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University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Old Dominion
UMass Welcomes Old Dominion, Class of 2021 on Saturday
September 06, 2017 | Football
Minutemen host Monarchs at 3:30 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 9
| UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE | |
| Game Three | Massachusetts (0-2 overall) vs. Old Dominion (1-0) |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Sept. 9 | 3:30 p.m. |
| Location | McGuirk Alumni Stadium |
| Series History | Old Dominion leads, 2-0. Last meeting: Old Dominion 36, Massachusetts 16; Oct. 7, 2016 |
| Game Notes | Massachusetts | Old Dominion | C-USA |
| Live Statistics | Sidearm Sports |
| Listen (Online) | 560 AM WHYN | TuneIn Radio App (Josh Maurer, Peter Brock & Matt Goldstein) |
| Listen (Radio) | 560 AM WHYN (Western Massachusetts/Springfield), 95.5 FM (South Shore), 830 AM (WCRN) |
| Watch | Eleven Sports Network, NESNplus, UMassAthletics.com (Eric Frede & Andy Gresh) |
| Team Information | Massachusetts | Old Dominion |
| @UMassFootball | @UMassAthletics | @CoachWhipUMass | |
| UMass Football | UMass Athletics | |
| Special Events | New Student Day | Hometown Heroes |
Milestone Watch
Two Minutemen reached numerical plateaus against Coastal Carolina as Andrew Ford eclipsed 3,000 career passing yards and Adam Breneman reached 1,000 receiving yards as a Minuteman. Additionally, Marquis Young crept closed to the 2000-rushing yards barrier and is now only 19 yards shy of the benchmark.
Ford, short 60 passing yards entering the game, tossed for 316 yards and moved into ninth place on the team's all-time passing yards listing with his outing against the Coastal Carolina defense. He ended the night with 3,256 career passing yards.
Breneman began the night with 987 during his Minuteman tenure and finished with 126 for 1,113 at UMass. He previously reached 1,000 career yards, including his tenure at Penn State, during the season-opener against Hawai'i.
Marquis Young is the next Minuteman approaching a numerical milestone as he enters the game against Old Dominion 19 yards shy of 2,000 for his UMass career. Young begins the game with 381 carries for 1,981 yards and 15 touchdowns, including two in each of the opening two contests of the season.
Wide receiver Andy Isabella is also approaching a quadruple-digit plateau, as Isabella begins the Old Dominion game with 949 career receiving yards over 75 receptions. He is also approaching 1,500 all-purpose yards as a Minuteman (1,493).
Isabella Goes Right To... Ludicrous Speed!
Over his last 14 games played, Andy Isabella has 942 of his 949 career receiving yards and 73 of his 75 career receptions playing mainly as a starter at wide receiver. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Isabella posted 75 or more receiving yards in seven of those 14 games, with 100 or more in three contests. He has a team-leading nine touchdown receptions in that span.
Gigantically Slim & Trim
Ray Thomas-Ishman, Sr., stands 6-foot-5, 350 pounds entering his sophomore season. One year ago, as a true-freshman starter, Thomas weighed in at 392 pounds while holding down the left guard spot for 11 of his 12 appearances. Thomas started at left tackle in one appearance during 2016, at Old Dominion, his slated full-time placement on the line in 2017. Despite losing 42 pounds, Thomas is still the largest offensive lineman on the team by 20 pounds (Derek Dumais).
Breneman, The All-American
Adam Breneman appears on three national preseason all-America listings. He earned USA Today Preseason All-America Second Team, Athlon Sports Preseason All-America Third Team and Bleacher Report Preseason All-America. Breneman opened 2017 with a nine-catch, 179-yard outing against Hawai'i and surpassed 1,000 as a Minuteman in only his 14th appearance.
Setting The Barr High
In his first two games as a Minuteman, starting middle linebacker Bryton Barr led the team with 24 total tackles, including 1.5 TFLs and 1.0 sacks. He had 13 tackles against Hawai'i - tied for the game-high - and followed with 11 at Coastal Carolina, also tied for the game-high.
Prior to his arrival at UMass, Barr was a five-year member of the Towson football program, where he totaled 142 tackles, including 13.0 TFLs from 2012-16.
Deploying The Fourth Down Football Mortar
Through 26 games as the primary punter, Logan Laurent ranks among the best performing specialists in UMass football history with the career punt average and single-game punt yard records.
Over 136 career punts, Laurent averages 41.79 yards per attempt. Brett Arnold ranks second at 41.35 yards per attempt (97-4270; 2007-08). He has averaged at least 41.0 yards per punt attempt in nine of the last 13 games.
Laurent's most active day came in the 2016 #BattleoftheBayState against Boston College with 12 punts covering a program-record 547 yards (45.6 per attempt). Laurent dropped four of his punts inside the Eagles' 20 yard line while four traveled at least 50 yards.
Rodgers Runs it Out
Isaiah Rodgers finished his true freshman season in 2016 with the fifth-most kick return yards in one campaign in program history, with 733 over 31 returns (23.6). Rodgers set the team record for kick returns in one game with nine against Mississippi State on Sept. 24, 2016. He also etched his name in the record book for the fifth-most returns and ninth-highest yards per return average in a single-season in program history. Only two games into his sophomore season, Rodgers is already 12th on the all-time list for total kick return yards by a Minuteman.
Whipple Approaches All-Time Wins Record
Head coach Mark Whipple is three wins away from moving into first all-time in UMass history for career victories. Whipple owns 57 triumphs over his two tenures as the program's leader (1998- 2003; '14-present).
Vic Fusia (1961-70) currently ranks first in UMass football history with 59 victories. Whipple is one of five coaches in team history with at least five winning seasons. Fusia leads the way with eight while Don Brown (2004-08), Harold "Kid" Gore (1919-27), Mel Taube (1931-35) and Whipple each have five.
