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No. 9/9 UMass Heads To Lonestar State For Battle at No. 11/10 Texas Tech
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#9/9UMASS (2-1) at #11/10 TEXAS TECH (3-0) UMass Heads To Lonestar State For Battle at Texas Tech • UMass is playing its highest-ranked opponent in FBS football since losing at No. 7 Kansas State, 38-7, on Sept. 13, 2003. Last year UMass lost to No. 12 Boston College, 24-14 on Sept. 29, 2007. • UMass comes into the game scoring 37 points per game, which is 16th in FCS football while the Red Raiders are 15th in FBS with a 42.3 average. The Minutemen are led by Walter Payton Award (given to the top offensive player in FCS football) Candidate senior quarterback Liam Coen. Coen has the top career passing efficiency mark among all quarterbacks in Division I (both FBS and FCS) with a 153.53 mark. Coen is second in all of Division I in career passing touchdowns with 75. Topping the chart is Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, who has 97 TD passes. Harrell ranks fifth in career passing effiency with a 151.07 mark. • Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the UMass Sports Network with Josh Maurer, in his first season as the new "Voice of the Minutemen." Former kicker Matt Goldstein will handle the color commentary. The pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on WRNX (100.9 FM), the flagship of the network. It will also be carried by WCRN (830 AM), WATD (95.9 FM) and WCAP (980 AM) in the central and eastern parts of Massachusetts The game can also be heard live online at UMassAthletics.com.
UMass Vs. FBS Teams • Five seasons ago, the Minutemen traveled to then-No. 7 Kansas State and lost 38-7 on Sept. 13, 2003. In 2002, UMass dropped a 56-24 decision at No. 17 NC State, while in 2001 it played at Marshall, falling 49-20. In 1999, the Minutemen played at Toledo, when they lost 24-3. Prior to that, UMass had not played a I-A school since Sept. 17, 1988, when it dropped a 44-17 decision to Ball State in Muncie, Ind. • Since FCS (Division I-AA) was formed in 1978, UMass has a record of 8-19 against I-A foes, with the last victory being a 26-10 triumph over Ball State on Sept. 1, 1984, at home at McGuirk Stadium. Every game the Minutemen have played against Division I-A schools since the beginning of the 1978 season is listed in the chart. (Note: Dartmouth, Harvard, Holy Cross and Villanova are former Division I-A/FBS members which now compete in Division I-AA/FCS).
UMass In Texas • This will be UMass' first game against a team from Texas.
Big Crowds Watch UMass • Last week's Texas Tech game against SMU drew a crowd of 53,383. • The current record stands at 51,221, set on Sept. 28, 2002, at NC State. The second largest crowd to see the Minutemen play came in 2003 when 46,102 watched the game at Kansas State. Third on the list came last year when 44,111 came out to see the game at BC. In 2004 43,262 watched the UMass at Boston College, for fourth on the list.
Brown's Wins Over FBS Teams • At UMass, Brown has suffered four losses to FBS teams, but the last three have all been close losing by an average of six points in the last three games. FCS Teams Picking Up Wins Over FBS • 2007 was a year of the upset for the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). There were eight upsets of Football Bowl Subdivision teams, most notably Appalachian State defeating then No. 5 Michigan in Ann Arbor, 34-32 on Sept. 1. From the CAA Football conference, Delaware beat Navy, 59-52 on Oct. 27 and New Hampshire defeated Marshall, 48-35 on Sept. 15. In 2007, FBS teams were 51-7 against FCS teams. The other wins by FCS teams over FBS teams in 2007 are: Nicholls State over Rice (16-14), Northern Iowa over Iowa State (21-13), Southern Illinois over Northern Illinois (34-31), McNeese State over UL-Lafeyette (38-17) and last weekend North Dakota State over Central Michigan (44-17). • The CAA (former Atlantic 10) has at least two wins over FBS teams in four of the last five years. • In 2006, six FCS teams beat FBS teams: New Hampshire (beat Northwestern), Montana State (beat Colorado), Portland State (beat New Mexico), Cal Poly (beat San Diego State), Southern Illinois (beat Indiana) and Richmond (beat Duke) pulled off the feats. In 2005, the only win for FCS came as Northwestern State beat La-Monroe, 27-23 on Sept. 1, 2005.
About UMass Coach Don Brown
UMass Football History Thumbnail
Senior Class Seeking Wins Record • The 2008 class led by senior captains quarterback Liam Coen, offensive lineman Sean Calicchio and cornerback Sean Smalls has a 32-10 record with nine regular-season games remaining. They need just five wins to set the new mark. • The seniors are also seeking to lead UMass to the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row, which would set a new UMass mark. They are also looking for a third straight conference crown, which would be the first occurrence in the Yankee/Atlantic 10/CAA since Boston University in 1982-84. The last time UMass won three conference crowns in a row was from 1977-79, winning three Yankee Conference titles in a row. • Prior to 2006, twice before UMass had 31 wins in a four-year span done from 2002-05 (31-16), 1998-2001 (31-19).
UMass Dominating FCS & CAA Foes • The Minutemen finished at 7-1 in the CAA last season and were the last undefeated team in league play prior to the loss to Rhode Island. The Minutemen are 15-1 in conference games over the last two seasons. UMass went 8-0 in conference in 2006 (becoming the first undefeated team in league since Villanova in 1997).
Senior Coen Ready For Super Season • This week's game at Texas Tech pits two of the top quarterbacks in their respective subdivisions in Coen and Red Raider Graham Harrell. The two are listed at the top of many lists in the FCS and FBS, respectively. • Coen is the active career leader in passing efficiency with 153.53 mark including both FCS and FBS of players with more than 20 games. Harrell is fifth on the list with a 151.07 rating. • On the career active touchdown passes list, Coen (75) is second to Harrell (97). Harrell is also the career ative leader in passing yards (11,933) and completions (658). Coen is fifth (9,108) and seventh (658) on those lists among all of Division I. • Coen became UMass' career passing leader with 191 yards vs. New Hampshire (11/10/07). He now has 9,108 yards. He passed Todd Bankhead (7,018) with an 8-yard pass to Ian Jorgensen in the third quarter of the New Hampshire game last season. Coen became UMass' career touchdown passing leader on Oct. 27, 2007 in the 48-34 win at William & Mary. He tossed four scoring strikes at Hofstra (11/17/07) to pass Bankhead's 51 and Coen took over as the all-time completion leader that same game with 22, moving him ahead of Bankhead's 561. He now has 75 career touchdown passes and 658 completions to own both of those records. • Coen is UMass' career leader in pass efficiency (153.53), completion percentage (64.4), yards per attempt (8.56) and total yards per play (7.66). • The Rhode Island native has started the last 40 games in a row with UMass holding a 31-9 record in those games since he drew his first start against Albany on Sept. 17, 2005. Of those nine losses, three games been to FBS teams, so Coen is 31-6 against FCS teams. • Coen has been blazing hot to start the season, which picked up after a strong end to last season. Over his last six games (last three of 2007 and first three of 2008), Coen is averaging 329 yars per game, thowing for 1,975 yards on 135-of-209. • Coen has thrown for 300 or more yards in five of the last six games including the last two this year with 395 at Holy Cross (9/6) and 339 at #7 James Madison (339). Coen now has 10 career 300-yard passing games. • The signal-caller has nine TD passes this season, with three in each game, giving him 10 career games with three or more TD passes. • Week two was huge for Coen, who was named the Sports Network National Player of the Week, ECAC Player of the Week, CAA Offensive Player of the Week and captured the Golden Helmet as the top player in New England. Coen threw for 395 yards, going 25-for-37 including three passing touchdowns. The Newport, R.I., native also ran for a one-yard score in the first quarter. The Walter Payton Award candidate tallied his ninth-career 300-yard passing game, as well as his ninth-career 3TD game. Coen's 25 completions rank 12th most in UMass' single-game record book, while his 395 yards through the air were the sixth-best single-game total in school history. • Coen threw 30 touchdown passes in 2007 after tossing 26 the previous season. Bankhead holds the record with 34 in 1998, one of the only major records he doesn't hold. • Coen holds UMass single-season records in completion percentage (65.0 in 2006), passing efficiency (160.5 in 2006), total average offense per play (8.1 in 2006).
UMass Turns To Nelson • Nelson leads the CAA in rushing with 362 yards on 62 carries and five touchdowns. He has gained 100 yards in two of three games this season and ranks ninth in FCS with a 120.7 average per game after his 109-yard game at #7 James Madison (9/13) last weekend. Nelson also scored two touchdowns for the second week in a row. • Nelson was a stud in his first game as a starter at tailback as he gained 171 yards, a career-best against Albany (8/30). Nelson scored two touchdowns including a 64-yard rush, the longest running play by a Minuteman since R.J. Cobbs' 84-yard run in 2002. Nelson earned the first New England Football Writers Player of the Week Award after the Albany game. • Nelson followed that up with a 82-yard, two-touchdown effort at Holy Cross (9/6), in a game that the Crusaders were clearly stacking the line to try to stop the run. • The speedster Nelson received the second most carries on the club last season with 92, or 19.2 percent of UMass' total carries. He made the best of those opportunities, gaining 486 yards and scoring a touchdown. His 5.3 yards per carry average was the best on the team among ball-carriers with more than six attempts. • Nelson had his first-career 100-yard game with 104 at Maine (9/22/07) on a career-high 18 carries. That included a career-best 61-yard run in the fourth quarter. • As a freshman in 2006 playing behind four-time 1,000-yard rusher and current Arizona Cardinal Steve Baylark as well as Lawrence, Nelson gained 235 yards on 47 carries for a 5.0 average. He scored all three of his touchdowns for the season in his 13-carry, 69-yard effort vs. William & Mary (10/7/06).
Receivers Step It Up • Entering the season, UMass' receivers had a combined 18-career receptions, 12 by Jeremy Horne, four by Joe Sanford, and one each by Victor Cruz and Ke'Mon Bailey. • Well three weeks into the season, there are answers including an all-time record performanced by Cruz. At #7 James Madison (9/13), Cruz set a school-record with 262 receiving yards on a school-record tying 13 receptions. That yardage mark is fourth-most in conference history. Cruz was amazing in the second half as over the final 30 minutes, he had 11 catches for 248 yards. Through the first 10 1/2 games at UMass, Cruz had eight catches for 129 yards. • Cruz leads UMass in catches with 18 receptions for 351 yards. He is first in the CAA in yards oer game with 117.0, which is seventh in the NCAA. He is also third in the CAA in receptions per game and 25th in the nation with 6.0. • Just behind Cruz on the list is Horne, who has 15 catches for 211 yards. Horne, one of Coen's go-to targets in the early going, had his breakout performance at Holy Cross (9/6) where he set career-highs in catches (10), yards (172), touchdowns (2), and long reception (47). He played his first year at Syracuse before transferring and caught 12 balls last season for 146 yards and scored three touchdowns. He showed a knack for coming through against stiff competition in 2007, scoring touchdowns against Boston College (9/29/07) and #4 Southern Illinois in the NCAAs (12/1/07). • In the season opener against Albany, Horne led the way with four catches for 37 yards including a game-icing 17-yard TD in the fourth quarter. • Redshirt freshman Julian Talley has six catches for 95 yards. Talley logged CAA Football Rookie of the Week honors after teaming with Coen, in the Minutemen's 45-42 win on the road at Holy Cross (9/6). The Winslow, N.J., native ranked third on the team with four catches for 71 yards against the Crusaders. Talley hauled in a career-long reception of 34 yards during the Minutemen's first drive of the game. • Sanford, who came to UMass as a quarterback in 2006 after a year at Virginia, has fivecatches for 55 yards this season including a touchdown against Holy Cross (9/6). will be vying for one of the wideout spots as well. A big target at 6-3, 208 lbs., he is also one of the team's top stalk blockers and a force on special teams as well. He caught two passes for 31 yards at Holy Cross (9/6), including his first TD catch of the season. Sanford saw action in all 13 games in 2007, catching four balls for 71 yards, two of which for touchdowns. He caught the first pass of his career, which was a touchdown, against Holy Cross (9/1/08). He added 22-yard TD grab against Southern Illinois in the NCAAs.
A Defense That Won't Be Denied • UMass ranked 13th in the country and first in the CAA in total defense in 2007, allowing 309.62 yards per game. • UMass ranked first in the conference and 15th nationally in scoring defense last year, allowing just 19.15 points per game. • Over 26 games in 2005-06 the Minutemen allowed just 13.3 points per game. UMass ranked first in the nation in scoring defense for most of 2006 until the NCAA final, when they gave up 28 points to National Champ Appalachian State. UMass finished fifth in the country in scoring defense in 2006 after being first in 2005. • The Minutemen defense loves to send the opposing offense backwards, ranking atop the CAA in both sacks and tackles for loss in 2007. UMass' 3.38 sacks per game also ranked fourth in the nation. • This season, the defense's top tackler has been linebacker Josh Jennings, who tops the team with 26 tackles to rank fifth in the CAA with 8.7 tackles per game. Jennings grabbed a share of the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week honor after making a career-high 13 stops in the Minutemen's 28-16 win over Albany (8/30) in Amherst, Mass. The New Britain, Conn., native also snagged his first career interception in the win and returned it three yards. Jennings and UMass' defense limited Albany to 353 yards of total offense, while picking off two passes and logging three sacks for 17 yards. It was his first career CAA honor.
Decorated Secondary • The group played a leading role in UMass holding its opponents to the lowest passing efficiency (107.98) in the CAA and also their run support helped the Minutemen be the second-toughest team to run on in the conference (115.62 yds/g). • Smalls has been named a preseason All-American by many media outlets and currently has 10 tackles and two pass break-ups. Just five passes have been thrown his way and only one was completed for a four-yard gain at Holy Cross (9/6). • After an incredible junior campaign that saw him rack up 49 tackles, half a sack, and two interceptions, including a 90-yard return for touchdown vs. Towson (9/5/07), Smalls received several awards, including: Sports Network Honorable Mention All-American, All-CAA first team and New England Writers All-Star. • Junior Miles returns for his second season after transferring from Navy in 2007. Miles is second on the team in tackles with 25 this season. he ranks 10th in the CAA in stops per game with 8.3. A preseason All-American by Draft Consensus, Miles recorded 67 tackles last year from his free safety position, good for fourth on the team. He also had 10 passes defended and forced four fumbles, second-most in the CAA. • Robinson was actually named All-CAA last season twice, as a first team cornerback and as a third team kick returner. He recorded three interceptions last season. • The newcomer to this year's starting unit is strong safety Brian Ellis, a converted linebacker. A senior, he recorded 25 tackles in 2007. Ellis showed strong in his first game as a starter in the secondary as he racked up a career-best 10 tackles against Albany (8/30). Overall in 2008, Ellis is fourth in tackles on the team with 18.
Defensive Line Creates Chaos • The major tackler for loss on the defensive side is Hanson. He led the Minutemen in tackles for loss with 16 last season for a total of -83 yards, ranking second in the CAA. He also recorded seven sacks that sent the opposition 67 yards backwards. That total was second on the team to Burris' 9.5 and eighth-best in the conference. Hanson had a career-high 13 tackles against Villanova (10/13/07). • Collier recorded his first sack of the season last week against Holy Cross' Dominic Randolph (9/6). Collier had 4.5 sacks in 2007 and made 6.5 stops for losses. His big games came against Villanova (10/13/07), where he recorded 10 assists and half a sack, and Rhode Island (11/3/07), where he finished with 11 tackles, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and had half a tackle for loss. Collier also recovered two fumbles against Northeastern (10/20/07). He had 62 tackles for the season.
Robinson: Always A Threat • This season, Robinson has not had the ball kicked his way. When it has come to him -- just three times, he has made opponents pay -- with a 34.0 yard average. Robinson had a season-best 59-yard return at Holy Cross (9/6), on the only ball kicked his way. • 2007 CAA All-Conference third team kick-returner Robinson, who was an All-Conference second-team kickoff returner in 2006, is third all-time at UMass with a 25.4 career kickoff return average. • His 1,086 career kickoff yardage is fifth all-time on the UMass charts. Next on the career kick return yardage list for Robinson is Adrian Zullo with 1,123 from 1998-2002. • Robinson is third on the career return average list as well at 25.2.
O-Line Of Protection • Senior captain Sean Calicchio is the undisputed leader of the o-line. The All-CAA player makes the move from right tackle to center this season, where he will be responsible for keeping blocking assignments organized and snap the ball to roommate and close friend Coen. • The line was has been stellar early on this season, allowing just two sacks (both on the final drive of the James Madison (9/13) game. UMass ranks first in the CAA in fewest sacks allowed and 14th in the NCAA. • Ducasse, a native of Haiti, continues to flourish at left tackle. He won the spot protecting Coen's blind-side in the preseason in 2007 has only improved. In his 15 games over the last two seasons, UMass has allowed only 17 sacks and UMass has had a 100-yard rusher in 12 of those 15 games. • Outside of Ducasse, the line was been a rotation of five players due to injuries. • Senior Ben Coblyn has started all three games, but the first at left tackle and the last two at right guard. The local native from Amherst, returned to football in 2007 after playing basketball at Boston University. At 6-8, he is the tallest Minuteman and at 300 pounds is an imposing and athletic figure. • Converted tight end Rob Getek, now a junior, has started twice on the right side. He made the move to tackle in the spring and is one of the team's most improved players according to Coach Brown. • Sophomore John Ihne started the opener at left guard, missed the second game and played nearly all of the James Madison game at center after Calicchio was injured. • Redshirt freshmen Josh Samuda and Brian Ostaszewski has both filled in admirably this season. Samuda has started the last two games at left guard while "Ozzie" started to right tackle at Holy Cross (9/6). • The line did not allow a sack in the first two games this season. Over the last two seasons, spanning 16 games, UMass has had 12 100-yard rushers. • With giving up 17 sacks in 13 games last season, UMass has allowed just 56 sacks in 53 games since 2004. UMass Pick To 3-Peat As CAA Champs • UMass' senior quarterback Liam Coen and Maine's senior defensive lineman Jovan Belcher headlined the 2008 CAA Football Preseason All-Conference squad as both were selected as Preseason Players of the Year. Coen, who passed for 3,091 yards and had an efficiency rating of 156.3 in 2007, earned Offensive honors while Belcher, who led the league in sacks with 10 last season, picked up Defensive honors. • Massachusetts, which has won two-straight league crowns, placed a total of five on the Preseason All-Conference squad this season. Coen was joined by offensive lineman Sean Calicchio on the offense. UMass filled three of the four preseason defensive backfield spots with safety Jeromy Miles and cornerbacks Courtney Robinson and Sean Smalls. McGuirk Magic • Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while posting a home mark of 69-23 (.750) 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 19 of its last 20 games at home after dropping the 2005 home regular-season finale to New Hampshire on Oct. 29. They are 26-3 dating to 2003. UMass Gains Accolades From Annuals • According to Lindy's, UMass is No 4 in the nation as, "QB Liam Coen complements formidable defense for playoff-ready Minutemen." Lindy's adds that Coen makes UMass a national contender. • Among Lindy's Key Games To Watch, UMass' Oct. 4 game vs. Delaware is featured. The Minutemen are picked to win the CAA North with James Madison predicted to win the overall crown and the CAA South with a No. 3 ranking. • In Athlon, Coen is featured in the only for the CAA as it states, "Massachusetts is once again a national title contender." The magazine picks UMass to win the CAA North saying, "The Minutemen are coming off back-to-back conference titles. They were hit hard by graduation but return a ton of talent, including quarterback Liam Coen and corner Sean Smalls." • UMass junior safety Jeromy Miles has been named a preseason Honorable Mention All-American by Consensus Draft Services. In his first season at UMass in 2007 after transferring from Navy, he was a third-team All-CAA selection with 67 tackles. • As a transfer from Navy, who is the starting free safety in first season at UMass. In 2007, he had 67 tackles (38 solo) along with four forced fumbles, second in the CAA, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and 10 passes defended in 13 starts. He was second in CAA in passes defended with 11. Named UMass Athlete of the Week after Villanova win on Oct. 13. Four tackles including a TFL at #4 Southern Illinois (12/1) in NCAA Quarterfinal. Quartet of Captains In 2008
Under The Lights • UMass played four night games under temporary lights at McGuirk and won all four games. The first game under the lights came in the 2000 opener, a 36-16 win over William & Mary on Aug. 31. That game was also the only other football game in UMass history played in August. • The Minutemen played the 2004 home opener under the lights -- Don Brown's first home game as UMass head coach -- a 30-20 win on Sept. 11, 2004. UMass played two home games under the lights in 2005, beating Albany, 40-0 on Sept. 17 and Rhode Island, 14-6 on Sept. 24. • Lights were installed for the 2006 NCAA I-AA Playoffs for UMass' 24-17 win over New Hampshire on Dec. 2. That game kicked off at 2:30 p.m. and the lights did not take effect until the second half. Looking Back At 2007 • The Minutemen were a perfect 6-0 at home to extend their home winning streak to 14 games. The team hasn't lost a home tilt since the 2005 campaign. The Minutemen finished the season at No. 6 in the Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the Sports Network Poll. • For the second year in a row, the UMass football team was the most decorated team in terms of all-conference selections. Last year, UMass set an all-time league record with 20 members of the All-Conference team. This season UMass led the league with 17 All-CAA selections. For Openers • UMass has dominated opponents in its last six openers combining to pound Central Connecticut (twice), Delaware State, Richmond and Colgate by a combined score of 241-63, an average score of 40-9. In three games of those games (2002-04) UMass scored more than 50 points, beating CCSU (52-3 in 2002 and 51-7 in 2003) and DSU (51-0 in 2004). Four times they scored 40, including last season's 40-30 win over Holy Cross. • UMass has been a high-scoring team in season openers over the last 10 years, scoring more than 30 points on seven occasions. Since 1998, UMass has scored an average of 35.6 points in its season opener with a high of 52 vs. CCSU in 2002. • The Minutemen have won their last six
home openers in a row. Last season, they beat Holy Cross. In 2006, UMass opened with a 28-7 victory over Colgate. Three years ago, UMass routed Albany, 40-0 on Sept. 17, 2005. Over the last 10 years, UMass has lost its home opener just once, that 31-10 loss to William & Mary in 2001.
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