BOSTON — Two years ago, UMass left the field at Gillette Stadium disappointed it couldn’t secure an upset over Boston College.
The 26-7 defeat left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Minutemen who played that day, and made Saturday’s contest at BC a chance at revenge. Instead, UMass was bulldozed by a much-improved Eagles squad and left Alumni Stadium even more upset after the 55-21 loss.
“It stinks, especially the outcome, to be outplayed the way that we did,” fifth-year senior quarterback Ross Comis said. “But we realize we have 10 more games, so we know what we have to do. We’re going to play next week and use this loss to help us build momentum.”
The need for a short memory became a common rallying cry after Saturday’s loss, but linebacker Bryton Barr doesn’t want anyone on the UMass roster to forget this game, either. He said the team learned a lot about preparation after the loss and promised the Minutemen would never look as poorly as they did Saturday.
“We just needed to get this one out of the way, and we got it out of the way early in the season,” Barr said. “That’s the last time this will happen this season.”
The lopsided loss was a good lesson in managing expectations as well for coach Mark Whipple. In his fifth year of his second stint with the program, Whipple said it was important for the players to learn how to stay even-keeled after success, something he said his team didn’t handle well in the week leading up to the game.
Now the Minutemen have to learn the opposite lesson just as quickly with a road trip to Georgia Southern looming next week.
“We weren’t as good as what everyone thought we were last week, and we’re not as bad as what everybody thinks after (Saturday),” Whipple said. “We’ll get back at it Monday morning.”
MISSED CHANCES: Boston College didn’t make many mistakes Saturday against UMass, but when it did, the Minutemen struggled to capitalize.
Redshirt senior quarterback Ross Comis took advantage of Andy Isabella blowing past his man for a 49-yard pitch and catch that set up UMass’ only score of the first half. However, when Isabella broke free later in the quarter, Andrew Ford hesitated on the throw and was instead sacked on third down.
At the time, Boston College’s lead was just 14-7, and with Isabella’s speed it was likely he would have outran the Eagles’ secondary to the end zone. Instead, the drive was halted and Boston College drove down the field after the punt to take a two-score lead.
“They blew the coverage and let Izzy run down the middle of the field, and Andrew didn’t see it in time on the corner blitz,” Whipple said. “That happens, so you’ve got to get to the blitzer a little bit faster like we saw in our scout. I thought that was a really big play because they turn around and it’s 21-7 and things are going their way.”
UMass also had a chance to create a big play midway through the second quarter when the score was 28-7. Boston College had a poor snap on a punt and Grant Carlson was chased inside his own 10-yard line before unleashing a punt that was downed at the UMass 49. Although it was only credited as a 17-yard kick, the punt actually sailed about 40 yards in the air before rolling the last few.
QB ROTATION: After leading UMass on its only scoring drive of the first half, Comis had to watch from the sidelines as the Minutemen struggled for the rest of the half. Whipple said there was never any discussion about bringing in Comis for a drive with the offense stalling in the second quarter.
Comis said he wasn’t frustrated at all by the decision because he knows his role within the offense and is comfortable sitting behind Ford.
“Andrew’s our guy, we know that,” Comis said. “Whether I have a good drive or not, I know Andrew’s going to go back in the game and do his thing.”
TORRES WATCH: Amherst native Taj-Amir Torres recorded four tackles and broke up two passes for the Boston College secondary as the Eagles’ starting cornerback. Torres almost had a forced fumble, but Andy Isabella’s forward progress was ruled to have been stopped prior to Torres prying the ball free.