AMHERST — Perhaps UMass has finally blown past frustration on the emotional spectrum.
For the fourth time in eight games, the Minutemen allowed a team to rush for 300 yards against them. UConn had 14 rushes of more than 10 yards – four of which went for at least 20 yards – and it only ran 39 true rushing plays in the entire game. The issue was the same as it’s been all season, a unit with enough people in position to make plays that simply can’t do it.
There was nothing new about Saturday’s 56-35 loss to the Huskies at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, and once again the Minutemen had to answer the same questions again.
“We hurt, you can see it on people’s faces,” senior cornerback Isaiah Rodgers said. “UConn didn’t really do anything that we didn’t work on throughout the week. We’ll just go back into the film room then it’s on to Liberty.”
The struggles of the rushing defense were evident against the Huskies if for no other reason than it didn’t matter which of their two main running backs was in the backfield. Both Kevin Mensah and Art Thompkins bounced off would-be tacklers like bumper cars, gaining as many yards after contact as they did before it.
Neither back is overly large, either, as both are listed at 5-foot-9 and less than 200 pounds. Yet they were dragging defenders at times, taking them the extra few yards they needed for a first down or touchdown. And it wasn’t as if the Minutemen (1-7) weren’t in good positions to make tackles, they just couldn’t in tight spaces and allowed the Huskies to break containment and run free.
“There was an overall team deficiency ability to stop the run game,” UMass coach Walt Bell said. “They came in, ran the same two runs they’ve been running all year, we had as many human beings near the tackle box as you possibly could and still weren’t able to stop the run.”
Mensah was the true kryptonite for the Minutemen, becoming the first player in 20 years to score five rushing touchdowns against UMass. The running back finished with 164 yards on 19 carries, gashing the Minutemen almost every time he touched the ball.
He broke through for a 45-yard run in which he wasn’t touched until Tyris Lebeau escorted him out of bounds. He spun off a trio of tacklers on third down and ran for 17 yards to prolong a drive that ended with him blasting his way through the heart of the UMass defense for his fourth touchdown.
Thompkins was just as effective weaving his way through the sea of maroon jerseys, averaging 10.4 yards per carry on his 13 touches.
Bell’s answer to the problem has been to look to the future and focus on recruiting and developing the talent that will plug the hole. But in the short-term, Bell is left scratching his head about new ways to temporarily stop the leak against the run.
“We’ve got to coach them better, and I’m the head football coach and I’m ultimately responsible for everything that happens,” Bell said. “We give up 300 and however many yards on the ground, I’m the guy where that finger goes. … We’ve got to coach better and again, no matter what our limitations are, we’ve got to find ways to put our players in the best position to make plays as humanly possible.”
Rodgers was the only UMass defender who was able to make any plays in the game. He blocked a field goal to redeem himself for losing a fumble on the previous kickoff return. He also answered Andrew Brito’s first-quarter interception with one of his own on the next play to set up the Minutemen’s first scoring drive.
He almost had a pick-six, too, reading the eyes of UConn quarterback Jack Zergiotis and jumping an out route to become the intended receiver. However, the pass was just out of his grasp and instead of stopping the Huskies (2-6) with the score 21-14, they scored two plays later.
It’s been a rough season as a whole for UMass’ defense, which has forced just 20 punts in eight games and are now allowing more than 50 points per game. But Rodgers said the morale is still strong despite the deflating outings in the three games since the Minutemen’s only win.
“I don’t want to say frustration because there’s a lot of guys in the locker room that make sure everyone keeps their heads up before any frustration goes down,” Rodgers said. “I would probably say more disappointment.”