EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Mark Whipple threw down the challenge to his offensive line to win the game.
On a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon, the UMass offensive line rose to the occasion late in the game. It paved the way for the Minutemen’s 11-play, 81-yard drive and capped with Marquis Young’s 3-yard touchdown run. As Young churned his legs at the 2-yard line, three UMass linemen lined up behind him and pushed the senior running back into the end zone.
The score gave UMass the lead for the first time and the Minutemen held on for the final 3:39 to rally past UConn, 22-17.
“Honestly, I loved it,” senior guard Jake Largay said. “Usually we have a tough time finishing those drives out and (Whipple) put it on us. We took it into our own hands and finally the O-line came through and helped us get the W and that last touchdown, which put us in front.”
It was the type of day that puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line for the entire game. The dreary conditions forced both teams to stick to running the ball for most of the contest. UMass (3-6) attempted 53 rushes out of its 68 plays for the game, the first time the Minutemen ran the ball 50 times since they had 57 attempts against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 14, 2015. UConn ran the ball on 44 of its 50 plays.
Young was the workhorse for the Minutemen, collecting 148 yards on 26 carries for his first 100-yard performance of the season. For the most part, UMass kept the ball between the tackles on those runs in an attempt to wear down the UConn front seven and grind out yards. The offense finished with 247 yards rushing on those 53 attempts.
“We talked to the line about pushing the pile, that’s some of things we haven’t done (this season),” Whipple said. “When you can run it, it kind of wears on the (defense), and I thought that’s what we did at the end there. … I told the guys up front to win the game and they did a nice job.”
UMass trailed for almost the entire game after surrendering long scoring drives to begin both halves. UConn (1-7) marched down the field 82 yards in seven plays on the opening possession, finishing with Kevin Mensah bullying his way in for the score. After the Minutemen punted to start the second half, the Huskies went 65 yards in five plays to take a 14-3 lead on a weaving David Pindell 25-yard touchdown.
Those two drives accounted for more than half of UConn’s 250 rushing yards in the game.
“After that first drive, we just had to regain focus, we just had to come in and get our feet wet,” said Brice McAllister, a safety who transferred from UConn in January. “Some guys complained about the cold weather, but we just had to fight through that and after that first drive, we just re-focused and went back to our game plan.”
Although it was a day built for running, quarterback Ross Comis’ arm jump started UMass’ comeback. The redshirt senior, who started the game because Andrew Ford had ACL surgery this week and is out for the season, completed 6 of 10 passes in the second half for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Comis had a 75-yard touchdown toss to Andy Isabella called back because of a holding penalty on Largay, but the two connected on a 39-yard score later in the drive. Early in the fourth quarter, Comis flipped the game in UMass’ favor with a 67-yard strike to Zak Simon on the first play of the drive. The quarterback was stopped short on what would have been the game-tying conversion, but the momentum had already begun swinging in the Minutemen’s favor.
“We were able to throw the ball a little bit better,” Comis said. “I just kept pressing these guys that we had to make plays and we left a couple out on the field in the first half. I believe in these guys and I’m going to give them a chance every time. … I trust these guys and all the way through the second half, we just made plays when it mattered.”
And none of it mattered more than that 3-yard touchdown plunge from Young late in the game.
There were several runs earlier in the game when Young ran into his lineman and was either stopped short or dropped for a loss. But on this attempt, Young bounced off tight end Avian Peah and then guard Mike Yerardi before being wrapped up at the 2-yard line. As he continued to move his legs forward, the 325 pounds of Largay and the 320 pounds of Ray Thomas-Ishman came from behind and nudged Young closer to the end zone.
“I just kept driving my feet and the offensive line helped me get in and kept pushing me in,” Young said. “I just kept driving myself and I was motivated. I just kept telling myself ‘three yards. three yards.’”