FOXBOROUGH — Within moments a shootout turned into a blowout.
Louisiana Tech scored two third-quarter touchdowns in 11 seconds to stretch a seven-point lead to 21 as UMass looked stunned. The Bulldogs rolled from there to a 56-28 victory Saturday at Gillette Stadium.
The Minutemen had all the momentum early in the third quarter after a strip sack by Peter Angeh was recovered by Colbert Calhoun at the La. Tech 14. On the next play, John Robinson-Woodgett slipped out of the backfield unnoticed and Andrew Ford hit him for the senior’s first career touchdown with 12:07 left that pulled UMass within 28-21.
After a first-down penalty on the Bulldogs’ ensuing drive, quarterback Ryan Higgins double-pumped and threw a deep ball into coverage on the right sideline. Carlos Henderson made the catch over UMass freshman corner Isaiah Rodgers and raced into the end zone. Rodgers gestured wildly that Henderson had pushed off him to make the catch and replay appeared to validate his frustration, but no flag was dropped and the visitors led 35-21 with 11:19 left.
Trying to answer, Andrew Ford rolled to his left on first down from the 25-yard line. He was sacked by Jaylon Feguson and lost the ball at the 19, where Russell Farris scooped it and jogged in for a touchdown that made it 42-21.
“I’m not saying we would have beat them, but the push-off was bad,” UMass coach Mark Whipple said. “The wind went out of our sails with the push-off. … The fumble was a real dagger.”
La. Tech rolled from there.
“We made too many mistakes and missed too many tackles,” said junior linebacker Steve Casali, who recorded nine tackles and a fumble recovery. “If you make too many mistakes against a team like that, you’ll pay for it. We missed way too many tackles. We have to fix that.”
The officially listed crowd of 13,311 saw a memorable performance by Henderson. The junior receiver had 12 catches for 326 yards and five touchdowns. La. Tech entered the game among the nation’s leaders, averaging 365.0 yards passing per game, and only added to that total. Higgins was 26-for-33 for 484 yards and five TDs. The passing touchdowns and yardage, and receiving touchdowns and yardage are all the most ever by an individual against UMass.
“We knew they were going to score points and we were going to have to try to match them,” Whipple said. “Without question, Henderson was the best player on the field and we didn’t have an answer for him.”
Ford completed 29 of 40 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. He fumbled once, was intercepted once and was sacked seven times.
“He did a lot of good things. He played like a real good quarterback for most of the game and at other times he played like a guy that’s never been coached,” Whipple said.
Ford said he needed to be better.
“I’m not making enough plays to help this team win,” Ford said. “That’s on me. I just have to watch tape, learn from it and not make the same mistakes down the road.”
Junior tight end Adam Breneman (seven catches, 94 yards) defended his quarterback.
“For what this football team needed, Andrew has been an unbelievable leader for us,” said Breneman, who played with Ford in high school. “I’m really proud to have him as a quarterback. When things don’t go well, you look at the quarterback, but I think he’s done a really good job for us.”
Marquis Young had a touchdown and 40 yards on 10 carries, before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury.
The Minutemen (1-6) assured themselves of at least six losses for the sixth straight season. They’ll travel to South Carolina, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Trailing 21-7, UMass appeared to grab some momentum late in the first half. A 42-yard return by Rodgers gave the Minutemen the ball at their own 42 with 1:54 left.
Ford directed a five-pay, 58-yard drive that included two big catches by Dan Jonah, including an 18-yard touchdown that made it 21-14 with 56 seconds left.
A lot of teams would have taken a knee and gone to halftime with a lead, but the Bulldogs’ offense moves fast and Higgins directed a seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that regained the momentum and put them ahead 28-14 at intermission.