CAA.
• UMass was the winningest program in the CAA a 10-year span from 1998-2008. UMass had an 83-44 record with a 65.7 win percentage.
• The Minutemen have won 22 conference championships the last two coming in 2007 and 2008. All-time UMass has eight NCAA Tournament appearances winning the 1998 title and also playing in the championship game in 2006 and 1978.
RECORD SIX FORMER MINUTEMEN ON NFL ROSTERS
• A school record six former UMass football players have made NFL rosters for 2010. That includes three players from the 2009 team: lineman Vladimir Ducasse, drafted in the second round by the the New York Jets; receiver Victor Cruz and receiver Jeremy Horne, with the Kansas City Chiefs, both undrafted free agents. They join James Ihedigbo (Jets), Jeremy Cain (Jaguars) and Matt Lawrence, who is on the Physically Unable To Perform list with the Baltimore Ravens.
• The previous high mark for UMass products in the pros came in 1968, when UMass had five players combined between the NFL and AFL, prior to the leagues' merger in 1970. That year, tight end Milt Morin played for the Cleveland Browns, quarterback Greg Landry was a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions, quarterback John McCormick played for the Denver Broncos and halfback Terry Swanson and lineman Ed Toner suited up for the then-Boston Patriots.
• Cruz burst on the scene in the first-ever game at the New Meadowlands Stadium as he scored three touchdowns and had six catches for 145 yards for the New York Giants. Even NBA star LeBron James was wowed by Cruz, sending out a tweet about Cruz and UMass. Cruz had four of the Giants' seven touchdowns this preseason.
• Ducasse was the Jets' second round pick and 61st overall this past April. He became the highest UMass product to be drafted in 40 years, since Landry was a first-rounder in 1968. 2006 grad James Ihedigbo is also in his fourth year with the Jets.
• UMass had eight former Minutemen in NFL Training Camps. Besides the six listed above, Brandon London (2003-06) was with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jeromy Miles (2007-09) was with the Cincinnati Bengals.
