University of Massachusets Athletics
Football Finishes Out 2015 Season With Buffalo Road Trip
November 23, 2015 | Football
| University of Massachusetts Football Weekly Release | |
| Game 12 | Massachusetts (2-9, 1-6 MAC) at Buffalo (5-6, 3-4) |
| Date | Time | Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 | 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | UB Stadium (29,013; FieldTurf) | Buffalo, N.Y. |
| Live Statistics | Presto Sports |
| Watch | Broadcast live on ESPNU (Check local listings) |
| Listen (Radio) | 105.5 FM WEEI (Western Massachusetts), 830 AM WCRN (Worcester), 95.9 FM WATD (South Shore), 1200 AM WXKS (Boston, Manchester, Providence) |
| Listen (Online) | WEEI Streaming Player | TuneIn App (mobile devices) |
| Series History | Buffalo leads, 7-4. Last meeting: Buffalo 41, UMass 21; Nov. 28, 2014 |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts  | Buffalo | Mid-American Conference |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Buffalo |
| @UMassAthletics | @UMassFootball | #GoUMass | #BeatBuffalo | #UMASSvsBUF | |
| UMass Athletics | UMass Football | |
| Buy Tickets | Available through Buffalo Athletics |
Minutemen Finish Out 2015 Season With Buffalo On The Road
University of Massachusetts football caps its 2015 season with a Thanksgiving trip to Buffalo for an ESPNU broadcast matchup with the Bulls on Friday, Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m. The game is a continuation of a series between the sides that dates back to UMass' days as an FCS school as the Bulls lead the all-time series, 7-4.
UMass was without starting quarterback Blake Frohnapfel during the most recent game between the teams, a 41-21 victory for Buffalo on Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. Backup Austin Whipple threw a pair of touchdown passes to Tajae Sharpe and Shadrach Abrokwah pounded out 100 yards over 15 rushing attempts. Stanley Andre closed his collegiate career with a 17-tackle game while Jovan Santos-Knox added 14 stops with a pass breakup.
After a scoreless first quarter, Buffalo found the endzone three times spanning the second and third quarters before Marken Michel reeled off a 50-yard rushing touchdown to put UMass on the board. The Bulls continued to connect offensively through to the fourth quarter to offset Whipple's touchdown throws to Sharpe of seven and 24 yards during the final stanza.
Follow UMass Athletics And UMass Football On Twitter
Instant information on the football program, including an inside look at key points and statistics in each game as well as updates from practice and other team events are available via the Twitter handle @UMassFootball. Follow the Minutemen there and catch information about each University of Massachusetts Athletic Department program through @UMassAthletics.
Sharpe Sets Program Receiving Yardage Record
Tajae Sharpe reset another UMass career receiving record during his senior season when the wideout from Piscataway, New Jersey, surpassed Adrian Zullo (2,982; 1998-2002) for the top spot on the program's all-time receiving yards listing. Sharpe accomplished the feat against Kent State on Oct. 17 with 46 yards and finished the day with 2,905 over 41 appearances as a Minuteman.
Sharpe previously set the mark for most receptions in a career when he topped Zullo (187) against Temple on Sept. 19. He is also currently first all-time for career receptions per game (5.89) as he owns 271 over 46 games played. Through 11 games of the 2015 season, Sharpe sits at 3,348 career receiving yards with 16 touchdown receptions, tied for the third-most in program history.
And The Single-Season Receptions Record Falls Too Tajae Sharpe continued his assault on the UMass record book as he took control of the top spot in single season receptions with his seven-catch game against Akron on Nov. 7. Sharpe surpassed Jimmy Moore (92; 1998) for first place all-time at UMass in the category and enters the game at Buffalo with 105 on the year.
"Pop" Strengthens UMass Kick Return Game
James Oliphant, nicknamed "Pop" by his grandfather, produced 238 kickoff return yards over seven attempts at Bowling Green on Oct. 10, the second-most yards in a single game in program history behind only Jesse Julmiste's 252 versus Boston College on Sept. 24, 2011. Tim Berra recorded the only other 200-yard return performance with as many yards vs. Rhode Island on Oct. 20, 1973.
Santos-Knox With 20 Stops
Jovan Santos-Knox provided 20 tackles (five solo, 15 assisted) during the Oct. 24 game against No. 19 Toledo, the most by a Minuteman in more than a decade. The last UMass football player to reach at least 20 tackles in a game was current outside linebackers coach Charles Walker, who had a program-record-tying 23 versus Delaware on Sept. 25, 2004.
It was 133 games between Santos-Knox and Walker's 20-plus tackle performances. Over the most recent six games, Santos-Knox averaged 13.2 tackles per game as he also had double-digits against Kent State (17), Ball State (10), Akron (12), Eastern Michigan (10) and Miami (Ohio) (10).
Keeping Their Legs Moving
Led by true freshman Marquis Young, the six-man running back committee averages 5.2 yards per carry in 2015 via 1,354 yards over 258 attempts split between Young (117), Jamal Wilson (84), Sekai Lindsay (34), Shadrach Abrokwah (11), Lorenzo Woodley (10) and Andy Isabella (two).
Young has the most yards of the half-dozen Minutemen with 720 and an average of 65.5 per game. Wilson holds the lead in touchdowns on six scored over 387 yards recorded while Lindsay reached the endzone once through 114 yards gained. Abrokwah tallied 56 of his 75 rushing yards against Colorado while Woodley sports 36 yards picked up. Isabella travelled 22 yards on his two carries.
The 6,000-Yard Man Blake Frohnapfel eclipsed 6,000 passing yards as a Minuteman during 2015 Senior Day against Miami (Ohio). Entering the final game of his collegiate career, Frohnapfel averages 290.5 passing yards per game while his 39 career touchdowns thrown stands fourth all-time in the UMass record book ahead of J. Pennington (38; 1971-73). He is one of only four quarterbacks with as many passing yards at UMass, including Liam Coen (11,031; 2004-08), Todd Bankhead (7,018; 1998-99) and Dave Palazzi (5,461; 1985-88).
Sharpe Becomes The Go-To Guy
In Tajae Sharpe's freshman and sophomore seasons he provided 886 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 81 receptions (10.9 yards per catch) during 23 appearances for an average of 38.5 yards and 3.5 receptions per game. Since becoming an upperclassman, Sharpe has amped up his production to 2,462 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 190 catches in 23 games, an average of 107.0 yards through the air and 8.3 receptions per appearance.
Get To The Endzone!
Of its 29 touchdown drives in 2015, UMass reached the endzone in under two minutes during 17 of those trips. The quick conversion rate puts the Minutemen tied for seventh nationally in touchdown drives spanning less than two minutes in length (58.6 percent).
Eight of the touchdown drives took one minute of game clock or less, while all 28 combined average just over two minutes, 17 seconds in total length. These totals do not include James Oliphant's 97-yard kickoff return touchdown at Bowling Green.
It's A Marathon, Not A Sprint
UMass football is one of six teams nationally that will play 12 consecutive contests during the 2015 season. The other five are Arizona, Colorado, Florida International, Hawai'i and North Texas. Colorado plays 13 games in a row while the rest play one dozen.
Stout UMass Defense Grounds Florida International
The University of Massachusetts defensive front kept FIU to just 188 yards of total offense during the 24-14 Maroon and White victory on Oct. 3. It was the fewest yards allowed to an UMass opponent since the Minutemen held Northeastern to 145 total offensive yards on Nov. 7, 2009. The Maroon and White also limited opponents to less than 200 yards on offense on Oct. 16, 2012 versus Richmond (196) and Oct. 4, 2008 against Delaware (167). All four defensive efforts occurred in front of a friendly crowd at McGuirk Stadium.
