UMass Football Comeback Falls Short to Miami (OH), 20-19

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Miami (OH)	14	0	3	3	20
Massachusetts	7	3	0	9	19

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts football team fought back from a 20-10 deficit with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but a two-point conversion attempt to win was no good as Miami (OH) escaped, 20-19, on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium (13,887). Freshman Aedan McCarthy made his first career start and threw for 171 yards, but had to leave the game due to injury. Logan Inagawa finished 6-for-6 for 83 yards passing as he engineered the final drive.

With the loss, UMass moves to 4-2 and 1-2 in the MAC, while Miami improves to 3-3 and 1-1 in conference place.

McCarthy was starting in place of the injured William "Pop" Watson III and impressed, finishing 15-of-29, before leaving the game in the fourth quarter due to injury. T.Y. Harding finished with nine catches for 91 yards while Jabari Lewis had five receptions for 89 yards. Curtis Kimmons IV had 35 yards rushing, including a 23-yard first-quarter touchdown.

Tyler Martin and Timmy Hinspeter led the defense with seven tackles apiece, with Martin having one tackle-for-loss and Hinspeter recording a half sack, half tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.

For the game, the Minutemen held a 319-260 edge in total yards, including 254-95 through the air. Miami tallied a 165-65 edge on the ground.

How It Happened

After each team had a three-and-out, the Minutemen went 83 yards on their second drive to take a 7-0 lead. It took 11 plays, ending with a 23-yard run from Curtis Kimmons IV with 6:36 left in the first quarter. Aedan McCarthy had completions of nine, 18 and 10 yards on the drive to three different receivers.

It took Miami just five plays to even the score. Consecutive quarterback keepers of 29 and 14 yards from Caleb Heavner got the RedHawks to the UMass 30-yard line. Scoop Smith capped off the drive with a 20-yard rushing touchdown, with the extra point evening the score at seven with 3:51 on the clock.

On the ensuing drive, Miami stopped UMass on fourth-and-one, giving the RedHawks the ball at the Minutemen 34-yard line. It took exactly one minute of game time for Miami to take the lead, as Heavner had a nine-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 advantage with 1:11 left in the first.

Jabari Lewis had a sensational 34-yard reception to begin the next drive. UMass' drive stalled at the Miami 46, but Derek Morris hit a program-record 56-yarder to cut the RedHawks' lead to 14-10 at 14:11 of the second quarter.

Miami methodically marched to the UMass 47-yard line on its ensuing drive, but on third-and-seven, Joshua Iseah broke up a pass to force a punt. That marked the first of four consecutive punts between the teams, as Miami took a 14-10 lead into halftime.

Both defenses stood tall in the third quarter, with five consecutive punts to begin the stanza. A turnover by UMass, as a McCarthy pitch to Elijah Faulkner was fumbled, gave Miami prime field position at the Minutemen 21-yard line. After one first down, Miami settled for a 27-yard field goal from Kellan McLaughlin to take a 17-10 lead with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.

The RedHawks tacked on another field goal early in the fourth, driving to the UMass 28-yard line, but the Minutemen defense wouldn't back down. The 47-yard field goal from McLaughlin was good, giving Miami a 20-10 lead with 11:36 left in the fourth.

The Minutemen responded on their ensuing drive, marching 59 yards in 12 plays. Three plays in, McCarthy found Lewis for 24 yards on third-and-nine to midfield. Five plays later, McCarthy connected with T.Y. Harding for 17 yards to the RedHawks' 25-yard line. UMass reached the 16-yard line, but a third-and-one carry from new quarterback Logan Inagawa was stopped short of the first down, leading to a 34-yard field goal from Morris. That pulled UMass within 20-13 with 4:55 remaining.

The RedHawks got one first down on their next drive, but the Minutemen forced a punt to give their offense one last chance with 2:22 remaining. UMass took 2:21 of that clock to drive 91 yards and punch it into the end zone. Inagawa was sacked on the first play back to the three-yard line, but on the next play, found Harding for 30 yards for a huge first down. On fourth-and-six, Lewis had a 16-yard catch to keep the drive alive. With the clock winding down and one more snap, Inagawa found Max Dowling from 21 yards out in the end zone to pull UMass within 20-19 with just one second on the clock.

The Minutemen two-point conversion attempt was no good and their ensuing onside kick was recovered, as Miami held on.

Notes

Timmy Hinspeter, Tyler Martin and Max Dowling served as the UMass game captains.
Freshman quarterback Aedan McCarthy made the first start of his career for the injured Pop Watson III.
In the first quarter, Curtis Kimmons IV rushed for his fourth touchdown of the season.
Derek Morris' 56-yard, second-quarter field goal marked a program record, breaking his own record of 55 set twice, set last Nov. 4 at Akron then tied on Sept. 19 against Sacred Heart.
CJ Amobi posted his first career sack in the second quarter.
Timmy Hinspeter and Andrew DePaepe combined for a sack in the third quarter, marking Hinspeter's first half sack of the season (2.5 for his career) and DePaepe's first career sack.
Hinspeter added a pass breakup early in the fourth quarter, his first of the season and third of his career.
Jabari Lewis finished with five receptions for 89 yards, giving him 11 catches for 191 over the last two weeks.
T.Y. Harding's nine receptions marked a career high.
Max Dowling caught his third touchdown pass of the season and the 13th of his career (sixth at UMass).

Next Up

The Minutemen hit the road to play a 1 p.m. game at Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo in the second installment of the Flagship Cup presented by Milton CAT (ESPN+).

Scoreboard

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Players Mentioned

Andrew DePaepe

Max Dowling

Elijah Faulkner

T.Y. Harding

Timmy Hinspeter

Logan Inagawa

Joshua Iseah

Curtis Kimmons IV

Jabari Lewis

Tyler Martin

Aedan McCarthy

Derek Morris

Aedan McCarthy

Logan Inagawa

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics