After playing at home just once in the last seven weeks, No. 15 UMass (5-3, 3-2 CAA) continues its playoff push when it plays the first of two-straight games at McGuirk Stadium this Saturday when CAA rival Maine (3-5, 2-3 CAA) comes to Amherst for a 3:30 p.m. game. Both clubs are coming off conference road victories. The Minutemen defeated then-No. 15 James Madison, 21-14, while the Black Bears defeated Rhode Island, 28-23.
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 three spots and is ranked No. 15 in both this week's The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 and the FCS Coaches Poll.
Maine is 3-5 on the season and 2-3 in the CAA. The Black Bears are coming off their bye week and UMass will mark their fifth game out of the last six against a top 15 team. Maine won at Rhode Island, 28-23 two weeks ago, after going 1-3 against
four teams ranked in the top 14, defeating No. 14 New Hampshire, 16-13 in OT.
This will be the 57th time the two programs have met with UMass holding a 40-15-1 edge, while Maine has won the last two meetings after the Minutemen won the previous six in a row.
WATCH UMASS ON TV
Saturday's game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet New England with Gary Tanguay and Andy Gresh calling the action.
Saturday's game will be UMass' seventh televised game 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. Tim Collins 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. 15 this week in both the The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS Top 25 Poll and the FCS Coaches Poll. That is an improvement of three spots over last week's ranking of No. 18 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 five spots and seven of the top 22 in this week's TSN/Fathead.com Top 25: No. 3 Villanova, No. 4 William & Mary, No. 5 Delaware, No. 8 New Hampshire, No. 15 UMass, No. 20 Richmond, and No. 22 James Madison.
UMass has now been ranked for 71 of the last 75 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.
THE SERIES: UMASS VS. MAINE
UMass holds a 40-15-1 lead in the all-time series which began in 1909. The 40 wins are the third-most against any team after Rhode Island (48) and New Hampshire (43).
In last year's meeting on Halloween, No. 19 UMass suffered a tough 19-9 loss at Maine as both teams moved their records to 4-4 overall. The Minutemen fell to 2-3 in the CAA while Maine went to 3-2 and in second place in the North behind New Hampshire (7-1, 4-1). UMass defense was strong throughout the game as Tyler Holmes (16 tackles) and Eric Dickson (14 tackles) led the way. Scott Woodward saw his most time at quarterback in relief of Kyle Havens and finished with 149 yards on 15-of-28 passing.
In the last seven years, four of the games have been decided by eight points or less, including three by one point.
The last time the teams met in Amherst, Maine ended UMass' six-game series win streak with a crushing 21-20 win at McGuirk Stadium on Nov. 8, 2008. That game played a large roll in propelling the Black Bears to the NCAA Tournament as they finished the regular-season with a 8-4 record while UMass finished at 7-5.
2008's game was the third straight at McGuirk Stadium decided by a missed extra points in Amherst. In 2004 and 2006 UMass won games by a point on Black Bear misses. Last season, UMass returned the favor missing a kick that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter in the 21-20 defeat.
Prior to Maine winning the last two meetings, the Minutemen had defeated the Black Bears six years in a row. UMass has won nine of the last 12 games in the series overall.
UMass holds a 22-4-1 advantage for games played in Amherst with five wins in a row until 2008's defeat. At McGuirk Stadium, UMass is 18-4 vs. Maine.
From 1991-96, every game between the Minutemen and the Black Bears was decided by eight points or less, then from 1997-2001, the closest game was decided by 21 points.
Kevin Morris will be coaching against Maine for just the second time as the head coach (0-1), but UMass was 4-1 in the previous five years when he was the offensive coordinator for the Minutemen. Maine's head man Jack Cosgrove is 7-10 vs. UMass.
BLACKSBURG BOYS TAKE CAA HONORS
Playing about two hours from their home in Blacksburg, Va., a pair of Minutemen collected CAA Weekly honors after the big comeback win at James Madison on Saturday. Junior linebacker Tyler Holmes was named the CAA Defensive Player Of The Week while CAA Special Teams Player Of The Week honors went to Caleb Violette.
Holmes garnered his second CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week honor this season by helping the Minutemen to a come-from-behind 21-14 win at James Madison Saturday. The junior registered a game-high 14 tackles in the victory, including 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 10 yards. Holmes' biggest play of the day came on JMU's last possession when he sacked Kavon Seaton for a 10-yard loss on first down inside the UMass redzone -- the sack helped stall the Dukes drive which ended in a turnover on downs.
Violette was named CAA Football Special Teams Player of the Week after logging two 50+ yard punts in Massachusetts' 21-14 win at James Madison Saturday. Violette, who also serves as the Minutemen's placekicker, remained perfect on the season by making both of his two PAT's (19-of-19) and posted two field goals in the come-from-behind win with distances of 33 and 25 yards. The sophomore finished the contest with an average of 53 yards/punt while UMass did not allow any punt return yards on the day.
PLAYING KEEP-AWAY
UMass ranks eighth in the country and first in the CAA in time of possession with an average of 33:24 per game.
The Minutemen's average of 21.9 first downs per game is 13th-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 171.2 rushing yards per game (36th nationally) and 234.8 yards per game through the air (28th nationally), combining for the CAA-leading and 18th-best nationally ranking in total offense (406.0 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 went over 100 yards in each of the first five games of the season. Hernandez has run for 683 yards on 165 carries and seven scores for an 85.4 yards per game average. Griffin has 590 yards on 128 carries with five touchdowns for an average of 73.8 yards per game.
UMass has been successful at controlling the ball, winning the time of possession battle with an average of 33:24 to the opponents' 26:36.
Senior quarterback Kyle Havens leads the CAA in passing yardage and ranks 17th nationally with 234.8 yards per game. His passing efficiency rating of 138.96 ranks fourth in the CAA and 21st in the NCAA.
HAVENS HEAVING IT
Senior quarterback Kyle Havens is 155-of-244 passing for 1,878 yards and a 63.5 percent completion rate. He has thrown 11 touchdowns with five interceptions, a significant improvement over last season's nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Havens' passing efficiency rating is 138.96 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 ranks sixth in both passing yards (3,786) and completions (301) in a career at UMass. He ranks seventh all-time in pass attempts (508).
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 (6.13) and yards per game (79.38). Those totals are 20th and 23rd 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.
Nelson's performance agains UNH earned him being named to the College Football Performance Awards honor roll.
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 sixth this week at 71.4 percent (15-of-21). Most recently, UMass was 1-of-2 on fourth-down against JMU.
UMass' 15 fourth-down conversions is third-most in the country behind Colgate (16-of-26) and Murray State (18-of-28).
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 39.67 percent (48-of-121).
UMASS CONNECTIONS WITH MAINE
UMass' director of football operations and former head coach Mike Hodges is a 1967 graduate of Maine and lettered in football twice helping the Black Bears to the 1965 Yankee Conference title.
Maine has seven players from the Bay State on its roster, including freshman wide receiver Arthur Williams from nearby Springfield and redshirt-freshman offensive lineman Joe Hook from Westfield.
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.
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 85 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 three 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 550-518-51 (.514) in 1,119 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.
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).
