AMHERST — Joe Harasymiak couldn’t have asked for a better start to his UMass coaching career. The Minutemen received the ball to start their season opener against Temple on Saturday afternoon and marched 75 yards down the field in nine plays, capping the drive off with an 18-yard touchdown run by Rocko Griffin.
It was a drive that featured a bit of everything: chunk plays, a fourth-down conversion and a perfect balance of the run and pass to put UMass ahead 7-0 less than four minutes in.
The start may have been perfect, but the other 56 minutes were far from it. More of the same woes that have plagued the Minutemen for the past decade-plus — turnovers, bad defense and poor second-half play — returned once again to haunt them in front of 11,565 fans at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Temple scored 35 unanswered points to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 42-10 victory, handing UMass another disappointing loss after an offseason full of promise.
“Obviously disappointed,” Harasymiak said postgame. “We lost the ball, we lost explosives and we lost penalties. So right off the bat you’re not gonna have a very good chance to win. I thought the guys’ effort was good, but just too many mistakes at the end of the day.
“I know what everyone’s gonna think, ‘Same old UMass,'” he continued. “I’m good. We’re gonna keep never giving up and we’re gonna see how we respond to adversity. Adversity is to reveal ourselves.”
The Owls cruised down the field to knot the game up at seven, with former Rutgers quarterback Evan Simon — who Harasymiak knows well from his time with the Scarlet Knights — tossing one of his five touchdown passes on the day. He found a wide open Peter Clarke for a 21-yard score.
Minutemen kicker Derek Morris booted through a 40-yard field goal on the next possession, an encouraging sign following years of special teams woes, giving UMass a 10-7 advantage. A Temple three-and-out put the offense right back on the field.
UMass continued to move the ball with starting quarterback Brandon Rose at the controls. From the UMass 47-yard line on a 2nd-and-9, Rose kept the ball on a read option, followed his blockers for a gain of 11 and picked up a first down. However he coughed up the ball just before touching the ground, and Temple pounced on the loose ball before taking it 16 yards the other way.
Three plays and 40 seconds later, the Owls were back in the end zone — this time a 24-yard pass from Simon to Kajiya Hollawayne. Temple took a 14-10 lead with 11 minutes, 48 seconds remaining in the second quarter courtesy of its first of three scores off UMass turnovers.
A turnover on downs on the goal line was the result of the next UMass drive, with Rose getting stopped at the Temple 1-yard line. Considering the Owls were backed up against the end zone, it wasn’t the worst outcome for the Minutemen. However on the very next play, Temple running back Jay Ducker burst through the line for a 55-yard gain — kickstarting a five play, 99-yard scoring drive capped by another Simon-to-Clarke connection.
“We were moving the ball well up to that point,” Harasymiak said when asked about the decision to go for it. “I thought we could put the hammer down there. I felt good. We got into goal line personnel, and they made a good play. I don’t second guess that. I was hoping to keep them down there. I thought we could pin them down there, have them punt into the wind, get some good field position on the flip around. Going for six was better than three.”
Simon added his fourth passing touchdown of the day on Temple’s next drive, a 13-yard pass to Terrez Worthy with under a minute to go in the second quarter. Temple took a 28-10 lead into the break thanks to 285 yards of total offense and 14 first downs (UMass had 219 and 12, respectively).
The offense wasn’t the issue in the first half for UMass, although the fumble and turnover on downs certainly didn’t help. But it was the defense that couldn’t stop anything, and that continued into the second half as Simon added two more TDs in the fourth — ballooning the Owls’ lead to 42-10 at the 6:26 mark.
“I think a lot of communication stuff got messed up,” Harasymiak said of his defense. “From the look of it, we didn’t play well defensively. We did not. They know that. I know that. But when you give up that many explosives, especially in the first half, I think we gave up seven total. So our margin was five, which I think the win percentage for them would be in the high 90s. It’s just never going to work out.”
Rose finished the day going 23-for-38 with 193 yards and an interception, which came in the end zone in the third quarter. Grant Jordan replaced Rose late in the fourth and posted six yards on 2-for-2 passing.
Jacquon Gibson had a career day for UMass, catching 12 passes for 132 yards. T.Y. Harding had four grabs for 30 yards before exiting the game due to injury. He was seen with his arm in a sling on the sideline throughout the second half. Griffin was the lone other bright spot offensively, rushing for 94 yards on 10 attempts with the touchdown.
UMass recorded only two tackles for loss on defense, and didn’t have a single quarterback hurry on Simon’s 25 drop backs. Simon ended with 248 yards and 6 TDs while completing 76 percent of his passes.
What started out as a day filled with potential ended with another UMass football letdown. But Gibson and the Minutemen are determined to not let one game define their season.
“I’m just trying to win,” Gibson, who has been at UMass for four years, said. “I’ve been here too long. I feel like I owe it to y’all. To the fans. I just want to win, put some smiles on people’s face. I’m tired of coming in the locker room and everybody down. We’re gonna get this right. Trust me.”
The Minutemen (0-1) return to action next weekend as they host Bryant at 3:30 p.m. UMass’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place beforehand at 11 a.m.