The Atlantic 10 champion No. 3 UMass (10-1) football team returns to
the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history and first since
2003, as the Minutemen host Patriot League Champion Lafayette (6-5) on
Saturday at 12 Noon at McGuirk Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on
CN8 television up and down the East Coast with Dave Shea and Jon Ritchie on
the call. The Lafayette Sports Network will air the game as well with Gary
Laubach, John Leone and Dan Mowdy calling the game. Saturday¹s game will
feature live streaming video of both telecasts with links available on
UMassAthletics.com
The game will also be broadcast live on the UMass Sports Network.
Veteran Bob Behler will call the action and 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. It will also air on WCRN (830
AM) and WATD (95.9 FM). The game can also be heard live online at
UMassAthletics.com.
The winner of Saturday¹s UMass-Lafayette game will play the winner of
the New Hampshire at Hampton game, which takes place on Saturday in Virginia
at 1 p.m. That quarterfinal game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 2 at a
time to be determined. Should UMass beat Lafayette, the Minutemen would host
the game.
The semifinals take place on Dec. 8 and 9. The Division I Football
Championship title game takes place on Dec. 15 at Finley Stadium in
Chattanooga, Tenn.
This will be the first-ever meeting between UMass and Lafayette on the
football gridiron. The teams have played just one common opponent this
season: Colgate. UMass beat the Patriot League team, 28-7 in their
season-opener on Sept. 2. While the Leopards beat the Raiders, 27-10 on Oct.
28 in Hamilton.
UMass In The NCAA Tournament
This year, Division I-AA has been renamed the Division I Football
Championship Subdivision. UMass has played in six previous playoffs under
the I-AA name spanning 25 years from 1978 through 2003. The Minutemen
captured the 1998 National Championship with four wins. They captured the
title in epic fashion in a 55-43 win over No. 1 Georgia Southern. UMass also
advanced to the 1978 championship game where they lost to Florida A&M,
35-28. Overall, UMass has a 6-5 record in 11 tournament games. They are 7-7
all-time the postseason including two bowl games.
The No. 3 seed marks the first time UMass has been seeded in the NCAA
Tournament. The Minutemen are hosting a first-round playoff game for the
first-time ever and just the second home I-AA or FCS playoff game ever (not
including the D-II game in 1977). The only other home UMass tournament game
came in the 1998 Quarterfinals, when UMass beat Lehigh, 27-21 to reach the
Semis.
UMass last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, when the Minutemen
dropped a heart-breaking 19-7 decision at Colgate in a snowy blizzard.
Prior to that, UMass played in the 1999 tournament, winning a
first-round game at No. 8 Furman, 30-23 in overtime to run the Minutemen¹s
post-season wins streak to five games. But UMass fell in the quarterfinals,
38-21 at Georgia Southern in a re-match of the 1998 title game.
On the way to the national championship in 1998, UMass defeated McNeese
State (21-19) in the first round on the road, Lehigh (27-21) at home and
Northwestern State (41-31) on the road again before beating and Georgia
Southern (55-43) in the title game.
The Minutemen advanced to the first ever Division I-AA championship
game in 1978, defeating Nevada-Reno (44-21) in the semifinals before falling
to Florida A&M (35-28) in the title game.
UMass also took part in the tournament in 1998 (falling to Eastern
Kentucky, 28-17) and in 1990 (losing to William & Mary, 38-0).
The Minutemen played in the 1977 Division II playoffs, where they
hosted Patriot League team Lehigh in a 30-23 loss.
As the Redmen, UMass won the 1972 Boardwalk Bowl, 35-14 over UC Davis
and lost the 1964 Tangerine Bowl to East Carolina, 14-13.
Brown Returns To NCAA¹s
UMass head coach Don Brown returns to the NCAA Tournament for the
second time as a head coach. He led Northeastern to the NCAA¹s in 2002 when
the Huskies captured the Atlantic 10 championship. Northeastern lost to
Fordham, 29-24 in the first round.
Brown¹s greatest run in the NCAA Tournament came as the defensive
coordinator with the 1998 and 1999 UMass teams. Brown headed up the
defensive corps for those two seasons as UMass went 5-1 in the post season
in capturing the 1998 title.
He was the head coach at Plymouth State in leading the Panthers to the
NCAA Division III Tournament in 1994, reaching the quarterfinals and in
1995, falling in the first round.
Brown has been on the sidelines for three games against Lafayette and
has won all three times. As the defensive coordinator at Brown in 1997, his
team beat the Leopards, 35-27. Back in 1990 and 1991, when he was the
defensive coordinator at Yale, the Elis beat Lafayette, twice: 18-17 and
24-14, respectively.
The UMass senior class has posted an overall record of 33-13 (71.7 win
percentage) since 2003, that goes down as the most wins by any four-year
class in UMass history. Twice before UMass had 31 wins in a four-year span
done from 2002-05 (31-16), 1998-2001 (31-19).
Making History
UMass has captured its 21st conference championship this season,
between the Yankee Conference (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971,
1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990) and Atlantic 10
Conference (1998, 1999, 2003 and 2006).
UMass head coach Don Brown made history becoming just the second coach
to lead two different teams to A-10 titles, as he coached Northeastern to
the 2002 championship. He joined Jim Reid, who won three titles at UMass
(1986, 1988 and 1990) and followed that with two titles at Richmond (1998
and 2000).
With the 22-16 win over Hofstra, UMass became the first team to post
the first undefeated season in Atlantic 10 conference play since the 1997
Villanova team. Of note, UMass defensive backs coach Bob Shoop was the
defensive coordinator on that team.
UMass, posted just the fifth undefeated season in conference play since
the ³recent era² when the Yankee Conference/A-10 played eight league games.
UMass joined: Boston University in 1993, New Hampshire in 1994, Delaware in
1995 and Villanova in 1997.
This year¹s team posted UMass¹ first undefeated season in conference
play since 1978, when the Minutemen went 5-0 in the Yankee Conference. UMass
has only gone undefeated in conference play nine times (1951, 1963, 1964,
1966, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1977 and 1978) with all of those with five of fewer
wins.
With 10 regular-season wins, UMass has equalled the school record for
regular-season wins, set in 2003, when UMass was 10-2 before heading to the
playoffs. This goes down the best regular-season since 1972 (when 11-game
seasons started) with a 90.9 win percentage (10-1) as UMass played 12
regular-season games in 2003. Technically, the best regular-season record
came in 1963 when UMass went 8-0-1 (.944). UMass did go ³undefeated² in 1889
at 2-0 and 1879 at 1-0.
This is the third time in school history UMass has won 10 or more games
in a season, winning a record 12 in the title season of 1998 and 10 in 2003.
With the win vs. Hofstra, UMass has its longest win-streak of all-time,
at nine games. The Minutemen have previously won eight games in a row
numerous times, most recently in 2003.
20 UMass Players Honored With A-10 Honors
The UMass football team was the most decorated team in Atlantic 10 with
an all-time league record 20 members of the All-Conference team, which was
announced on Tuesday.
Senior tailback Steve Baylark was named the league¹s Co-Offensive
Player of the Year with UNH¹s Ricky Santos. Baylark is UMass¹ first
Offensive Player of the Year honoree since Gary Wilkos in 1990.
Head coach Don Brown earned his second A-10 Coach of the Year accolade
as well. He was Coach of the Year at Northeastern in 2002.
The Minutemen have won nine games in a row, their longest streak in
school history. Over the run, UMass has outscored its opponents 260-96
(29-11 average). More impressively, in the last eight wins, UMass has
outscored its opponents 239-75 (30-9 average), including two shutouts of
A-10 opponents a 35-0 win at Towson on Oct. 14 and the 7-0 win at
Northeastern on Oct. 28. The last time UMass had two conference shutouts in
a season was 1979.
The Minutemen have three 40-point efforts in the win streak. The last
time UMass scored more than 40 points in three games in a year came in 1998,
when they did it six time on the way to the NCAA Championship. That streak
includes back-to-back 48-7 wins over Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William &
Mary on Oct. 7, both at McGuirk Stadium. UMass a 41-16 win over Rhode Island
on Oct. 21.
UMass had at least 450 yards of offense in each of the first five games
of the win streak.
UMass has outscored its last eight opponents 169-25 in the first half
alone (average 21-3).
Looking at The Leading Statistics
The Minutemen are clicking on both offense and defense. They lead the
Atlantic 10 in five statistical categories. They lead the league in scoring
defense (11.3 point per game), pass efficiency (170.67), net punting
(35.08), pass efficiency defense (110.48 and fewest sacks allowed (1.0).
UMass ranks in the top 10 in the nation in five categories. That includes
the nation¹s second-best scoring defense, second-best pass efficiency
rating, sixth in rushing defense (96.36), eighth kickoff returns (23.22) and
10th in fewest sacks allowed.
You Need To Know These Guys
Senior Payton Award Candidate Steve Baylark reached an NCAA milestone on
Oct. 28 as he became the ninth Division I player and third in I-AA with
1,000 career yards in four different seasons. He comes into the Lafayette
game with a 1,308 yards this season and 4,680 in his career. Baylark has
been sensational of late, posting 100 yards or more in six of the last nine
games and five of the last eight. He averaged 169.0 yards over four games
from Oct. 7-28. That was keyed by his career-high 235 vs. Rhode Island on
Oct. 21. He has risen to 13th in the nation this season with 118.9 per
game, which leads the A-10. He was honored as the A-10 Offensive Player of
the Week for the second week in a row after the URI game. He broke the 1,000
yard barrier with his 152 at Northeastern on Oct. 28. He became the third
player in UMass history with more than 4,000 career rushing yards as he
racked up 102 at Towson on Oct. 14. He is third among all active players in
Division I-AA and fourth among all players in Division I. With his six
100-yard games this season, he now has 22 career 100-yard games -- the last
coming vs. Hofstra with 125 on Nov. 18 at UMass -- and the Minutemen are
19-3 in those games. Baylark has at least one touchdown in 13 of the last 17
games, totaling 22 in those games. He is now fourth in career rushing TDs
with 42 and third in career rushing TDs with 37. He leads the A-10 in
touchdowns with 13 and is tied with teammate kicker Chris Koepplin for the
scoring lead (7.1 points per game). Baylark leads the A-10 in all-purpose
yards at 130.1.
Sophomore quarterback Liam Coen led the nation in pass efficiency until
Week 10. he is now second to San Diego¹s Josh Johnson with a 172.9 mark. He
has completed an amazing 65.8 percent of his passes (148-of-225) and has 20
TD passes and just four interceptions. He has 2,179 yards this season after
posting 2,175 as a freshman. He has not thrown an interception in the last
five games (since Towson). He ranks among the all-time greats at UMass in
passing with the best career pass efficiency rating (153.45) and completion
percentage (64.7). He is also fourth in career completions (323), fifth in
passing yards (4,354), fifth in passing TDs (30) and fifth in pass attempts
(499). Among all active I-AA players, Coen is fifth in career pass
efficiency and sixth in completion percentage. Coen played one of the best
games by a UMass signal caller in history at Towson on Oct. 14. In the win
over the Tigers, he threw a school-record tying five touchdown passes and
303 yards as he completed 21-of-27. Coen was bestowed with numerous honors
in the wake of his performance. He was honored for the second time this
season with the Golden Helmet, presented by the New England Football Writers
of New England, as the week¹s top player in the region. He was also named
the A-10¹s Offensive Player of the week for the second time in 2006.
Additionally, he was one of four named to I-AA.org¹s Weekly All-Stars in the
nation after the Towson game.
Senior wide receiver Brandon London leads the team in catches (35) with
and receiving yards with 598. His receiving yards of 59.8 ranks sixth in the
league. London is now second in career catches (133) and is third career
receiving yards at UMass (1,839). Also in the Towson game, London tied the
school record for touchdown catches in a game with four. He was named the
UMass/Dinn Brothers Athlete of the Week for his showing. He finished with
seven catches for 100 yards with the TDs from 3, 20, 34 and 8 yards out. It
was his fifth career 100-yard game.
The defense has been equally awesome as the offense. Buchanan Award
Candidate James Ihedigbo is the senior captain on the defensive side. He is
vying for the national defensive player of the year award, following in the
footsteps of two-time All-American Shannon James, who was in Baltimore
Ravens camp in 2006 and has been starring with the CFL¹s Calgary Stampeders.
Ihedigbo has 54 tackles this season along with 5.5 TFLs, 5.0 sacks, five
pass break-ups and an A-10 leading four forced fumbles. Ihedigbo was named
the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week back on Sept. 10 after UMass narrow
loss at I-A Navy. Ihedigbo¹s performance in the fourth quarter at
Northeastern on Oct. 28 sealed the UMass win. He tackled NU¹s Maurice Murray
for no gain on a 4th-and-1 at UMass¹ 8-yard line in the fourth. Then with
1:40 left in regulation he picked up his interception of the season to
secure the win.
Linebackers Jason Hatchell, Charles Walker and Brad Anderson are the
top tacklers at 107, 96 and 82, respectively. Hatchell has lead of tied for
the team lead in tackles in 15 of the last 22 games. He posted a career-high
18 tackles at New Hampshire as he was named the Bill Knight MVP of the game.
Over the last four games, Hatchell has 51 tackles for 12.8 per game. Walker
has 36 over the last three games (12.0) and Anderson has 41 over the last
three games (13.7) with more than 10 in each game. Over the last three
games, the trio has combined for 116 tackles.
The Series: UMass vs. Lafayette
This is the first meeting between UMass and Lafayette in football. The
Minutemen have played Patriot League foe Colgate in each of the last four
seasons, splitting the four games.
UMass has two players from the state of Pennsylvania: sophomore
offensive lineman Biff Gottehrer (Bala Cynwyd, Pa.) and freshman o-lineman
Kevin Macon (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Lafayette has one Massachusetts native in
junior tight end Ben Hoover (Chelmsford, Mass.).
UMass Team Capsule
UMass is 10-1 after a 28-7 season-opening win over Colgate on Sept. 2,
a narrow 21-20 loss at Navy on Sept. 9, a solid 31-21 win at Villanova to
open the Atlantic 10 schedule on Sept. 16 and back-to-back 48-7 poundings of
Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William & Mary on Oct. 7, the 35-0 whitewash of
Towson on Oct. 14, a 41-16 win over Rhode Island on Oct. 21, the 7-0
rain-soaked win at Northeastern, the 28-20 win at No. 9 New Hampshire and
the 10-9 win over No. 19 Maine which helped clinch the Atlantic 10
championship. UMass closed the regular season with a 22-16 win over Hofstra
on Nov. 18.
The Minutemen are ranked No. 3 this week in the Sports Network and CSN
Coaches Poll. The Minutemen are No. 2 in the Don Hansen poll. UMass has been
ranked in the Top 5 since Oct. 23. UMass has been in the top 25 every week
since the start of the 2005 season. UMass had been ranked No. 9 in the
Sports Network poll for four weeks in a row (from Sept. 4-25). UMass was No.
10 in preseason poll of the Sports Network. In the annual magazines, UMass
was ranked the following: No. 6 by Athlon, No. 12 by I-AA.org Consolidated,
No. 14 by AnyGivenSaturday.com, No. 16 by Lindy¹s and No. 23 by Street &
Smith¹s.
The Minutemen finished the 2005 season with a 7-4 overall record, 6-2
in the Atlantic 10 good for second in the North Division. UMass was ranked
as high as No. 5 last season after beating handing Delaware its worst home
loss in two decades on Nov. 5. But UMass lost its final two games to fall to
No. 19 in the final poll and miss out on the NCAA playoffs for the second
year in a row. UMass defeated two ranked teams last season, beating No. 25
Rhode Island on Sept. 24 and No. 4 James Madison on Oct. 15.
In the 2006 preseason poll, UMass was picked second to defending champ
New Hampshire in the Atlantic 10 North Division.
Don Brown leads UMass into his third season at the helm of the
Minutemen. The defensive coordinator of the 1998 National Championship team
is 23-10 at UMass and 75-36 overall as a head coach, now in his 10th season
as a head man. He has a an 69.7 win percentage at UMass -- the best win
percentage of any UMass coach with more than one year of coaching. He
coached his 100th career game in the 2005 finale at Hofstra.
This is the 124th season of UMass football. UMass now has an all-time
record of 520-500-51 in 1,061 all-time games. The Minutemen won the 1998
NCAA Division I-AA Championship with a 55-43 win over Georgia Southern. The
Minutemen have won 21 conference championships including this season.UMass
has played in seven NCAA Tournaments with this year¹s berth.
UMass¹ Stevie Wonder
Senior captain and two-time Atlantic 10 First-Team tailback Steve
Baylark is one of the most prolific rushers in UMass history. In his final
season in Amherst, he has made NCAA history. He became the third player in
I-AA history to gain more than 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons.
Jerry Azumah (New Hampshire 1995-98) and Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern,
1998-2001) were the only ones to accomplish the feat in I-AA prior to this
season. Harvard¹s Clifton Dawson joined the group on Nov. 4, 2006. Six
players have done it in Division I-A: Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh, 1973-76),
Amos Lawrence (North Carolina, 1977-80), Denvis Manns (New Mexico State,
1995-98), Ron Dayne (Wisconsin, 1996-99) Cedric Benson (Texas, 2001-04),
DonTrell Moore (New Mexico, 2002-05).
Baylark gained 1,177 as a freshman, 1,138 as a sophomore and 1,057 last
season as a junior. He has 1,308 in his senior season, his best season total
with more football to come. His mark this season is the sixth-best in a
season at UMass.
He broke the 1,000-yard barrier at Northeastern on Oct. 28 as he gained
152 yards. He went over 1,000 on a 16-yard run with 10:09 left in the fourth
quarter.
He has joined current Arizona Cardinal Marcel Shipp (6,250) and Rene
Ingoglia (4,624) as the only UMass players with 4,000 career rushing yards,
standing with 4,680.
In UMass history, he ranks second in career rushing (passing Garry
Pearson vs. William & Mary and Rene Ingoglia in the Hofstra game) and second
in career carries with 983 (he broke a tie with Pearson at Villanova). He is
also third in career rushing touchdowns with 37 after two rushing scoring
vs. Stony Brook (9/23), William & Mary (10/7), Rhode Island (10/21) and at
New Hampshire (11/4) along with single TD scores against Colgate (9/2) and
at Villanova (9/16).
On UMass¹ all-time touchdown and scoring lists, Baylark is fourth with
42, scoring a league-high 13 this season (three vs. Stony Brook, two vs.
Colgate, William & Mary, URI and UNH and one at Villanova and Towson). With
his three-TD game vs. the Seawolves, he passed Adrian Zullo (1998-2002),
who had 33 scores. Baylark is also fourth in career scoring with 254,
passing Pearson with two scores vs. Rhode Island.
Baylark had his fourth-career three-TD game vs. Stony Brook. UMass is
4-0 in those games. He had his 12th career two-TD game at New Hampshire.
UMass is 11-1 in those games.
Baylark has 22 career 100-yard games, including four weeks in a row
(Oct. 7-28) and six of the last nine weeks -- for all six of his
century-mark games this season. The first this year came at Villanova (9/16)
with 104, followed by 187 yards vs. William & Mary, 102 at Towson and his
career-high 235 vs. Rhode Island. He had 125 in his last game against
Hofstra on Nov. 18. Last year he had five century-running games. UMass is
19-3 in his 100-yard games and 14-10 when he doesn¹t gain 100.
Baylark has touchdowns in 13 of UMass¹ last 17 games. Prior to the Navy
game, when he was blanked, Baylark had scored at least one rushing touchdown
in seven games in a row dating back to last season when he had at least one
in the final six games of the year. In the last 17 games, he has 17 rushing
scores along with five receiving TDs for 22 total. He has scored just two
TDs (both at New Hampshire) in the last four weeks as he did not score at
Northeastern (10/28) vs. Maine (11/11) and against Hofstra (11/18).
On the active career rushing list in Division I-AA, Baylark is third
behind Harvard¹s Clifton Dawson (4,841) and Drake¹s Scott Phaydavong
(4,702). In all of Division I-A and I-AA, Baylark is fourth with Northern
Illinois¹ Garrett Wolfe standing first (4,972) ahead of Dawson.
Baylark is now second all-time at UMass in all-purpose yards as well
with 5,332. He passed Pearson at 5,277 in the Hofstra game and Ingoglia at
4,941 in the Northeastern game. Baylark¹s number is second among all active
players to Harvard¹s Dawson (6,138).
Baylark is first among all active players in career plays with 1,076
and carries with 1,004.
Off the field, Baylark is an Art major and is an avid artist both with
charcoal, pastels as well as with PhotoShop. This summer he did an
internship with the UMass Video Services and helped produce and design a
commemorate video for the Minuteman lacrosse team which made the 2006 NCAA
championship. He also worked on the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame video for
2006.
Coen Managing To be No. 1
Sophomore Liam Coen has been solid since taking over as the starting
quarterback in the third game of last season vs. Albany (Sept. 17, 2005). He
has ³managed the game well² according to coach Don Brown. Until Week 10, he
managed to place himself atop the nation in passing efficiency in 2006. He
now stands at No. 2 with a 172.9 behind San Diego¹s Josh Johnson.
This year, Coen is 148-of-225 for 2179 yards with 20 touchdowns and
just four interceptions in 11 games. He has a sparkling 65.8 completion
percentage. His averaging an amazing 14.8 yards per completion this season.
His season marks rank on the UMass all-time single-bests as follows:
completions (9th), yards (6th), touchdowns (T-4th).
In just his second season, Coen is ranked among some all-time leaders
in UMass history. He is first in pass efficiency (153.54), completion
percentage (64.7) while he is fifth in both passing yards (4,354), fourth
completions (323) and fifth in TD passes (30).
Coen has not thrown an interception in four weeks, the last coming at
Towson (Oct. 14).
With 21 career games, Coen is now listed among the active career
leaders in Division I-AA. He is fourth in passing efficiency (153.54), sixth
in completion percentage (64.7) and 12th in passing yards per game (207.3).
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.
He was incredibly efficient against William & Mary (10/7) as he
completed 12-of-17 for 275 yards, an average of 23 yards per completion.
In first-half action vs. Stony Brook (9/23), Coen was 6-of-8 for 177
yards. The highlight came as he hit Rasheed Rancher from 89 yards out, the
second-longest play in UMass history. Coen also hooked up with Rancher for
the third-longest play, 84 yards at Delaware (11/5/05).
Coen had perhaps his finest game at Villanova (9/16) in the third week
of this season. He completed 21-of-28 for 350 yards and two touchdowns. His
great day earned him numerous honors: the New England Football Writers
Golden Helmet, Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of
the Week all for the week ending September 18.
In the opener vs. Colgate, he was 11-of-19 for 117 yards and two
touchdowns. He started the game off hot, throwing for 7-of-8 in the first
quarter.
Last season, 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.
He was named the Atlantic 10¹s Rookie of the Week each week from Oct.
22-Nov. 5, 2005.Coen captured the Golden Helmet as the top player in all of
New England College football on Nov. 8, 2005 after his performance against
Delaware. He threw for 318 yards on 21-of-26 passing and one touchdown in
leading UMass to a 35-7 win at Delaware, the Blue Hens worst loss at home
since 1986.
What A Defense!
UMass had the nation¹s top defense last season in terms of scoring
defense, giving up just 13.3 points per game. In 2006, UMass is allowing
just 11.3 points per game, to rank second in the nation. 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. Its the
first time since 1979 that UMass had shutouts of two conference games during
the season. The Minutemen have allowed just seven points in three games
this season, against Colgate (9/2), Stony Brook (9/23) and William & Mary
(10/7). Overall six of UMass¹ 11 opponent have been held to single-digits,
most recently allowing nine against Maine (11/11).
The Minutemen have dominated their last eight opponents, winning by a
combined score of 239-75 (an average score of 30-9). That streak includes
back-to-back 48-7 wins over Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and William & Mary on
Oct. 7, both at McGuirk Stadium. UMass has outscored its last eight
opponents 169-25 in the first half alone (average 21-3).
They started off on the right foot against Colgate and Navy, giving
up just seven points to the Raiders and 21 to the Mids. That 21-point
defensive showing vs. Navy was equal to the fewest Navy had scored in more
than a year. Last season Notre Dame held them to 21 points in October, but
the last time they had less than 21 points was when they had 20 against
Maryland on Sept. 3, 2005. UMass led the Atlantic 10 and finished in the top
five in the nation in several defensive stats last season.
In addition to the top scoring defense, UMass is again in the top
part of the nation in the season in several defensive stats. Notably, the
Minutemen are sixth in rushing defense, allowing just 96.36 yards per game.
That number was aided by holding Hofstra to just minus-1 yard rushing in the
regular-season finale. That was the lowest mark for the UMass defense since
holding Albany to minus-37 last Sept. 17, 2005. The Minutemen are 17th in
total defense (270.18), and 25th in pass efficiency defense (110.48).
Junior linebacker Jason Hatchell has picked up where he left off this
season with a team-best 107 tackles (9.7 per game). He ranks fourth in the
A-10 in tackles and 30th in the nation. He has led UMass in tackles in 15 of
the last 22 games. He also has 10-career 10-tackle games and UMass is 7-3 in
those games. Over the last four games, he has 51 tackles (12.8 per game). He
had 12 vs. Maine (11/11) after he posted a career-high 18 at New Hampshire
(11/4) and 12 at Northeastern (10/28). Hatchell was named the Bill Knight
MVP after his huge game at New Hampshire. In 2005, Hatchell led UMass in
tackles with 107 (9.7 per game) in his first season as a starter.
Behind Hatchell is junior Charles Walker who has 96 tackles in his
return to action, 8.7 per game to rank seventh in the nation. Walker has
been a monster of late with 36 tackles in the last three games after a
season-high 17 vs. Maine (11/11).
Senior linebacker Brad Anderson has also emerged with 41 total tackles
in the last three games. He is third on the team with 82 total tackles, 8.2
per game. He had a career-high 15 at New Hampshire and 14 vs. Maine and led
the team with 12 against Hofstra for three straight games with 10 or more
stops.
Senior captain and Buchanan Award Candidate James Ihedigbo is a leader
on defense. Last season he broke out with a career-year. He was among the
national leaders in tackles for a loss (12.5) and sacks (7.5), playing from
a safety position. With great blitzing Ihedigbo was constantly in opponents¹
backfield. He continued to dominate in the 2006 with 54 tackles, 5.0 sacks,
5.5 TFLs, five pass break-ups, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
His forced fumbles mark is first in the A-10.
The defensive line has received great play from seniors John Hatchell
and Jason Leonard along with junior David Burris. Burris has 56 total
tackles and a team-high 13 TFLs. Burris was an animal in the regular-season
finale against Hofstra as he tied his career high with eight tackles
including 4.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks. Hatchell also has 6.0 TFLs of his 28
tackles. Leonard a force at the line as four pass deflections.
Last year, UMass finished third in the nation in total defense giving
up just 261.18 yards per game. The Minutemen gave up just 145.09 passing
yards per game in 2005, fifth-best in the country.
In 2005, UMass held two opponents to fewer than 100 yards of offense.
The Minutemen set the school record for fewest yards allowed in a game
holding Albany to just 31. Against Northeastern, UMass held the Huskies to
just 72 yards matching the best performance by the Minutemen against an A-10
team in 1982, when they held New Hampshire to just 67 yards .
5 Strong, The Line Of Protection
UMass has one of the best offensive lines in Division I-AA led by a
pair of seniors who have started every game in their careers art UMass.
Captain center Alex Miller and left guard David Thompson have started both
games this season to have 46 straight starts in a row. The school record for
career starts is 47, done three times, most recent was Shannon James, who
finished in 2005.
This season has seen UMass continue a trend of the last two seasons, as
the Minuteman line has allowed just 11 total sacks (only 11 of quarterback
Liam Coen) in 10 games (1.0 per game). UMass is 10th in the nation in fewest
sacks allowed this year and first in the A-10.
Last season, UMass was eighth in the nation in fewest sacks allowed
with just 11 in 11 games (1.0). Dating back to the start of the 2004 season,
UMass has allowed just 32 sacks in 33 games (0.98 per game).
UMass has led or tied for the league lead in fewest sacks allowed in
each of the last three seasons.
UMass has allowed just one sack every 28 pass attempt over the last
three seasons (32 in 907 pass attempts). In 2004, UMass led the nation in
fewest sacks per pass attempt with just one every 38 attempts in giving up
just nine sacks all year.
UMass offense has clicked all season. In five games from Sept.
16-Oct.21, UMass picked up more than 450 yards of offense in each game.
Miller and Thompson are joined by junior Matt Austin, who is starting
at left tackle this year after playing left guard last year. Sophomore Sean
Calicchio was stable at right tackle since being inserted into the line-up
last season, but was injured in the season-opener vs. Colgate. He has been
replaced by a group including junior college transfer Nick Diana, junior
Chris Hopkins and sophomore Biff Gottehrer. The three of them have split
time at left guard and right tackle so far this year.
The line has been solid in leading the way for Steve Baylark has 21
career 100-yard rushing games. He had a career-high 235 yards against Rhode
Island on Oct. 21.
Go Koegel Go
Senior All-American punter Christian Koegel is UMass¹ all-time leading
punter. He continues to add to his legacy at the school. With his 40.5
average this season, Koegel increased his school record average to 40.9 in
his four seasons. He would rank 25th in the nation this year, but does not
have the requisite 3.6 punts per game, he only has 3.4 per game (37 in 11
games).
In 2005, he was named the Atlantic 10 Special Teams Player of the Year
in earning numerous accolades. He finished third in the nation in punting
average with a mark of 43.02.
ESPN¹s NFL Draft Expert Mel Kiper Jr., has Koegel ranked among his top
10 punting prospects heading into the 2007 NFL Draft. That list includes all
of Division I-A.
Koegel was named the Atlantic 10¹s Special Teams Player of the
Week on
Sunday, Sept. 3. The All-American punted four balls for a 46.8 average in
UMass¹ 28-7 win over Colgate. In the win over Colgate, he had a long of 55
yards which was his one punt inside the 20-yard line < that punt landed at
the Colgate 3-yard line.
Over his last 30 games, he has at least one punt of 50 or more yards in
19 of those games.
Led by Koegel and great kick coverage, UMass led the nation in net
punting average last season with a mark of 38.35. Again this season, the
Minutemen have showed their great prowess on punt coverage with a 35.08 net
punting mark to rank 13th in the nation and first in the A-10.
The all-time A-10 record holder for punt yardage in the game (set vs.
Boston College in 2004), Koegel has 55 career punts inside the 20-yard line.
He opened the season with a punt that landed at the Colgate 3-yard line for
his first such kick this season. He has three this year.
UMass has had a long line of great punters who have been
four-performers. Koegel is just the third punter for the Minutemen since
1995, starting with Andrew Maclay from 1995-98, then David Sanger from
1998-2002.
Among active punters in Division I-AA, Koegel has the 11th-highest
career average with Mike Dragosavich of North Dakota State (44.27) leading
the way.
Off the field, Koegel has a tremendous personality and is an aspiring
model. He has an electric wardrobe featuring a white and teal suit with
tails which he wore to the team¹s end-of-year banquet this past spring.
This season, London leads the team with 35 catches and 598 receiving
yards. Moore is right behind with 28 catches for 405 yards. Rancher has 19
catches for 342 yards and leads in average at 18.0 per catch.
London became the seventh UMass player with 100 career catches this
season. He has 133 to date to stand second all-time at UMass. He passed
Marcel Shipp (126) vs. Maine and passed Jason Peebler (123) with four
catches at New Hampshire. He had his fifth career 100-yard game at Towson.
He had his fourth career 100-yard game at Villanova (9/16) with 104 yards on
five catches.
He is also third on the all-time yards list with 1,839. He passed Chip
Mitchell (1680) with 89 yards at New Hampshire. With 55 yards vs. Rhode
Island, he passed Bob Simeone (1,571). In the Towson game, he passed Jimmy
Moore (1,494 -- all in 1998) and Tim Berra (1,486 -- Yogi¹s son). London
passed 2006 UMass Hall of Fame inductee Steve Schubert who had 1,435 from
1970-72 in the William & Mary game on Oct. 7, the night after Schubert went
into the UMass Hall of Fame.
London took over as the top receiver once Moore went down last season
and racked up 60 catches and earned All-A-10 Third Team honors. He led the
team in catches as well as yards (774) and TD receptions (3). London tied
Moore¹s single-game reception record of 13 in the 2005 finale vs. Hofstra.
He had his second 100-yard game in that game with a career-high 122 yards.
London is also rising the career receiving touchdowns charts. With 13,
he ranks tied for seventh with Kerry Taylor. With each of his next TD
catches he will rise the list.
Moore posted his biggest game of the season vs. William & Mary (10/7)
with five catches for 118 yards and a spectacular 29-yard TD.
Moore returned to action this season after fracturing his left ankle
vs. Northeastern on Oct. 8, 2005. He missed the remainder of the season. He
was ranked among the top five in the nation in catches and catches per game
in the first few weeks.
Despite playing in just five games a season ago, he was still second on
UMass with 27 catches and third in 337 receiving yards.
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 (Yogi¹s son)
in 1973 and later tied by Jimmy Moore in 1998 and twice by Adrian Zullo in
1999.
Moore has been the top punt return man this season for UMass as well
with 23 returns for 217 yards and a 9.4 average per return, that ranks
second in the A-10.
Rancher¹s total is aided by his 89-yard reception from Liam Coen
against Stony Brook (9/23), the second-longest play in UMass history.
Rancher was the biggest surprise of last season. After barely
playing
in his first season in 2004, he had 27 catches for 425 yards becoming a
vital receiver for Liam Coen.
Rancher had a career-high 126 receiving yards including an 84-yard
scoring pass from Liam Coen at Delaware. That play was the third-longest in
UMass history.
Rancher had a career-high six catches for his first 100-yard game, with
108 against New Hampshire. He broke out for his first real action in the
game at Colgate, when he made four catches for 39 yards.
Junior college transfer Michael Omar has blended in nicely and
has
five catches after a big game at Villanova. He did have a knee injury and
missed four games and has not made a catch since returning.
UMass¹ passing game took off in the game at Villanova (9/16) as seven
different players made catches including four pass-plays of more than 30
yards to four different receivers.
The Right Tight End
In addition to the top-level receivers, UMass has received outstanding
play from transfer Brad Listorti. After two seasons at Rutgers where he did
not catch a pass, Listorti has emerged as a weapon, starting every game at
tight end this season. He has 26 catches for 395 yards for a 15.2 per catch
average. He is third on the team in catches and yards and yards per catch.
He has at least one catch in each of the last 10 games.
Listorti had his first-career touchdown with a 1-yard grab at Villanova
(9/16). In that game, he had a career-high four catches for 49 yards as
well. He had a career-best 54 receiving yards at Towson (10/14). He had a
career-long 44-yard catch vs. Rhode Island.
In the rain at Northeastern (10/28), Listorti was Liam Coen¹s top
target making a career-high tying four catches for 29 yards.
He had a career-high 70 receiving yards on three catches at New
Hampshire.
Return To Big Kick Returns
UMass is off to a sensational start in the kickoff return game. UMass
is returning kickoffs 23.22 per return, which ranks eighth in the nation.
Last season, UMass was 95th in the nation out of 116 teams at 17.3 per
return. Leading the way is UConn transfer Courtney Robinson, who is second
in the A-10 and is 13th nationally in average return at 25.2 per run back.
UMass had two returns of more than 55 yards this season in the first
three games after the season long for all of 2005 was just 28 yards.
Robinson had a 57-yard return at Villanova (9/16) while Matt Lawrence
had a 65-yard run back against Colgate in week one. That 65-yarder was the
longest by any UMass player since Jerome Bledsoe had a 66-yarder on Sept.
23, 1989.
Ball Hawks In The Secondary
UMass has had one of the top secondaries in the nation over the past
three seasons. Last year UMass ranked among the nation¹s best with 18
interceptions, which ranked third in the A-10.
UMass graduated its all-time interception leader and two-time
All-American Shannon James, who had 20 interceptions in his four years in
Amherst. James¹ 20 picks were the most by an player in all over college
football over a four-year span from 2002-04. James signed a free agent
contract with the Baltimore Ravens and is now starring for the CFL¹s Calgary
Stampeders.
Even with James gone, the Minutemen have a sensational corps of ³Ball
Hawks² as they call themselves. Seniors strong safety James Ihedigbo and
cornerback Tracy Belton lead the way. Ihedigbo has made his name with a
blitzing style that racked him up 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks last
season. Belton is among the national leaders in career interceptions, now in
his senior year. After his interception at Navy (9/9) and vs. Maine (11/11),
he has 13 picks, he ranks tied for fourth in the nation in I-AA among all
players behind Ken Chicoine of Cal Poly (18), who tops the list.
In the secondary, senior Brandon Smith has taken over for James as free
safety while true sophomore Sean Smalls is manning the other corner. Smith
has played in many packages over the last two seasons and was the A-10
Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3, 2005. Smalls is a versatile player
who was an impressive freshman last season playing on both sides of the ball
as a receivers as well.
Smith has been in the right place at the right time < twice. He has two
fumble returns for touchdowns, the first two scores of his career. He had a
3-yard TD return vs. Stony Brook on Sept. 23 and a 21-yard run back vs.
Rhode Island on Oct. 21.
Koepplin, A Keeper At Kicker
Junior college transfer Chris Koepplin has been a tremendous addition
for the Minutemen. The kicker is already on the all-time charts at UMass in
career field goals made with 13 this season, tied for seventh. He is also
tied for third in single-season field goals and tied for second in
single-season extra points, as he is 39-of-40.
Koepplin was named the A-10 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week on
Nov. 20 after he kicked three field goals in the win over Hofstra (11/18)
from 34, 19 and 31 yards. He was the first UMass kicker with three field
goals in a game since Eric Oke in 1993.
Koepplin has three field goals of 40 or more yards this 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.
Koepplin is tied with Steve Baylark for first in the A-10 in scoring
with 7.1 points per game on 78 points with 13-of-18 on field goals. He is
second in field goals made per game with 1.2 per game.
McGuirk Magic
The Minutemen host just their third all-time home playoff game on
Saturday. UMass went a perfect 6-0 at home in 2006. UMass has been tough to
beat in the friendly confines of McGuirk Alumni Stadium since the start of
the 1998 season. The Minutemen have gone 41-11 (.788) at home over the last
six years, improving their all-time record at McGuirk to 149-72-2 (.672).
Since 1992, UMass has had a losing record at home only once, while
posting a home mark of 61-23 (.726) during that span. In 2003, UMass went
7-0 at home to set a new record for most home victories in the 40-year
history of McGuirk Stadium. UMass has a chance to tie that record on
Saturday in the NCAA Playoff game against Lafayette. The 2003 squad also
became the first UMass team to go undefeated at home since 1993, when it
posted a 5-0 mark at McGuirk Stadium.
UMass has won 10 of its last 11 games at home after dropping the 2005
home regular-season finale to New Hampshire on Oct. 29. They have won 17 of
the last 20 dating to 2003.
48-7, 48-7: Are You Kidding?
With its 48-7 win over William & Mary on Oct. 6, UMass won consecutive
games by the same score for the first time since 1969. What makes it amazing
is that UMass won both of the those games by the same score of 48-7; and
those games were separated by a bye week which is also the case in 2006.
Back on Nov. 1 and No. 15, 1969, UMass beat Vermont and New Hampshire. If
you were wondering, UMass has never played three games in a row with the
same score. With the back-to-back 48-point efforts, its the first time since
those games in 1969, that UMass has scored 48 or more points in consecutive
games.
UMass Vs. Ranked Teams
Last weekend¹s 10-9 win over No. 19 Maine was UMass¹ third against a
ranked team this season and UMass is 3-0 in those games. UMass downed No. 9
New Hampshire on Nov. 4, 28-20. The Minutemen blanked No. 22 Towson back on
Oct. 14, 2006. UMass has won seven of its last eight games against ranked
teams, with the lone loss coming to New Hampshire last season, 34-28. In the
last 17 games against ranked teams, UMass is 12-5 going back to mid-way
through the 2002 season. The Minutemen have now won eight of their last 12
games against top-10 teams.
UMass is 5-2 in its last seven games against a Top 5 team after is lost
to No. 4 New Hampshire last year on Oct. 29, 2005. Earlier in the 2005
season, UMass beat No. 4 James Madison, 10-7, on Oct. 15. The Minutemen were
2-1 against ranked teams last season, also beating No. 25 Rhode Island on
Sept. 24.
In 2004, UMass had three wins over Top 20 teams after beating No. 4
Colgate, 30-20 on Sept. 11 and No. 7 New Hampshire on Oct. 16 along with No.
19 Maine on Oct. 30. The Minutemen went 3-2 last season against ranked
teams.
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 that season.
In 2003, 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.
UMass has four transfers from both Rutgers and UConn along with one
from Syracuse, one from and West Virginia forming a mini-Big East connection
in Amherst. Syracuse transfer Tim Washington is actually a graduate student
at UMass after earning his Bachelor¹s Degree from Syracuse in May 2006 in
information management and technology. He is pursuing a Mater¹s in Sports
Management at UMass. He earned numerous academic awards while with the
Orange as well.
Pair Return To Action In 2006
Two Minutemen made triumphant returns to the line-up in the opener vs.
Colgate after missing most of the 2005 season and taking redshirt years with
injuries. Junior linebacker Charles Walker played in just three games a
season ago but redshirted with a knee injury. Junior tailback Matt Lawrence
was injured on his first carry as a Minuteman, a 9-yard gain at Richmond and
did not play again all year with a knee injury.
In the opener vs. Colgate (9/2), Walker tied for the team lead in
tackles with nine and was perhaps the top defender as UMass allowed just 183
yards of total offense. Walker had seven tackles each at Navy (9/9) and at
Villanova (9/16). Back in 2004, Walker tied the UMass record for tackles in
a game with 23 vs. Delaware -- the first sign of his prowess.
Lawrence was similarly productive vs. Colgate, in many facets of the
game. The UConn transfer ran for 38 yards on six carries and scored his
first touchdown as a Minuteman. He also had a catch for 12 yards and
returned two kickoffs for 85, which included a 65-yard return, the longest
by a UMass player since 1989 when Jerome Bledsoe had a 66-yard return vs.
Maine on Sept. 23, 1989. Lawrence came to UMass prior to last season after
two seasons at UConn, where he gained 267 yards on the ground.
Three Captains In 2006
UMass has three captains for the 2006 season in senior tailback Steve
Baylark, senior center Alex Miller and senior safety James Ihedigbo.
Extra Points
UMass has scored in 136 straight games since a 34-0 loss to Rhode
Island on Sept. 30, 1995 Š The Minutemen have scored in 130 consecutive home
games since a 17-0 loss to Holy Cross on Sept. 17, 1983.
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