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Thursday Night Special: No 15 UMass Opens Football Season At Richmond
Complete Release in PDF Format
Aug. 29, 2005
#15 UMASS (0-0) at RICHMOND (0-0) UMass Kicks Off Season at Richmond • Thursday's game will be broadcast live on the UMass Sports Network with Bob Behler returning for his seventh year as "Voice of the Minutemen." Former kicker Matt Goldstein will handle the color commentary. The pregame show begins at 6:30 on WRNX (100.9 FM), the flagship of the network. The game can also be heard live online at UMassAthletics.com.
For Openers • The Minutemen have posted a 55-56-11 record in season openers in their previous 122 years. UMass has won five of its past six openers, downing New Hampshire in 1999, William & Mary in 2000, Central Connecticut State in 2002 and 2003 and Delaware State last season, while falling to William & Mary to open up the 2001 season. Prior to 1999, the Minutemen had not won their season opener since the 1993 season. • UMass has dominated opponents in its last three openers combining to pound Central Connecticut (twice) and Delaware State by a combined score of 154-10, an average score of 51.3-3.3. In each of those three games UMass has scored more than 50 points, beating CCSU (52-3 in 2002 and 51-7 in 2003) and DSU (51-0 last year, Sept. 4). • UMass has been a high-scoring team in season openers over the last seven years, scoring more than 30 points on six occasions. Since 1998, UMass has scored an average of 38 points in its season opener with a high of 52 vs. CCSU in 2002. • With the opener on the road for the second year in a row, it marks the first time since 1941 and 1942 UMass has opened the season away from Amherst as the then-Redmen lost at UConn in `42 and tied Springfield College in `41 down the road. • UMass is opening the season with back-to-back games on a road for the first time since the National Championship season of 1998 when the Minutemen lost to Delaware in the opener and rebounded for a 22-17 win at Richmond on Sept. 12. • UMass has opened its season with a game against Richmond three times before, losing all three games: 1994 (14-13 on Sept. 10), 1995 (21-7 on Sept. 9) and most recently in 1997 (21-6 on Aug. 30). That game in 1997 marked the earliest point the team teams have met in a season with this Thursday's game coming in second on the list, on Sept. 1. Thursday, Thursday The Teams and Rankings • The Minutemen are ranked No. 15 in preseason poll of the Sports Network. They are also No. 9 in the preseason Sports Illustrated Division I-AA poll and the USA Today/Sports Weekly Preseason Poll. • UMass was picked as a co-favorite to win the Atlantic 10 North Division along with defending champ New Hampshire. • Don Brown leads UMass into his second season at the helm of the Minutemen. The defensive coordinator of the 1998 National Championship team is 6-5 at UMass and 58-31 overall as a head coach, now in his ninth season as a head man. • Richmond is coming off a 3-8 season and finished 2-5 in the A-10, fifth in the South Division. The Spiders are predicted to finish fifth in the South in the preseason poll. The Spiders are not ranked in any preseason polls. • Head coach Dave Clawson begins his second year patrolling the sidelines for Richmond. Overall in seven seasons as a head coach, he is 32-37 with a 29-29 mark in six season at Fordham prior to coming to the Spiders. The Series: UMass vs. Richmond • In the last game at Richmond between the teams, UMass won 34-13 on Oct. 5, 2002. Among the memorable games in the series history was the 1987 game, a 52-51 Richmond win in four overtimes. It stands as the longest game in UMass history
Connections Of Note Between UMass/Richmond • Richmond head coach Dave Clawson is a graduate of nearby Williams College, graduating 1989. He was a three-year starter at Williams. UMass offensive coordinator Kevin Morris also graduated from Williams, but in 1996. • UMass features eight players from the state of Virginia including Richmond natives sophomore DE Patrick Powell and freshman DB Sean Smalls along with fellow Virginia residents: redshirt freshman LB Darrlyn Fenner (Hampton), sophomore DB Brandon Freeman (Ruther Glen), junior WR Brandon London (Charlottesville), junior C Alex Miller (Fairfax), junior OL Mike Pearson (Springfield), and junior OL David Thompson (Norfolk). • Richmond has one player from Massachusetts: freshman LB Bryan Sweeney from Centreville, Mass. Baylark on Payton List; James On Buchanan Watch List
• After rushing for 1,177 yards in 2003, Baylark led the A-10 with 1,138 yards on the ground last season and added eight touchdowns. The junior ranks in the top 15 among active players in I-AA in rushing yards (2,315), carries (511) and touchdowns (18). • James, a consensus First Team All-American in 2004 and preseason First Team All-American was the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. He led the league and was second in the nation in interceptions with eight last season. He was also second on UMass in tackles playing from the secondary. He enters the season as the nation's leader in career interceptions with 16, regardless of division. • James is ranked fourth all-time at UMass in career interceptions with 16. He has a chance to shatter the all-time record of 18 set by Steve Rogers (1967-69) and tied by Grady Fuller (1980-83), as he has one game left this season and all of his senior season. Nice To See You Again • Eight of 11 starters from last season's offense return including senior quarterback Tim Day (Manchester, N.H.) and junior tailback Steve Baylark. The only lost starters from the offense from last season are at fullback (Rich Demers), wide receiver (Jason Peebler) and lineman (Rob Kane). • The defense will see every member of the final two-deep returning to the roster including all 11 starters. With Cobbs moving to the offense, 2003 All-American Steve Costello returns to a cornerback spot after missing all of last season after abdominal surgery forced him to redshirt. Junior transfer John Hatchell (Mullica Hill, N.J.) will start at nose tackle after redshirting last season as a transfer from Lehigh. Jason Leonard (Stoughton, Mass.) who started most of last season backs up Hatchell. • UMass returns its leading 17 tacklers from last season including leader and two-time team captain Serge Tikum (Silver Spring, Md.), who had 82, Shannon James was second on the team with 75 tackles. Every player with at least 15 tackles returns in 2005. • UMass' depth chart for this week features X underclassmen including X sophomores and redshirt freshman as well as true freshman Sean Smalls (Richmond, Va.).
UMass' King James • He comes into the season primed to break the UMass career record for career interceptions of 18. He comes into the year with 16, fourth in a career at UMass in just three seasons. It is also the most among any active player in the NCAA, regardless of division. • James finished second in the nation and first in the Atlantic 10 in interceptions per game with eight in 11 games in 2004. He was also second in the nation in picks per game at 0.77. James had fix interceptions in the final seven games of 2004. • A-10 first team in 2004 and 2005 preseason All A-10 selection, James earned A-10 Defensive Player of Week three times in his career. Baylark Runs Toward The Top • Baylark is a preseason All A-10 selection in 2005 after being the first team tailback in 2004 in leading the league in rushing at 1,138 yards. He went for 100 yards in four of the final five games in 2004 and enters 2005 with 11 career games with more than 100 yards rushing. • Baylark had the greatest game of his two-year career at New Hampshire on Oct. 16, 2004 with 192 yards on 43 carries and three touchdowns. All were career bests. The 43 carries were the third-most in a single game in UMass history. Garry Pearson had 54 vs. AIC in 1982 and Marcel Shipp had 44 vs. Delaware in 1999. The game was his eighth career contest with 100 yards and fifth career game with multiple touchdowns. He set his original career-high of three touchdowns in a game against New Hampshire in last year's game at McGuirk Stadium. Tim's Days In The Sun • He comes into 2005 among the all-time career leaders in several categories. He is second in completion percentage (.560), fifth in passing touchdowns (25), sixth in career passing yards (2,920), sixth in completions (228), and ninth in career passing attempts (405). • In his first two games of last season, he was nearly perfect, as he completed an amazing 30-of-40 pass attempts for 589 yards and six touchdowns. Day set the UMass single-game record for completion percentage in the season-opener at Delaware State (9/4), as he nailed 17-of-19 passes (89.4 percent) for 290 yards and four touchdowns. All of those marks set career high as well. He passed his yardage mark in his return to his home state of New Hampshire, as he threw for 293 at UNH. Then he set a new career high in 2004 finale with 344 yards on 22-of-35 vs. Hofstra. • In his first two games last season, Day surpassed his entire career totals in passing yards, with 589 (had 339 entering 2004) as well as touchdowns with six (had two).
Go Koegel Go • Koegel averaged 41.3 yards per kick last season, which ranks as the third-best single-season in UMass history. His career average of 40.1 is second all-time to David Sanger, who had a 40.6 average from 1999-2002. • Koegel averaged a single-game school-record 53.0 yards on six punts and dropped four inside the 20-yard line in Massachusetts' 21-7 loss to Delaware last season on Sept. 25. Four of Koegel's six punts went for over 50 yards. He had a 76-yard boot in the first quarter which was downed at the Delaware one yard line. That punt was the third-longest in school history. • Against Boston College on Oct. 2, Koegel set another school record for punting yardage in a game with 526 yards on 12 boots for a 43.8 average. Koegel's 12 punts were one short of a school-record as well. The 526 yards also set an Atlantic 10 conference record.
New Faces and New Places • UMass' roster features nine transfers from Division I-A including seven for the 2005 season: OL Brent Caldwell (Syracuse), C Jon Carnes (Rutgers), QB Taylor Humphrey (Hawaii), TB Matt Lawrence (UConn), DB Michael Meggett (West Virginia -- also, cousin of former NFL returnman Dave Meggett), DL Patrick Powell (Maryland), and DL Lateef Taylor (Cincinnati). Those transfers join past players from Division I-A schools seniors LB Brad Anderson (Vanderbilt) and DT Justin Schweighardt (Ball State). • Caldwell is slated to start at left tackle this season. Tailback Lawrence is expected to gain significant playing time in the backfield along with Steve Baylark. Powell will also play a major role on the defensive line after coming from Maryland. • Senior wide receiver R.J. Cobbs continues to move around the football field. In 2002, he was the A-10 Rookie of the Year as a tailback. In 2004, he played in the secondary. Now this season Cobbs has been moved to wide receiver. Cobbs is one the Minutemen's most outgoing and talkative players. • Kicker Armando Cuko (Beverly, Mass.) has been entrusted with the placekicking and kickoff duties. Cuko has been impressive in preseason camp. He nailed five field goals in the team's scrimmage on Aug. 16 from 37, 42, 39, 47 and 44 yards. Cuko is native of Albania, who came to America at the age of 14 after living in Italy. • Freshman cornerback Sean Smalls is the only other true freshman on the two-deep. Smalls is an excellent athlete who the coaching staff has high hopes in. Coach Brown says "he may be the best freshman he has ever coached." He will back-up A-10 second team honoree Tracy Belton, and will see time in several packages. • UMass' strongest player is defensive lineman John Hatchell, who holds every UMass weight-lifting record and including a 500-pound bench press. Hatchell sat out last season after transferring from Lehigh but is eligible this season. Hatchell joins his brother Jason Hatchell, a linebacker for the Minutemen.
Taking On The Top Teams • After a great stretch of hosting five out of six games on the schedule from Sept. 17 through Oct. 30 (lone road game at Maine on Oct. 22), UMass heads to the road for its final three games of the season: Nov. 5 at Delaware, Nov. 12 at Army and Nov. 19 at Hofstra. The Blue Hens and Hofstra are both ranked in the top 25 while the game at Army marks the sixth time in seven years UMass plays a Division I-A team. That Army game will be nationally telecast on ESPN Classic. • UMass faced the tough school last season as it faced both the defending national champion and the defending national runner-up as it beat Colgate (30-20 on Sept. 11) and faced Delaware on Sept. 25 (losing 21-7). Both teams were ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time of the game, spanning three weeks. In addition, UMass faced perennial Division I-A top-25 team Boston College (losing 29-7 on Oct. 2) which has been to five consecutive bowl games. • The Atlantic 10 showed to be the nation's top conference in 2004 with four teams qualifying for the NCAA Tournament with James Madison winning the title. For three weeks in September and October, the A-10 had seven teams in the Top 25 to match a conference record which last occurred on Sept. 9, 2002. The 2004 season elevated the Atlantic 10 to one of the best football conferences in all of Division I, as evidenced by the Conference's No. 9 ranking among all Division I conferences in the final Sagarin Ratings, ahead of every I-AA league as well as Conference USA and the Sun Belt and Mid-American Conferences.
UMass Against Ranked Teams In I-AA • UMass topped No. 7 New Hampshire on Oct. 16, 2004 for its second win over a top-10 team this season. The Minutemen have now won five of their last eight games against top-10 teams. • The Minutemen faced their second ranked team -- also at No. 4 -- on Sept. 25, 2004 when Delaware came to town. The Minutemen beat then-No. 4 Colgate for its fourth consecutive win over a Top 5 ranked team back on Sept. 11 (30-20). UMass fell at No. 19 James Madison on Oct. 9. • UMass faced four ranked opponents in 2003 going on the road for all four games. The Minutemen earned victories in the first two games against ranked foes last season and have won five of the last seven overall vs. Top 25 teams. • In `03, they downed No. 16 Maine, 24-16 on Sept. 20, then defeated No. 2 Villanova on Oct. 25, 19-14. The squad then lost a triple overtime affair at No. 6 Delaware and the NCAA Playoff contest at No. 6 Colgate. • The Minutemen played three games against ranked foes in 2002, defeating No. 2 Maine, 20-10, and No. 4 Villanova, 17-16, while falling at No. 18 Northeastern 42-17. • Since the beginning of the 1998 season, UMass now stands 16-16 against ranked opponents. The Minutemen concluded the 2001 season 1-3 and the 2000 season with a 1-2 record against ranked opponents, while going 2-3 against ranked teams in 1999 and 6-3 in 1998. UMass' six victories over ranked opponents in 1998 set a school single season record. • The Minutemen also stand 9-11 against ranked teams at home over the last 10 years, including a 3-8 mark against top 10 teams at home. Prior to back-to-back victories in 2002 over Maine and Villanova, UMass had lost eight straight home games to top 10 opponents, since a 43-29 win over No. 7 Delaware on Oct. 23, 1993.
McGuirk Magic
UMass An A-10 North Co-Favorite • James Madison received 16 out of a possible 30 first-place votes cast in the South Division. JMU (13-2, 7-1 in A-10) returns 11 starters, including LeZotte, who led the Atlantic 10 with 144 tackles and earned A-10 Co-Rookie of the Year honors. Following James Madison in the predicted South standings are 2004 playoff participants Delaware and William & Mary, followed by Villanova, Richmond, and Towson. Delaware and William & Mary garnered six first-place votes apiece. Villanova received the other two.
Three Captains In 2005
Extra Points
Minutemen On The Tube • Following the Colgate game, the James Madison (Oct. 15), New Hampshire (Oct. 29) and Delaware (Nov. 5) games will all be on CN8. The Nov. 12 game at Army will be televised nationally on ESPN Classic. • The game at Maine on Oct. 22 will be shown in that state on WABI Television. • The Minutemen have a record of 16-8 in televised games since the beginning of the 1998 season, including a 11-5 mark against Atlantic 10 opponents.
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