From the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Matt Vautour wrote: UMass Football Team Sends Shocking Message.
The University of Massachusetts football players said they had a good team. They declared they were better than the preseason prognosticators predicted and promised to shock William & Mary.
Of course they said that. What else were they going to say? Every team that's ever been expected to be lousy or mediocre has made similar assertions in the preseason, but not many of them truly do confound expectations.
UMass football team sends shocking message
AMHERST
The University of Massachusetts football players said they had a good team. They declared they were better than the preseason prognosticators predicted and promised to shock William & Mary.
Of course they said that. What else were they going to say? Every team that's ever been expected to be lousy or mediocre has made similar assertions in the preseason, but not many of them truly do confound expectations.
But for at least one Saturday, the Minutemen are the exception. They surprised a lot of people and shook up the Colonial Athletic Association picture just a game into the season.
Coming off one of the most disappointing years across the UMass athletic department, the school badly needed something to be enthusiastic about and the football team delivered.
Any win over William & Mary would have been encouraging. The Tribe brought back a lot of key pieces from last year's team that advanced to the semifinals of the Championship Subdivision playoffs. They were ranked No. 4 in both top 25s and had first-place votes.
Even a lucky or fluky win over a team that good would have been worth celebrating. But this wasn't that. UMass could have won this game by a couple touchdowns. When the Minutemen weren't making mistakes, and they made a lot of big ones, they dominated the game.
But they did makes mistakes. They fumbled the ball five times. They were penalized eight times for 81 yards including some costly ones.
So not only did UMass beat one of the best teams in the country despite playing a far from perfect game, the Minutemen showed character to come from behind to pull out an important win.
It's hard to believe the 2009 UMass squad would have won this game.
"That's a tough formula to repeat week after week," coach Kevin Morris said. "We are excited about the way we won today with the finish, but we certainly have things to work on for next week."
There were plenty of encouraging things, too. Other than one significant gaffe, senior Kyle Havens played well and looked much more comfortable. He managed the offense effectively, including when UMass went to an efficient no-huddle, and most importantly, didn't turn the ball over.
The young defensive line held its own too, especially against the run, holding All-American tailback Jonathan Grimes to just 67 yards.
The next challenge will be how the Minutemen handle success. They're certain to be ranked when the polls come out Monday and this win gives them instant respect from the rest of their opponents.
Senior John Griffin, who transferred to UMass after Northeastern dropped football, said Saturday could be the start of something special.
"Winning against William & Mary is a launch toward the rest of the season. Minus the turnovers and penalties we kind of dominated today," he said. "From this game, we have a real promising future."
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