Sept. 6, 2008

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WORCESTER, Mass. - #4 UMass rallied from down 14 points in the second quarter and Armando Cuko won it with a career-high 42 yard field goal as time expired to give the Minutemen a 45-42 win on Saturday under ominous skies at Fitton Field with Tropical Storm Hanna looming. Senior quarterback Liam Coen threw for 395 yards on 25-for-36 passing and three touchdowns. Junior tailback Tony Nelson ran in two scores as well including the go-ahead TD with 7:14 left in regulation. Nelson finished with 82 yards on the ground. Jeremy Horne finished with career-highs in receptions (10), yards (172), and touchdowns (2).

In the battle of two Walter Payton Award Candidate signal callers, Coen outnumbered Holy Cross' Dominic Randolph who wasn't too shabby with 249 yards on 28-of-44 and two TD passes. The Crusaders jumped out to a 28-14 lead in the second quarter, but UMass (2-0) rallied back for one of four ties in the game. The Crusaders, in their season opener, dropped their seventh game in a row to UMass, dating to 1992.

With 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, Coen orchestrated a drive which included two crucial fourth-down conversions. Coen's 16-yard completion to Horne on fourth and five gave the Minutemen life and set up Cuko's heroics.

Holy Cross tied the game at 42-42 on Freddie Santana's nine-yard reception with 2:22 left in regulation.

UMass took a 42-35 lead with 7:14 left in the fourth as Nelson dove over from 1-yard out. That play was set up by a sensational catch by freshman Julian Talley at the 1-yard line. Nelson also had a key 19-yard run on the drive.

The Minutemen regained the lead, 35-28, on a 25-yard screen pass to Joe Sanford from Coen. Holy Cross answered on the next series as Terrance Gass dashed up the middle for a 21-yard run to tie the game again at 35 all with 2:56 left in the third quarter. That tied the game for the fifth time.

UMass rallied back to tie the game at 28 all early in the second half. Nelson rumbled to the left for a 4-yard score three minutes into the second half. The Minutemen responded too falling behind by 14 points right before halftime as Coen and Horne hooked up for the second time. Horne's 19-yard reception with 1:02 left in the first half was keyed by Courtney Robinson's 59-yard kickoff return - his first return of the season as teams kicked away from him until then.

Holy Cross scored on four possessions in a row spanning 14 minutes and built a 28-14 advantage with 1:49 left in the second quarter. Santana grabbed an 8-yard strike from Randolph to give HC the two-score edge. That also signified the most points allowed by UMass in the first half in nearly six years. The Crusaders took a 21-14 lead on Brett McDermott's 88-yard kickoff return just 15 seconds after Horne's first score of the day. The kick return for a score was the first allowed by UMass in six years.

The teams continued to trade scores as Horne scored on a 26-yard pass from Coen with 7:46 left in the first half to deadlock the score at 14 all.

Holy Cross regained the lead, 14-7, on a two-yard rush by Gass off right tackle with 9:44 left in the first half. The Crusaders had a big kickoff return to set up the drive as McDermott had a 55-yard gainer following UMass first score of the game.

UMass evened the score as Coen ran a naked bootleg to the left side and scored from 2-yards out with 13 minutes left in the first half to even the game at 7-7. It was Coen's second career rushing touchdown, the other coming on Nov. 5, 2005 at Delaware. The drive was keyed by a 47-yard bomb to Horne just before the first quarter ended.

Holy Cross drew first blood as it converted on 15-yard pass from Randolph to Jon Brock in the middle of the end zone with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. UMass gave the Crusaders the possession on a fumbled snap from center. The Crusaders took 7:09 to drive 79 yards on 15 plays.

UMass continues its stretch of three road games in a row at No. 8 James Madison next Saturday in Harrisonburg, Va. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will air live on CN8. Listen to the game on the UMass Sports Network (100.9 FM, 830 AM, 95.9 FM).