Football Plays Host To Eastern Michigan Saturday At McGuirk

University of Massachusetts Football Game Notes & Information
Game 3	Massachusetts (0-2) vs. Eastern Michigan (1-1)
Date \| Time	Saturday, September 18 \| 3:30 p.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. \| McGuirk Alumni Stadium \| New Parking Information \| Gameday 101
Tickets	Purchase Tickets Here \| Student Tailgate Information
Game Notes & Team Information	Massachusetts: Game Notes \| Game Program \| Record Book Eastern Michigan: Game Notes \| Media Guide
Watch	NESN+ \| FloSports
Listen	WHMP 101.5 FM, 1240AM & 1400AM \| WCRN 830 AM App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device
Live Statistics	SIDEARM
Twitter	@UMassFootball \| @CoachWaltBell
Instagram	UMass Football
Facebook	UMass Football

WHAT'S NEW AT McGUIRK ALUMNI STADIUM IN 2021

Parking passes for Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan can be purchased in advance for just $10 to access the South Stadium Loop Lot, ADA Parking, Lot 22, Lot 33, Lot 14. Parking passes may also be purchased on game day for $30 (cash only).

Parking lots open four hours prior to kickoff, and parking or standing on roads before that time is prohibited.

For additional information, please click here.

THE SERIES WITH EASTERN MICHIGAN

The Minutemen and Eagles are meeting for just the third time in program history, with Massachusetts owning a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series.

The teams met previously as members of the MAC in 2014 and 2015. In the win at Gillette Stadium in 2014, UMass tied a program record for first downs in a game (34). Saturday will mark Eastern Michigan's first-ever trip to McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

SO GREAT TO BE HOME

Last weekend's home opener marked the first time in 658 days (Nov. 23, 2019) that the Minutemen had played a game at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

The fans turned out, with 12,118 making their way into the stadium against Boston College, the highest attendance at a home opener in Amherst since the 2017 season (12,145 vs. Hawaii on Aug. 26, 2017).

THE QB ROOM: A MIX OF YOUNG AND OLD

The Minutemen's quarterback room features two freshmen (Zamar Wise and Brady Olson), two redshirt freshmen (Garrett Dzuro and Luke McMenamin) and one graduate student (Tyler Lytle).

Lytle (6'5'', 225-pounds from Redondo Beach, Calif.) played the 2017-19 seasons at the University of Colorado, appearing in seven career games, including four during 2018 and three in 2019.

In his first collegiate start on Sept. 4 at Pittsburgh, Lytle completed 14-of-31 passes for a career-high 167 yards, and also rushed for one touchdown against the Panthers.

Olson (6'4'', 200-poinds from Bellingham, Mass.), meanwhile, arrived at UMass as a three-star pro-style quarterback rated the No. 20 player in Massachusetts according to the 247Sports Composite listing, and a three-star QB according to ESPN and rated as the 15th-highest player in Massachusetts.

OLSON DAZZLES IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT

With Lytle out with an undisclosed injury last week, Brady Olson stepped in against Boston College to make his first collegiate start.

Olson was 14-of-29 for 214 yards and three touchdowns, marking the first time a UMass quarterback has thrown for three touchdown passes since Ross Comis on Nov. 3, 2018 against Liberty.

AIRING IT OUT

Through just two games, UMass quarterbacks have already completed passes to 13 different receivers, led by five catches out of the backfield by Kay'Ron Adams.

Last week against Boston College, Brady Olson connected with Rico Arnold for a 56-yard touchdown strike, the longest passing touchdown for the Minutemen since Nov. 9, 2019 at Army (Andrew Brito to Kyle Horn). The score was the longest of Arnold's career and his first touchdown since the 2018 season when he was playing at Charlotte.

BALL!

The Minutemen have been quick to pounce on the loose ball so far this season, recording two fumble recoveries in each of the first two games.

It's the first time in the FBS era, and first time overall since 2009, that Massachusetts has logged two fumble recoveries in each of its first two games of the year.

It's also the first time since Oct. 21, 2017 (Georgia Southern) and Oct. 28, 2017 (Appalachian State) that the Minutemen recorded at least two fumble recoveries in consecutive games.

Avien Peah, Uchenna Ezewike, Bryson Richardson and Javon Batten all have recoveries this season for UMass, making the Minutemen tied for fifth in the nation in fumble recoveries and tied for 24th in the NCAA in turnovers gained.

UMass has at least one takeaway in 25 of the last 28 games dating back to Sept. 8, 2018 at Georgia Southern. The lone exceptions in the span is the Sept. 14, 2019 game against Charlotte, Nov. 7, 2020 at No. 16/15 Marshall and Nov. 27, 2020 at RV/RV Liberty.

ON THE HUNT

Freshman linebacker Gerrell Johnson had a game-high 13 tackles (five solo, eight assisted) last week against Boston College. He is the only active player on the roster with a 10+ tackle game in his career.

TOP SPEEDS

Take a look at the top speeds of the Minutemen through the first two weeks of the season, as measured by Catapult Sports:

at Pittsburgh (mph)
Noah Boykin (23.16)
Jacob Orlando (20.86)
Josh Wallace (20.71)
Te'Rai Powell (20.26)

Boston College (mph)
Josh Wallace (21.90)
Cody Jones (21.31)
Bryce Watts (21.30)
Donte Lindsey (20.66)

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Rico Arnold

Javon Batten

Noah Boykin

Andrew Brito

Garrett Dzuro

Uchenna Ezewike

Gerrell Johnson

Cody Jones

Donte Lindsey

Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams

Tyler Lytle

Luke McMenamin

Brady Olson

Jacob Orlando

Avien Peah

Te'Rai Powell

Bryson Richardson

Josh Wallace

Bryce Watts

Zamar Wise

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics