University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Army
Football Set For Matchup At Army On Saturday
October 23, 2023 | Football
Minutemen and Black Knights kickoff at 12 p.m. on CBS at Michie Stadium.
| University of Massachusetts Football Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 9 | Massachusetts (1-7) at Army (2-5) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, October 28 | 12 p.m. |
| Location | West Point, N.Y. | Michie Stadium |
| Tickets | Purchase Tickets Here |
| Series History | Army leads, 5-0-0 Last Meeting | Nov. 26, 2022 | McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Amherst, Mass. | Army 44, Massachusetts 7 |
| Game Notes & Team Information | Massachusetts: Game Notes | Don Brown Presser | Game Program | Record Book Army: Game Notes |
| Watch | CBS Sports Network |
| Listen | WHMP 101.5 FM, 1240AM & 1400AM | WCRN 830 AM App: Download The Varsity Sports Network on your mobile device |
| Live Statistics | SideArm Stats |
| @UMassFootball | @FBCoachDBrown | |
| UMass Football | |
| UMass Football | |
AMHERST, Mass. -- University of Massachusetts football travels to West Point, New York, on Saturday, October 28, for a 12 p.m. matchup with Army on CBS Sports Network.
SERIES HISTORY
Massachusetts and Army have played five times previously, including each of the past two seasons.
Last year in the Black Knights' first visit to McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Army came away with a 44-7 win. In what was Massachusetts' last game of the season, Jalen Mackie led the defense with with a career-high 19 total tackles (four solo) in addition to 1.0 TFL. Billy Wooden had nine tackles on the day (three solo), while Te'Rai Powell recorded 1.5 TFL.
On Nov. 20 2021, Army defeated the Minutemen 33-17. Ellis Merriweather accounted for 110 rushing yards on 17 carries in that contest, contributing to UMass's 199 yards on the ground. Josiah Johnson scored in his third straight contest for the Minutemen on a one-yard run for the score.
Army also earned home wins on November 9, 2019 (63-7), November 12, 2005 (34-27) and September 10, 1977 (34-10). Don Brown was head coach of the Minutemen for that narrow defeat in 2005 (UMass was Division I-AA).
SIMP CATCHING ON
Junior wide receiver Anthony Simpson scored touchdowns in back-to-back games to open the season and now has 36 catches for 568 receiving yards (71.0 yards/game) this season. His 568 receiving yards ranks 36th in FBS (first among independents). Simpson also has 10 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown this season.
In the season-opening win at New Mexico State, the Arizona transfer had a 10-yard TD run for the game's first score. At Auburn, he took a swing pass 58-yards for his second TD of the season. It marked the first two career touchdowns for the Bloomfield, Connecticut native.
Simpson posted 101 receiving yards at Eastern Michigan (Sept. 16), including a career-long 67-yard connection in the second half. His third touchdown of the season came late in the fourth quarter against New Mexico when he hauled in a 65-yard TD catch from Ahmad Haston to help send the game to overtime (Sept. 23).
Simpson then had seven catches for a career-high 140 yards and a 71-yard touchdown against Toledo. The 71-yard touchdown catch was UMass' first 70-plus yard reception since Ross Comis connected with Andy Isbella on a 75-yard touchdown at Georgia on Nov. 17, 2018. The 140 yards was also UMass' highest single-game total since Isabella finished that game at Georgia with 218 yards.
With that showing against the Rockets, Simpson posted a third 100-yard receiving game of the season, the most since Isabella turned in six such performances in 2018.
Massachusetts has a pair of pick sixes this season. Isaiah Rutherford grabbed an interception and returned it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the season-opening win at New Mexico State (Aug. 26), while Dashaun Jerkins returned an interception for a touchdown against Miami (Sept. 9). The two defensive touchdowns ranks tied for seventh in FBS.
All told, the Minutemen have five interceptions this season with Tyler Rudolph (vs. Miami), Michael Oppong (at New Mexico State) and Juan Lua (vs. Toledo in his first career start) also posting interceptions.
WOODEN LEADING THE D
Senior defensive lineman Billy Wooden ranks tied for third on the team with 32 total tackles and toed for second on the team with 15 solo tackles. He has a team-high eight tackles for loss and a team-best 4.5 sacks on the season.
Wooden also has a pass breakup, three quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries (fifth in FBS).
A Towson, Maryland native, Wooden is in his fifth season with the UMass program and has served as a game captain in each of the team's first eight games this season.
KAY'RON RUNNING WILD
Redshirt junior Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams is putting together a breakout season as the lead back for the Minutemen, rushing for 692 yards on 144 carries this season. He has also added 13 catches for 87 receiving yards. His 692 rushing yards ranks 17th in FBS (second among independents), while his 86.5 rushing yards per game ranks 30th in FBS (second among independents). He also has six rushing touchdowns this season (tied for 35th in FBS).
Against Toledo, Lynch-Adams rushed 20 times for a career-high 157 yards including a 47-yard touchdown to put UMass ahead 7-0 in the first quarter.
Against New Mexico State to open the year (Aug. 26), Lynch-Adams totaled two touchdowns, marking his first career multiple touchdown game. He posted 101 yards on 14 carries at Auburn, including a 28-yard run, for his first career 100-yard game. At Eastern Michigan (Sept. 16), Lynch-Adams carried the ball 26 times for 129 yards.
A 2023 Phil Steele Preseason All-Independent Second Team member, Lynch-Adams joined the Minutemen for the 2021 season after spending two years at Rutgers. Last season, he rushed 84 times for 297 yards and a career-long, 66-yard touchdown.
DESROSIERS DELIVERING RETURNS
Redshirt sophomore running back Greg Desrosiers Jr. totaled 244 all-purpose yards against Arkansas State (Sept. 30), including 75 yards rushing, 27 yards receiving and 142 yards on kickoff returns. Against the Red Wolves, he posted his first career two-touchdown game including a career-long, 60-yard TD run and his second TD catch of the season.
A 2023 Phil Steele Preseason Independent Team First Team Kick Returner selection, Desrosiers Jr. has 21 rushes for 123 yards and a touchdown this season to go along with 12 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. He also has 466 kickoff return yards this season, which ranks tied for fifth in FBS.
Desrosiers Jr., who hails from Lawrence, Massachusetts, joined the UMass program last season after two years at Louisville (appeared in six games for the Cardinals).
POWER FIVE TRANSFERS FOR 2023
Massachusetts added 15 transfers into the program with previous power five experience:
JB Brown - Arizona
RJ Edwards - Arizona
Jalen Harrell - Miami
Shambre Jackson - Florida State
Dashaun Jerkins - Ole Miss/Vanderbilt
Jalen John - Arizona
Tyler Martin - Arizona
Steven Ortiz - Minnesota
Taisun Phommachanh - Georgia Tech/Clemson
Mark Pope - Miami
Jerry Roberts Jr. - Arizona
Isaiah Rutherford - Arizona
Anthony Simpson - Arizona
Matt Smith - Duke
Jermaine Wiggins Jr. - Arizona
COACHING AT THE ALMA MATER
UMass employs three alums in full-time coaching roles in 2023, including assistant head coach/special teams coordinator/defensive lines coach, Ben Albert, defensive line coach, Valdamar Brower and associate head coach/offensive line coach, Alex Miller.
Albert is a 1995 graduate of the University of Massachusetts and was an All-Conference defensive lineman. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he served as the inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, where he aided the Minutemen to the 2003 Atlantic 10 Conference championship.
Brower, a 2004 graduate of UMass, was a star defensive lineman for Massachusetts from 1999-2003, playing for then-defensive coordinator Don Brown during the 1999 season.
Miller developed into one of the most celebrated offensive lineman during his playing days at Massachusetts. His four years starting on the line culminated with multiple first team all-America awards following the team's appearance in the 2006 National Championship Game. Miller cemented his legacy as a durable and reliable centerpiece for the Minutemen with starts in all 50 games played during the 2003-06 seasons
Two additional coaching staff members earned a degree from UMass in analyst Jesse Monteiro '17 and Graduate Assistant Garrett Dzuro '23.
