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University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Football At Kent State Postgame Notes
October 11, 2014 | Football
Recap | Box Score | Quotes
• Saturday's game was the first meeting between UMass and Kent State in football
• Saturday's win marked the first time in 2014 UMass has held a team to fewer than 30 points this season.
• The win snapped a 12-game losing skid for UMass. The last UMass win was on Oct. 12, 2013 against Miami (Ohio) at Gillette Stadium (17-10).
• All of UMass' win as an FBS program have come against schools located in Ohio - 2012 at Akron, 2013 vs. Miami (Ohio), 2014 vs. Kent State.
• UMass has now scored 40-or-more points in three consecutive games. The last time UMass did the same was in 1972: W 44-15 vs. Boston University (Oct. 14), W 42-7 at Rhode Island (Oct. 21), W 49-16 vs. Connecticut. UMass also did the same during the 1963 season. Those are the only three years in the 132 year history of the program that a team has scored 40-or-more points in three consecutive games.
• An obscure note for today is that in 1972 both UMass and Kent State played in bowl games. Kent State played in the Tangerine Bowl, while UMass played in the Boardwalk Bowl.
• Stanley Andre and Blake Frohnapfel were today's game captains
• Kent State won the opening coin toss and deferred until the second half
• Center Matt Sparks missed today's game marking the first time in 16 straight games he has not started. Josh Bruns, normally UMass starting right guard, made the start at center. Michael Boland made the start at right guard.
• On offense, Tajae Sharpe started the 26th game (3rd most on team) of his career and the 17th straight
• On defense, Stanley Andre made his team-leading 31st career start - all are consecutive. Randall Jette started his 30th career game - all are consecutive as well.
• Matt Tuleja scored his first career touchdown on a five-yard pass from Blake Frohnapfel. He is the 8th different player to catch a touchdown pass this year.
• Jalen Williams scored his touchdown catch in the second quarter was his second of the season.
• Logan Laurent played in his first career game where he made four PATs and was 2-for-2 on FGs. His long of the day was 31 yards in the 2nd quarter.
• On UMass' second touchdown drive of the game, Blake Frohnapfel was 5-of-6 for 71 yards. Jalen Williams had four of the five catches for 64 yards including a 17-yard touchdown.
• Jean Sifrin caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season when he snagged a four-yard reception from Blake Frohnapfel on 4th and 2 from the Kent State four yard line with 3 seconds left in the first half. He finished the game with three receptions for 24 yards.
• Frohnapfel was 23-of-38 in the game for 286 yards and three touchdowns. He was 14-of-28 in the first half for 208 yards and three touchdowns. His 18 touchdowns thrown are now the 9th most for a single-season in UMass history. His 2,146 yards now rank 11th for a single-season in program history and is just 29 yards behind Liam Coen's 2,175 yards in 2005.
• Over the last three games, Frohnapfel has thrown for 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns.
• Despite having a quiet day, Tajae Sharpe moved up the UMass career receiving charts. He now ranks 9th in career receiving yards with 1,583 and ranks 7th in career receptions with 124.
• Kassan Messiah led UMass with 10 tackles for his third double-digit tackle total of the season. He also blocked a field goal attempt by Kent State - the first blocked field goal for UMass since Quayshun Smith did so last year against Northern Illinois.
• Jackson Porter returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. That was his second career interception and his first touchdown. It marked the first time since Christian Birt had a 32-yard pick-six at Michigan on Sept. 15, 2012.
• UMass was 1-of-9 on 3rd down conversions in the first half, but 2-of-3 on 4th down conversions. Each of the made fourth down conversions resulted in touchdowns. For the game, UMass finished 2-of-13 on 3rd down and 2-of-3 on 4th down.
• UMass was 4-of-4 on Red Zone attempts in the first half and 6-of-6 for the game.
• UMass led 24-10 at halftime and 27-17 at the end of the third quarter. UMass is now 1-3 when leading at the half and is now 1-3 when leading after three quarters. The four leads at the end of the third quarter are the most for UMass in a season as an FBS program (previous high was three in 2012, 1-2).