AMHERST — The UMass football team heads into the final leg of a three-game homestand on Saturday, as the Minutemen (1-5) host arguably their best non Power-5 opponent on the schedule in Toledo. The game kicks off at noon on ESPNU.
The Rockets (4-1) returned a substantial 82-percent of their offense (sixth-most in FBS) from last season’s team, one that claimed a MAC conference championship, and they’ve been just as good – if not better – in 2023. Toledo is averaging 40.8 points per contest and its only defeat came on the road against Big Ten opponent Illinois by two points.
UMass head coach Don Brown plans to tweak his defense – one that is surrendering 39 points per game to its opponents – and throw unique looks at the Rockets offense to try and slow their juggernaut unit down.
“Without question we’re gonna be looking to try to do that (tweak the defense to slow down Toledo’s offense),” Brown said. “One thing about them, is they’re truly run it, throw it; and they can go either way on you. We gotta have a sound ground attack for their run game, and we gotta be able to get some things done in [the secondary], for sure.”
Coming off a disappointing 52-28 loss to Arkansas State, Brown has made it clear that there’s nothing else to do but flush it and move on. With a talented Toledo team heading into town, the Minutemen’s focus is solely on starting quicker than they have in previous games this season. That’s the key to potentially upsetting the Rockets as 19-point underdogs.
“Every one is its own separate entity,” Brown said. “Each game you play is the most important one, and that’s really what our focus is – gotta get ready to go [against] Toledo, and you gotta play well. Obviously, we gotta look at what we’re doing because obviously we’re not starting well in games. And then we’re finding ways to, for the most part, fight our way back in.”
UMass starting quarterback Taisun Phommachanh returned to the lineup for the first time since Week 1 against the Red Wolves last Saturday, and will once again get the start under center against Toledo.
Phommachanh completed a very strong 76-percent of his passes for 269 yards and one touchdown, bouncing back from an early interception on UMass’ third play from scrimmage. Brown didn’t put any designed runs in the play script last week, taking away Phommachanh’s greatest ability to preserve his health and ease him back into competition. The second-year coach said that won’t be the case on Saturday, as he plans to use his quarterback’s legs to open up different aspects of the offense.
“That’s an option, for sure, to keep an eye on what we might wanna do as we move forward,” Brown said. “But every team that you play, it dictates change in your game plan. So based on what they’re doing will then challenge us moving on and looking at certain things from a different perspective.”
After the Minutemen’s 34-31 overtime loss to New Mexico two weeks ago marked the fourth straight contest in which they trailed by double digits in the first half, slow starts were a clear point of emphasis during practice leading up to the game against Arkansas State. But UMass fell behind once more, this time trailing 31-7 and creating a gap too big to erase.
The sluggish beginnings continue to be stressed by Brown and the coaching staff, and ridding those is the biggest goal for UMass coming in to the game against Toledo.
“Just get off on the right foot, let’s just get off on the right and attack the game,” Brown said. “But really, just get started and go from there, because our guys compete. Our guys work hard at it. We just gotta get off on the right foot. So that’ll be a big push this week.”
Defensively, Brown has noticed when watching film that Toledo is very similar to UMass in terms of what they do schematically. This may bode well for the Minutemen offense considering they practice every day against schemes and looks that are closely related to the ones the Rockets come out in.
Phommachanh, the offensive line, and the rest of the offense should feel confident about their preparation for Saturday.
“They’re somewhat like us, so our guys have practiced against similar concepts,” Brown said. “We’re excited about that piece, just the familiarity of some of the things they do, then that helps you because your guys aren’t getting a whole new picture. You’re kind of hoping by the end of the week they’ve got it figured out. There’s some similar concepts that we run that’ll provide some comfort for our offense.”
The matchup with Toledo is the earliest kickoff UMass has had all year, which means everything gets moved up. The Minutemen have to wake up earlier, get to the facilities earlier, and be suited up and ready to go before afternoon even hits. Brown said he enjoys noon kickoffs himself, and expects his players would be ready to play at any hour.
“We haven’t done it, so that makes it different,” Brown said. “But I always say this: when you’re playing football, it’s always at noon you like. When college football was played at the right time, that’s what it was. [Noon] was the right time. So I like that.”
UMass has come up empty in the first two of its three-game home stretch, and are 0-3 overall at McGuirk Alumni Stadium this season. Even one win would salvage the homestand, and the Minutemen aren’t overlooking the importance of this one.
“Gotta have it. Gotta have it,” Brown said. “We’re more healthy on the offensive side, so that’s a good thing. Just gotta get off on the right foot and go play fast. I know I sound like a broken record but that’s really been our push. We’re working hard to be ready to go when the gun goes off.”