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No. 3/2 UMass Hosts Towson For First Time To Open CAA Slate
Complete Release & Stats in PDF Format
#3/2 UMASS (2-0) vs. #23 TOWSON (2-0)
No. 3/2 UMass Hosts Towson For First Time To Open CAA Slate • UMass is undefeated after wins over Holy Cross (40-30) in its season opener in Amherst on Sept. 1 and at Colgate (35-17), last Saturday. That win was the Minutemen's first-ever against the Raiders after dropping their first four games in Hamilton. • Saturday's game will be televised live on CN8 up and down the east coast with a 12:06 p.m. kickoff. Mark Brown and Bob Norton call the action for the regional network. UMassAthletics.com will provide live streaming video online through UMass All-Access. Fans can buy a monthly pass for $9.95 and a year-long UMass pass for all games and all sports for $79.95.
• Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the UMass Sports Network with Bob Behler returning for his ninth year as "Voice of the Minutemen." Former kicker Matt Goldstein will handle the color commentary. The pregame show begins at 11:30 a.m. on WRNX (100.9 FM), the flagship of the network. The game can also be heard live online at UMassAthletics.com. Fans wishing to listen to the game at the stadium, can tune into 102.7 FM to hear the UMass audio feed.
Last Time Out; 35-17 Win at Colgate
UMass-Towson Series • Towson joined the Atlantic 10 in 2004, after playing in the Patriot League. Don Brown of UMass and Towson's Gordy Combs coached against each other for the first time last year. • Last season, UMass made two trips to Maryland after never playing in the Free State before. UMass lost at Navy on Sept. 9, 2006 and beat Towson on Oct. 14, 2006. • All-time against teams from the state of Maryland, UMass is 3-1. In addition to those games at Navy and Towson last season, UMass has a pair of wins over Morgan State in 1978 (38-6) and 1985 (38-9). Both games were played at McGuirk Stadium.
UMass-Towson Connections • UMass assistant coach Mike Wood played and graduated from McDaniel College, formerly known as Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland. He graduated from the school in 2001 after playing linebacker of the Green Terror.
Coen On Payton List; Buchanan On Buck List • Coen has been the consistent signal-caller's ability to avoid mistakes has been a major reason for the Minutemen's success in the past two years. Threw just seven interceptions in the regular season to lead UMass to the Atlantic 10 championship, going five weeks without an interception at one point. Coen ranks fifth among current FCS quarterbacks in career completion percentage at 64.5%, and is fourth in passing efficiency. The 6-2, 220-pound passer's 3,016 throwing yards were the second best single-season mark in school history and his 26 TD passes were the third-best ever. Became a starter as a redshirt freshman in the third week of the season, and has been a Minuteman fixture ever since. Passed for 401 yards against New Hampshire in 2005 and fired five TD passes against Towson last year to tie a school record. • Hatchell has had more than 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons including 134 in 2006. He finished second in the conference in stops as he was named to the All-Conference first team. He was a Don Hansen Football Gazette Second-Team All-American and New England Football Writers All-Star Team. Southern New Jersey Touchdown Club Player of the Year. Won the Bill Knight MVP winner as the player of the game in the New Hampshire-UMass game on Nov. 4. Had 59 solo stops and 75 assists (8.93 per game). Fourth on team with 6.5 TFLs for 30 yards. 140 career assisted tackles ranks 10th all-time at UMass. 75 assisted tackles in 2006 ranks as seventh-best single-season in UMass history. Led or tied UMass in tackles in 16 of last 26 games. Has 10 career 10-tackle games, UMass 7-3 in those games.
Coen Re-Writing UMass Record Book • Coen is UMass' career leader in pass efficiency (150.85), completion percentage (64.26), yards per attempt (8.53) and total yards per play (8.53). Through two games, Coen is 36-of-58 for 476 yards with six touchdowns. With his 272 passing yards against Holy Cross (Sept. 1) in the opener, Coen moved to second in career passing yards and now has 5,667 as he passed Dave Palazzi (5,402) on the career chart. Coen needs 1,351 yards to set the all-time mark held by Todd Bankhead (7,018). Coen also moved to second in career completions with 19 vs. Holy Cross on Sept. 1. He now has 428, passing Palazzi (409). Only Bankhead (561) has more. • With his second-career four-TD game at Colgate (Sept. 8), Coen moved to third in career touchdowns with 42. He passed Peil Pennington (38). Bankhead tops that list as well with 51. Jeff Krohn is second with 44. • When looking at the career numbers among all active NCAA quarterbacks, Coen ranks in the top eight in eighth categories. He is second in career total offense yards per play (7.62), fourth in career pass efficiency (150.85), fifth in completion percentage (64.26) and sixth in passing yards per game (209.9). • The Rhode Island native has started the last 26 games in a row with UMass holding a 21-5 in those games since he drew his first start against Albany on Sept. 17, 2005. • Last year, Coen was 217-of-334 for 3016 yards with 26 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions in 15 games. He had a sparkling 65.0 completion percentage. His season marks ranked on the UMass all-time single-bests as follows: completion percentage (first), pass efficiency (first), yards (third), completions (fourth), touchdowns (third). • Coen tied the UMass record for TD passes in a game with five at Towson (10/14). He completed 21-of-27 for 303 yards. His huge game led to numerous honors: New England Football Writers Golden Helmet, A-10 Offensive Player of the Week and the I-AA.org Weekly All-Stars of the four best players in the nation. • As a freshman, in 2005, he completed 63.9 of his passes to rank second among all freshmen in the nation. The three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week in 2005 threw for 2,175 yards -- sixth-most in UMass history. His pass efficiency rating of 139.60 ranked third in the league and 19th nationally.
A Defense That Won't Be Denied • After a shaky start to begin 2007, UMass buckled down in the second half at Colgate. The Minutemen allowed just seven points and limited the Raiders to just 82 total yards,. Most impressively, Colgate's All-American tailback Jordan Scott was held to just 11 yards in the second half after 92 in the first 30 minutes. • Last season, Overall six of UMass' 15 opponent were held to single-digits, most recently allowing nine against Maine (11/11). UMass blanked Towson, 35-0, on Oct. 14, for the first shutout by the Minutemen in over a year, when they beat Northeastern on Oct. 8, 2005. UMass posted a 7-0 win at Northeastern on Oct. 28 for their second whitewash of the season. It is the first time since 1979 that UMass had shutouts of two conference games during the season. The Minutemen allowed just seven points in three games last season, against Colgate (9/2), Stony Brook (9/23) and William & Mary (10/7). • Until the NCAA final, UMass did not allow any team to score more than 21 points in a game last season. Navy and Villanova scored 21 in back-to-back weeks in September. Until the final on Dec. 15, only New Hampshire in the regular-season on Nov. 4 scored 20 points. • Over UMass' record 12-game win streak in 2006, the Minutemen dominated those 12 opponents, winning by a combined score of 338-144 (an average score of 28-12). That streak included back-to-back 48-7 wins over Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William & Mary on Oct. 7, both at McGuirk Stadium. UMass outscored the 12 opponents 235-87 in the first half alone (average 20-7). • UMass shutout its first three NCAA Tournament foes in the second half, by the score of 29-0.
Senior Captain Linebackers Lead D • Fellow senior captain Charles Walker teams with Hatchell for a dynamic 1-2 punch. Walker has 241 career tackles with a team-high 17 stops this season. Walker was honored as the Co-UMass Athlete of the Week after the Colgate (9/8) game where he topped the team with 10 tackles along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery as Colgate drove to UMass' 1-yard line and a TFL. In 2006, he had 131 last season, third in the conference. Walker had 94 assisted tackles last season to rank as the fourth-best single-season mark. Walker is tied for UMass' single-game tackles record with 24 against Delaware in 2004. • The major tackler for loss on the defensive side is senior lineman David Burris, who makes his name with stops behind the line of scrimmage. Burris began 2007 with a career-high three sacks against Holy Cross including a pair in the fourth quarter. Burris now has 34 career TFLs and 16.5 career sacks, 10th all-time at UMass. Coming into 2006, he was the leading returning tackler for loss in the conference with 16 for 69 yards last season. He was the top player in terms of returnees in sacks with eight. Burris has 34 career tackles for loss of his 160 career stops (22 percent of his tackles).
UMass Turns To Lawrence & Nelson • Lawrence has piled up 275 yards in his first two games as the starting tailback with more than 100 in each game. He is third in the CAA in rushing and 13th in the nation with 137.5 per game. He broke out for a career-high 153 yards in the opener against Holy Cross (9/1). He also scored two touchdowns in a game for the first time in his career on runs of 1 and 28 yards. At Colgate (9/8), Lawrence gained 122 yards on 19 carries. Lawrence played most of last season as a fullback and will be used in the area again at times this season. Lawrence had 174 rushing yards last season and entered his senior year with 450 yards, a mark he should pass in three games. • Nelson has been a great early on gaining 125 yards on 16 carries, a 7.8 yard average. At Colgate (9.8), he picked up 70 yards on seven carries. Nelson gained 55 in the opener against Holy Cross (9/1) on nine carries. Last season, Nelson played in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2006. He gained 235 yards overall in 47 carries. Nelson had a career game against William & Mary with three touchdowns on Oct. 7, 2006 as he was named the conference Rookie of the Week.
Moore Catches For J.J. • After picking up 40 yards on four catches at Colgate (9/8), Moore is now sixth in career receiving yards with 1,523. He passed Jimmy Moore (1494) and Tim Berra (1486), Yogi's son. He is also fifth in career catches with 118. Jason Peebler is fourth with 123 receptions. • Moore had a strong season in 2006 with 46 catches for 594 yards and four touchdowns. Moore was off to the best start in the nation in 2005 before breaking his ankle in the fifth game. He was tops in the nation with 26 catches in the first four games. • Moore set a UMass record when he caught 13 passes in the loss at Colgate in 2005. Moore broke the record of 11 set by Tim Berra (Yogi's son) in 1973 and later tied by Jimmy Moore in 1998 and twice by Adrian Zullo in 1999. • Rancher is second to Moore in catches and yards in 2007 with seven receptions for 128 yards. He had 22 catches for 362 yards last season. He is the holder of the second and third longest catches in UMass history, 89 yards vs. Stony Brook in 2006 and 84 yards at Delaware in 2005.
More Moore History • A third-team all-conference punt returner in 2006, Moore ranks eighth in career punt return average with 9.3 per return with his six returns for 89 yards in 2007. He had 30 returns for 244 yards last season.
Robinson Makes History In Opener • Robinson, who was an All-Conference second-team kickoff returner last season, can tie the UMass career and season records for kickoff returns for scores in a season with one more as Dent had a pair in 1978 as did Phil DeRose in 1964. • Robinson has 168 yards in 2007 added to 489 as a sophomore in 2006, giving him 657, just shy of a top 10 career kickoff return yardage in UMass history. No. 10 is Ken Kezer with 765 yards from 1960-62. Robinson could reach that mark in just his 18th game with the Minutemen against Towson.
Keep On Kicking Koepplin • In his first year at UMass after being a junior college transfer from Nassau C.C., Koepplin was an all-conference second team kicker. He tied the school record for field goals in a season with 16, set the school record for point after touchdowns with 51 and set the record for kick scoring in points with 99. • In his final year at UMass, Koepplin ranks on several career charts with just one-plus season under his belt. Koepplin stands tied for fifth in career field goals with the single-season tying 16 last year and two more this year for 18. He is tied with George Papoutsidis (18). Next on the list is Eric Oke with 26. • His career field goal percentage of 72.0 ranks second all-time to Doug White (77.1). He is also eighth in career PATs with the 55, 51 last year and four this year. Koepplin is also first in career PAT percentage with a mark of 98.4 percent (60-of-61). He passed George Papoutsidis, who was 96.9 percent (31-of-32). • Koepplin had four field goals of 40 or more yards last season including a season and career-long 48-yarder against Stony Brook. That was the third-longest in UMass history and longest since 1978 at UMass. A mark he equalled with a 48-yarder in the 2007 opener vs. Holy Cross.
5 Strong: O-Line Of Protection • After three sacks this season, UMass has allowed just 40 sacks in 39 games since 2004. • Along with Austin, UMass is looking to senior Nick Diana, giving UMass a pair of preseason all-conference performers. Austin has moved to center after starting at guard to begin the year. He swapped with Diana, who returns to left guard after playing the Holy Cross game at center. Diana, a second-team all-conference player last year is joined by senior Chris Hopkins, a former tight end, who started the final 14 games of 2006. Junior Sean Calicchio mans right tackle, where he started in 2006, but broke his arm in the first game of the season. After missing 11 games in a row, Calicchio returned in the NCAA Quarterfinals and played in the final three playoff games. Sophomore Vladimir Ducasse, who played in three games in 2006, is starting at left tackle.
Transfer Of Power, I-A Players Join
Syracuse Impact
McGuirk Magic • Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while posting a home mark of 64-23 (.736) during that span. In 2003, UMass went 7-0 at home to set the former record for most home victories in the 40-year history of McGuirk Stadium. • UMass has won 13 of its last 14 games at home after dropping the 2005 home regular-season finale to New Hampshire on Oct. 29. They have won 20 of the last 23 dating to 2003.
Quartet of Captains In 2007
Looking Back At 2006 • The UMass football team captured the 2006 Lambert Trophy, symbolic of the team top team in the East, presented by the ECAC. The Minutemen were the winners in the I-AA/FCS Division. • To advance to the NCAA final, UMass topped Lafayette, 35-14 in the first round; conference rival New Hampshire, 24-17 in the NCAA Quarterfinals and won at hostile Montana, 19-17 in the NCAA Semifinals.
Preseason Polls UMass Favorite To Win CAA • The Minutemen, who earned a record 20 All-Conference honors in 2006, placed a total of seven on the Preseason All-Conference squad this season. Offensive linemen Matt Austin and Nick Diana, join tight end Brad Listorti to represent UMass on the offensive side of the ball. Defensive lineman David Burris, as well as Charles Walker and preseason All-American Jason Hatchell, both linebackers, represent UMass in the defensive front. Cornerback Sean Smalls is the seventh Minuteman selected to the preseason squad. Preseason All-Americans • The College Sporting News has named two UMass seniors to their its pre-season All-America football team. Hatchell was selected to the first team, while Austin was chosen for the second team. UMass was one of 19 schools with multiple players chosen. • Listorti has been named a Preseason All-American by Street & Smith's. Listorti heads into the 2007 season as one of the top tight ends in the nation. UMass is No. 12 in the preseason national poll. |
 
 
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