University of Massachusets Athletics
Football Visits Eastern Michigan for Saturday Showdown
November 09, 2015 | Football
| University of Massachusetts Football Weekly Release | |
| Game 10 | Massachusetts (1-8, 0-5 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (1-9, 0-6) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 | 3:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Rynearson Stadium (32,000; FieldTurf) | Ypsilanti, Mich. |
| Live Statistics | Sidearm Sports |
| Watch | ESPN3 |
| 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 | UMass leads, 1-0. Last meeting: UMass 36, Eastern Michigan 14; Oct. 18, 2014 |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts  | Eastern Michigan | Mid-American Conference |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Eastern Michigan |
| @UMassAthletics | @UMassFootball | #GoUMass | #BeatEMU | #UMASSvsEMU | |
| UMass Athletics | UMass Football | |
| Buy Tickets | Available through Eastern Michigan Athletics |
UMass Makes First Visit To Eastern Michigan
University of Massachusetts makes its first-ever trip to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to face the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Rynearson Stadium for a 3 p.m. contest broadcast by ESPN3 on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Minutemen won the only previous meeting between the sides one season ago through success in the ground game and causing havoc in the trenches on defense.
The Minutemen rushed for each of their five touchdowns while Tajae Sharpe posted 193 yards receiving on 13 receptions, including 11 that went for first downs. Shadrach Abrokwah spearheaded the rushing effort with 135 yards on 24 carries (5.6 per attempt) and four touchdowns while Blake Frohnapfel went 28-of-51 passing with 337 yards.
The defense posted four sacks among eight tackles for loss, broke up five passes and posted an interception in keeping the Eastern Michigan offense off balance throughout the contest. After the Eagles scored on two of their opening five drives, the UMass defense locked down on Eastern Michigan and forced it into empty possessions on its final seven drives, including four punts, two turnovers on downs and a missed field goal.
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 (5.93) as he owns 261 over 44 games played. Through nine games of the 2015 season, Sharpe sits at 3,200 career receiving yards with 15 touchdown receptions, tied for the fifth-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 Eastern Michigan with 95 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 three games, Santos-Knox averaged 14.8 tackles per game as he also had double-digits against Kent State (17), Ball State (10) and Akron (12).
Keeping Their Legs Moving
Led by true freshman Marquis Young, the six-man running back committee averages 5.1 yards per carry in 2015 via 986 yards over 193 attempts split between Young (74), Jamal Wilson (62), Sekai Lindsay (34), Shadrach Abrokwah (11), Lorenzo Woodley (10) and Andy Isabella (two).
Young has the most yards of the half-dozen Minutemen with 488 and an average of 54.2 per game. Wilson holds the lead in touchdowns on four scored over 251 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.
Froh Reaches 5,000 Passing Yards At UMass Blake Frohnapfel needed just 16 career games at quarterback for the Minutemen to surpass 5,000 yards passing wearing the Maroon and White as he reached the benchmark against Kent State on Oct. 17. Through 19 appearances, Frohnapfel averages 305.8 passing yards per game while his 38 career touchdowns thrown stands tied for fourth all-time in the UMass record book with 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 2,314 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 180 catches in 21 games, an average of 110.2 yards through the air and 8.6 receptions per appearance.
Get To The Endzone!
Of its 24 touchdown drives in 2015, UMass reached the endzone in under two minutes during 15 of those trips. The quick conversion rate puts the Minutemen fourth nationally in touchdown drives spanning less than two minutes in length (62.5 percent). Tulsa (25-of-38) sits in first at 65.8 percent with Baylor is second at 40-for-62 (64.5 percent). Northern Illinois holds third (62.5; 25-of-40) and Syracuse follows UMass in fifth (60.8 percent; 14-of-23). Hat tip to Kyle Neaves at Western Kentucky for organizing this list.
Eight of the touchdown drives took one minute of game clock or less, while all 24 combined average just over one minute, 58 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.
