University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Hosts Top-Ranked Delaware On Senior Day
November 10, 2010 | Football
Gameday Information
| #2/1 Delaware (8-1, 5-1 CAA) at #14/13 UMass (6-3, 4-2 CAA) |
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| Date | Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. |
| Location | McGuirk Alumni Stadium | Amherst, Mass. (Directions) |
| Tickets | 866-UMass-TIX |  BUY TICKETS ONLINE |
| TV/Radio |  CBS 3 Now (Comcast 293 in W. Mass)  100.9 FM (Western Mass); 830 AM (Central Mass), 1510 The Zone (Eastern Mass), 95.9 WATD (Eastern Mass) |
| Online | Watch On UMass All-Access |
| Live Stats |  GameTracker |
| Game Blog |  Live, Interactive Game Blog | Twitter |
| Game Notes | UMass Notes | Delaware Notes |
| Teleconference | UMass' Kevin Morris | Delaware's K.C. Keeler | Tyler Holmes |
| News About The Minutemen |
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| The Republican |
11/10: Tyler Holmes Even Better Than Expected |
| Daily Collegian | 11/10: Football Previews For Delaware Game |
| Journal News | 11/9: Football Stories From No. 1 Delaware |
| Daily Hampshire Gazette | 11/8: Havens Keeps His Game Face |
| The Republican | 11/8: Republican: Football To Face No. 1/No. 2 |
| Boston Herald | 11/8: Holmes Picks Up Play |
| Last Game | 11/7: Recaps From UMass' Football Win Over Maine |
• A huge CAA clash is set for Saturday at McGuirk Stadium as the No. 14/13 Minutemen host No. 2/1 Delaware on Senior Day in a 1:05 p.m. kickoff. Both teams are pushing for playoff berths and Saturday's game will be a pivotal one. The Minutemen are 6-3 overall and stand 4-2 in the CAA with next week's finale at Rhode Island on the horizon. Delaware, the top-ranked team in the FCS Coaches Poll stands 8-1 overall with the lone loss coming to William & Mary - the Sports Network's No. 1 team - 17-16 on Oct. 23. UMass is the only FCS team to beat William & Mary this season, handing the Tribe a 27-23 loss in the season opener.
• UMass has won two games in a row after ending a two-game skid. The Minutemen posted a solid 39-24 win over Maine last Saturday as UMass had its biggest quarter (26-point second quarter) since 2007. The week before, the Minutemen defeated then-No. 15 James Madison, 21-14. UMass outscored James Madison, 18-0 in the second half to come back and defeat the Dukes, 21-14 on Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va. The win snapped a two-game skid, falling on Oct. 16 to then-No. 20 Richmond, 11-10, in a heart-breaker on Homecoming at McGuirk Stadium and then on Oct. 23 dropping a 37-13 decision to No. 10 New Hampshire in the Colonial Clash at Gillette Stadium. Those followed two road wins in a row, at Stony Brook (26-21 on Sept. 25) and at Towson (27-14 on Oct. 2). 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 has moved up a few spots in the national polls and is ranked No. 14 in The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 and No. 13 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
SENIOR DAY
• Saturday is Senior Day at McGuirk Stadium. The football family and the University will take the opportunity to honor and recognize this year's senior class for their contributions. The 2010 UMass football seniors are: Ke'Mon Bailey, Calvin Belfon, Woody Carter IV, James Carven, David Cozzo, Scott Duggan, Torrey Esalomi, Aaron Fears, Brandon Flanagan, John Griffin, Kyle Havens, John Ihne, Andrew Krevis, Bob McLaughlin, Mike Mele, Anthony Nelson, Greg Niland, David Ramsden and Dan Sheeran. UMass would also like to thank all the senior student support staff that assist the football program in the area of equipment, video, sports medicine, and managers.
UMASS VS. No. 1 TEAM
• With Delaware being ranked No. 1 in the FCS Coaches Poll, UMass will be taking on a top-ranked team for the second year in a row. Last season, the Minutemen dropped a 34-12 decision at Richmond on Oct. 24, 2009.
• UMass is playing in just its fifth all-time game against the top-ranked team in the nation with a 1-3 record in those games. Its just the third regular-season game vs. a top-ranked team. The Minutemen beat a #1 team in 1998 in the NCAA Championship game, taking down Georgia Southern, 55-43. The Minutemen lost to #1 Youngstown State, 28-9 at McGuirk Stadium in 1994 and to Appalachian State, 28-17 in the 2006 NCAA Championship game in Chattanooga.
HOLMES CLAIMS NATIONAL, CAA HONORS
•UMass junior linebacker and Buck Buchanan Award Candidate Tyler Holmes was named the National Defensive Player of the Week by The Sports Network, College Sporting News and College Football Performance Awards. He was also named the National Linebacker of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards. Holmes became the first player in all of Division I (FBS and FCS) to return to interceptions for touchdowns in 2010. Holmes was also honored with the New England Gold Helmet as well as the CAA Defensive Player of the week for the third time.
•Holmes became the first player in UMass history to return two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game, and the same season as #15 UMass played a happy tune on Band Day with a 39-24 win over Maine on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Stadium. Holmes became just the 23rd all-time in all of FCS. The last player to accomplish the feat was Kellin White, Southeast Missouri State vs. UT Martin on Oct. 30, 2004. The junior became the third player in league history to record two interceptions returned for touchdowns in the same game, and the first since Towson's Allante Harrison did it against Elon in 2004 (Maine's Bill Curry vs. Liberty, 10/10/1992). Not only was Holmes's interception feat a league record, but he was also the first player in major college football this season to turn in such an effort. Only 22 other FCS-level players have hauled in two interceptions and took them back for six in the same game, the last being Southeast Missouri State's Kellin White in 2004.
•Holmes leads UMass in tackles with 10.0 per game with 91 in nine games. He is also third in the CAA and best on the team in TFLs with 11.0 for 1.17 per game.
• In addition to Holmes, redshirt freshman Ryan Carter was named a Kickoff Returner Of The Week and Kyle Havens was named an Honorable Mention Quarterback Of the Week. Carter took a reverse on a kickoff return and ran 97 yards on the game's opening play to give UMass a 6-0 lead and the Minutemen never looked back. Havens was splendid all afternoon as he threw for 213 yards on 22-of-28 and a career-high three touchdowns in the win.
WATCH UMASS ON TV
• Saturday's game will be televised on CBS 3 Now in Western Massachusetts on Comcast Channel 293. The feed will be simulcast with UMass All-Access on UMassAthletics.com.
• Saturday's game will be UMass' eighth televised game this season. The Minutemen are scheduled to appear on TV eight times in 2010.
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.
• The can can also be listened to online at UMassAthletics.com.
IN THE POLLS
• UMass is ranked No. 14 this week in the The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 Poll and 13th in the FCS Coaches Poll. That is an improvement of over last week's ranking of No. 15 in both polls.
• UMass was ranked No. 8 for three-straight weeks (Sept. 27-Oct. 11), its highest ranking since Sept. 8, 2008 when the it was ranked No. 3.
• The Colonial Athletic Association owns three of the top nine spots and six of the top 25 in this week's TSN/Fathead.com Top 25: No. 1 William & Mary, No. 2 Delaware, No. 9 Villanova, No. 14 UMass, No. 17 New Hampshire and No. 21 Richmond.
• UMass has now been ranked for 72 of the last 76 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.
MCGUIRK MAGIC
• UMass has been tough to beat in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The Minutemen have won 27 of their last 31 at home, dating to 2006 for an 87.1 percent win mark.
• Since Kevin Morris came to UMass with the majority of the coaching staff in 2004, UMass is 33-7 at home, an 82.5 percent win mark. Since 2003, UMass is 40-7 at home (85.1%).
• The Maroon & White opened 2009 season at home with five wins in a row before finishing 5-1 and are 3-1 at home in 2010.
UMASS VS. DELAWARE SERIES
• Delaware holds a 24-6 lead in the all-time series which began in 1958. Last season, Delaware registered a 43-27 victory over the Minutemen in Newark. That UD win ended UMass' first-ever two-game win streak in the series.
• In the last game at McGuirk, UMass won for the second meeting in a row, 17-7 at McGuirk Stadium on Oct. 4, 2008. It marked UMass' first consecutive wins in the series all-time. Prior to that, UMass posted their biggest win in the series, a 35-7 win in Newark on Nov. 5, 2005. That game was also the biggest win by an opponent in UD Stadium history.
• The Blue Hens won the first 14 games between the two schools, before the Minutemen posted a 17-3 victory at Delaware in 1990 during UMass' run to the Yankee Conference crown and NCAA I-AA playoffs.
• UMass has won just three of the 13 games played at McGuirk Stadium, with UMass winning two of the last three: in 2008 ,17-7 and in 2002 with the Blue Hens winning, 21-7, in 2004.
• Delaware holds a 13-3 lead over the Minutemen for games played in Newark, with UMass winning in 2005, 1999 (26-19) and 1990 (17-3).
• Delaware claimed the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA title, joining the 1998 UMass squad as one of only five national champions in Atlantic 10/CAA history. James Madison joined the group in 2004, Richmond in 2008 and Villanova in 2009.
• Delaware won an epic 2003 game, 51-45 in triple overtime in Newark. The only extra session match-up.
• Delaware coach K.C. Keeler is 3-3 vs. UMass. Kevin Morris is 0-1 against the Blue Hens as a head coach, but was Offensive Coordinator for the wins in 2005 and 2008.
UMASS AND DELAWARE CONNECTIONS
• Twin brothers will do battle on Saturday as UMass' sophomore Chad Hunte will be on opposing sidelines from his sibling Kyle. Both players transferred from Northeastern after the Huskies program was ended after the 2009 season.
• UMass does not have any players from the state of Delaware. While the Blue Hens have four from Massachusetts including Hunte, who is a native of Brookline. Also from the Bay State are senior LB Bernard Makumbi (Lowell), junior DL Chris Morales (Mathuen) and junior OL Will Nagle (Marshfield).
• Second-year UMass secondary coach Dyran Peake spent four seasons as an assistant coach Delaware working various roles with the defensive backs as well as with special teams.
PLAYING KEEP-AWAY
• UMass ranks ninth in the country and first in the CAA in time of possession with an average of 33:05 per game.
• The Minutemen's average of 21.9 first downs per game is 19tf-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 on Oct. 23 when it had the ball for 27:24 and the win at James Madison last week with 25:21. 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 169.2 rushing yards per game (35th nationally) and 232.3 yards per game through the air (29th nationally), combining for the CAA-leading and 21st-best nationally ranking in total offense (401.6 yards per game).
• The 1-2 combination of John Griffin and Jonathan Hernandez give UMass depth and options at the tailback position. One of the two went over 100 yards in each of the first five games of the season. Hernandez has run for 769 yards on 183 carries and seven scores for an 85.4 yards per game average. Griffin has 671 yards on 146 carries with five touchdowns for an average of 74.6 yards per game.
• UMass has been successful at controlling the ball, winning the time of possession battle with an average of 32:49 to the opponents' 26:55.
• Senior quarterback Kyle Havens leads the CAA in passing yardage and ranks 17th nationally with 228.8 yards per game. His passing efficiency rating of 142.96 ranks third in the CAA and 16th in the NCAA.
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 ranks second in the CAA in both receptions per game (5.78) and lead in yards per game (73.0). Those totals are 26th and 34th in the country, respectively.
• Nelson had the best game of his career when he caught 11 passes for 190 yards, both career highs, against New Hampshire on Oct. 23. He had at least five catches in the first seven games of the season.
• Nelson's performance against UNH earned him being named to the College Football Performance Awards honor roll.
NELSON AN ESPN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT PICK
•Nelson has been named to the ESPN Academic All-District First Team. He is now eligible for national Academic All-American honors, which will be announced later this year. Nelson, a 3.88 student majoring in Economics, leads the CAA in receptions (52) and receiving yards (657). He is UMass' first Academic All-District pick since linebacker Mark Kimener in 2003, who was also an Academic All-American.
HAVENS HEAVING IT
• Senior quarterback Kyle Havens is 177-of-272 passing for 2,091 yards and a 65.1 percent completion rate. He has thrown 14 touchdowns with just five interceptions, a significant improvement over last season's nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Havens' passing efficiency rating is 142.96 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 stands fifth in career completions (323) and ranks sixth in both passing yards (3,999) and attempts (536) in a career at UMass.
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 third this week at 75.0 percent (18-of-24). Most recently, UMass was a perfect 3-of-3 on fourth downs against Maine, all in the first quarter.
• UMass' 18 fourth-down conversions is second-most in the country behind Murray State (19-of-29).
• UMass has already surpassed its total number of fourth-down conversions and attempts from 2009 when it was 8-for-14.
• Conversely on defense, UMass has allowed just 3-of-15 fourth-down conversions for just 20 percent success by its opponents. That ranks first in the CAA and sixth nationally.
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 91 tackles on the season, averaging just over 10 a game. 11 of those tackles have been for loss, including four sacks.
• The definition of a ball-hawk, Holmes also has five interceptions and two forced fumbles to lead the Minutemen in both categories.
CAA RECORD CROWD AT GILLETTE
• Oct. 23's Colonial Clash against New Hampshire in the first-ever college football game at Gillette Stadium 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.
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 551-518-51 (.514) in 1,120 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 SEVEN FORMER MINUTEMEN ON NFL ROSTERS
• A school record seven 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. Jeromy Miles is also on the Cincinnati Bengals Practice Squad.
• 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.
PICKETT AMONG HALL OF FAME CLASS
• The University of Massachusetts Athletic Department has inducted five new members into the George "Trigger" Burke UMass Athletic Hall of Fame, making up the class of 2010. The legends were honored on Sept. 10 at a dinner held at the Campus Center Auditorium and at the Sept. 11 Holy Cross game.
• Among the inductees was the late Bob Pickett, former football coach and administrator from 1971-2003. Also inducted were: Marcus Camby (basketball, 1993-96), Bill Gillin (cross country/track & field, 1971-75), Scott Hiller (lacrosse 1987-90), and Sarah Jones (rowing, 1996-97).
