Massachusetts Football Falls To New Mexico State, 23-13

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts football team dropped a 23-13 decision to New Mexico State on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium (9,274).

Ellis Merriweather rushed for 87 yards, while Kay'Ron Adams totaled 73 yards on the ground including a 66-yard touchdown run. At quarterback, Brady Olson finished 15-of-28 for 97 yards in his first start of the season.

On defense, Gerrell Johnson made seven tackles (three solo), while Marcus Cushnie had five tackles (one solo), including 1.5 sacks and he added a quarterback hurry. UMass held the Aggies offense to a 0-for-12 mark on third downs.

How It Happened

The teams traded defensive stands in the early going, with a Marcus Cushnie sack helping to flip the field. On the ensuing Massachusetts drive, which started at the New Mexico State 42, Ellis Merriweather had a 16-yard rush and added a seven-yard rush to setup a 41-yard field goal by Cameron Carson.

The Minutemen extended the lead to 10 early in the second quarter when Kay'Ron Adams broke free for a 66-yard rushing touchdown, marking his longest career rush and second touchdown in a UMass uniform.

After the Aggies used a 41-yard field goal of their own and a 39-yard touchdown catch by JJ Jones III to tie it at 10-10, Olson drove the Minutemen down for a 35-yard Carson field goal with two seconds left in the second quarter to give the Minutemen a 13-10 lead at the half.

New Mexico State took the lead, 16-13, with a pair of field goals in the third quarter. Then with time winding down in the fourth, the Aggies pulled away on a 27-yard Terrell Warner touchdown grab at 3:42.

Notes

Quarterback Brady Olson made his first start of the season
Kay'Ron Adams' first touchdown of the season came on a career-long 66-yard rush early in the second quarter
It marked Adams' second touchdown with UMass and the fourth of his college career
The 66-yard rush was the longest offensive play of the season for UMass
Ellis Merriweather rushed for a season-high 84 yards
Cameron Carson went 2-for-2 on field goal attempts
Dominic Schofield recorded his first career sack
Jalen Stewart and Marcus Cushnie combined for a third-down sack; marking the second of the game for Cushnie and the first of Stewart's career

Coach Brown Quotes

Opening Statement
"Very disappointing. You know, obviously, we're coming off a bye. We had two weeks to prepare. We had good moments in the football game, but, you know, too little too late. I mean, obviously in the first half, I thought our guys were really competing hard at a high level. And we reflected that, but obviously, we were not able to manufacture anything offensively in the second half and respond.

They brought in Pavia and he ended up completing seven passes. So, we had done a really good job in the first half on Frakes– so disappointing with that. A couple of calls, I thought, were very difficult on us. They were 0-12 on third downs so obviously got back on that side of the coin and did a good job in that area. I thought we ran the football. I thought Ellis Merriweather did a good job for us. Obviously, Kay'Ron Adams had the big play. But it was too little. I feel bad for our guys, because they've been working at it. They've been really competing hard and practicing hard and making great efforts. It is just disappointed for them that we weren't able to get it done."

On the pass rush
"I thought we were good today in the pass rush. We tweaked some things and I thought the guys did a good job of executing, getting after the quarterback. I felt good about that piece. Like I said, that contributes to 0-12 on third downs. I thought on the run game we did a pretty damn good job too. But bottom line is [Diego] Pavia completed seven passes just over 50% and that was probably the difference in the ballgame is they made the change to him."

Next Up
The Minutemen will play UConn at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 4, at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford Connecticut. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

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