University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Eastern Michigan
Massachusetts Football Travels To Eastern Michigan
September 11, 2023 | Football
Minutemen and Eagles kickoff at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
| University of Massachusetts Football Game Notes & Information | |
| Game 4 | Massachusetts (1-2) vs. Eastern Michigan (1-1) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, September 16 | 2 p.m. |
| Location | Ypsilanti, Michigan | Rynearson Stadium |
| Tickets | Purchase Tickets Here |
| Series History | Tied, 2-2-0 Last Meeting | Oct. 1, 2022 | Rynearson Stadium | Eastern Michigan 20, Massachusetts 13 |
| Game Notes & Team Information | Massachusetts: Game Notes | Don Brown Presser | Game Program | Record Book Eastern Michigan: Game Notes |
| Watch | ESPN+ |
| 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 heads to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to face Eastern Michigan on Saturday, September 16. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Rynearson Stadium on ESPN+.
SERIES HISTORY
The Minutemen are 2-2 all-time against Eastern Michigan.
Last season on Oct. 1, Eastern Michigan edged the Minutemen 20-13 in Ypsilanti. Then quarterback Gino Campiotti rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns while adding 87 yards passing on 8-for-18. Carson Cameron was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, including a career-long 47-yard kick, to account for the rest of the Massachusetts scoring.
The Massachusetts defense held Eastern Michigan scoreless in the first half. Gerell Johnson (6 solo), Jalen Mackie (4 solo) and Tyler Rudolph (4 solo) each finished with nine tackles while Mackie and Rudolph each had an interception.
The teams also met during the 2014, 2015 and 2022 seasons. On Sept. 18, 2022, Eastern Michigan earned a 42-28 victory at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Ellis Merriweather posted his first career 100-yard rushing game in that contest and Brady Olson threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Merriweather ran for 142 yards on 23 carries.
Prior to the 2022 meeting, the teams played on November 14, 2015 when Massachusetts posted a 28-17 win in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In that win, UMass ran for 330 yards including 200 rushing yards in the first half. Marquis Young led all rushers with 168 yards on 32 carries and he scored UMass' first touchdown of the afternoon.
In the first meeting in series history, the Minutemen posted a 36-14 win on Oct. 18, 2014 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Shadrach Abrokwah rushed for a career-high 135 yards and four touchdowns. UMass finished with 562 yards of total offense, recorded four sacks.
SIMP CATCHING ON
Junior wide receiver Anthony Simpson posted touchdowns in back-to-back games to open the season, his first with the Minutemen, and now has 10 catches for 188 yards. His 188 yards rank 31st in FBS (first among independents).
In the win at New Mexico State, the Arizona transfer had a 10-yard TD run for the game's first score. Then 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.
QUICK HITS
Massachusetts is tied for sixth in FBS with six turnovers gained (four interceptions and two fumble recoveries).
Billy Wooden is one of six FBS players tied for the national lead with two fumble recoveries this season.
Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams has 237 rushing yards through the first three games, which ranks 14th in FBS.
PICK SIX
Massachusetts has a pair of pick sixes through the first three games of the 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 interception returns for a touchdown are tied with Utah State, Syracuse and Arkansas for the most in the FBS.
All told, the Minutemen have four interceptions this season with Tyler Rudolph (vs. Miami) and Michael Oppong (at New Mexico State) also posting interceptions. The four interceptions rank tied for sixth in FBS.
MAHONEY ON NAGURSKI WATCH
Junior cornerback Jordan Mahoney has been named to the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List as announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Tuesday (Aug. 1).
Mahoney had a knack of making big plays on the defensive side of the ball last season, totaling a team-best three interceptions while adding six pass breakups, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 42 tackles (28 solo).
The Rock Hill, South Carolina native returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown against Stony Brook and had a scoop-and-score for two defensive touchdowns on the season.
His three fumble recoveries ranked third in the FBS.
His brother, Jaylen, is a defensive back on the Vanderbilt football team, which also plays week zero.
The FWAA selected 94 defensive standouts from 70 schools in all 10 Division I FBS conferences plus Independents to comprise the 2023 watch list.
SIXTEEN STRONG
Sixteen University of Massachusetts football players earned Phil Steele 2023 Preseason Independent Team honors it was announced on June 12.
The list of honorees included First Team selections George Johnson III (WR), Billy Wooden (DT), Jerry Roberts Jr (LB), Jordan Mahoney (CB), Cameron Carson (K) and Greg Desrosiers Jr (KR).
The Second Team honorees included Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams (RB), Mark Pope (WR), Josh Atwood (C), Cole Garcia (OG), Marcus Bradley (DE), Gerrell Johnson (LB), Tyler Rudolph (S), CJ Kolodziey (P), Isaac Ross (PR) and Ethan Dumont (LS).
UMass ranked second with the 16 selections, trailing only Notre Dame (18) but finishing ahead of Army West Point (13) and Connecticut (11)
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.
