Good morning!
The University of Massachusetts football season begins this evening at 5:30 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst where the Minutemen kick off against the Duquesne Dukes.
Jeff Sagarin’s preseason rankings in USA Today combine Division I & I-AA into one grouping. The Minutemen are ranked 139th with the likes of Old Dominion and Stony Brook, and Duquesne is ranked 197th of 255 teams.
The Minutemen are coming off a 4-8 season, but could easily have beaten Hawaii, Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion and Temple. After a 1-6 start, they beat Appalachian State in overtime to key a 3-2 finish.
This year, they’ll continue to right the ship. Indeed, even the program’s detractors say they deserve a break after being knocked around by the titans of the FBS to the tune of 14-58 their first six seasons.
Most preseason ranking sites, including cbssports.com and athlonsports.com, rank three opponents in the bottom ten: Liberty, Charlotte and Coastal Carolina. The Minutemen aren’t much better — 116th and 107th respectively — but this is their year to have a breakout season.
UMass coach Mark Whipple’s passing schemes have confounded college opponents since Greenfield’s Ken Suhl played for him at New Haven. During both his coaching stints at UMass, his modus operandi has been to find talented FBS quarterbacks that are unhappy at other schools.
He pulled Jeff Krohn out of Arizona State and found Blake Frohnapfel warming the bench at Marshall. Now he has Andrew Ford, a Virginia Tech castoff who proved himself at Lackawanna Community College.
Ford has quarterbacked the offense with aplomb, and his primary running back Marquis Young and receiver Andy Isabella would both be All-Conference contenders if the Minutemen played in a conference.
But wait, there’s more. Whipple has 4,000 yards of offense returning from last season — all but two of the 17 players who touched the ball are back for another run at a winning season. If Ford is sidelined, workmanlike backup Ross Comis will step into the huddle. Now in his third season, Comis is a proven commodity, a leader who can throw, scramble and inspire the troops.
Depth is already a problem on the offensive line. In the spring, right tackle Jack Driscoll transferred to Auburn after he couldn’t get into UMass business school. It was like losing a player to major injury, and forced untested redshirt sophomore Larnel Coleman into the starter’s slot.
His backup is redshirt senior Dan DiNicola, after freshman Parker Ogle was hurt in practice. Ogle had been recruited to play center, but was being used at both positions until his injury. His father played at Clemson and his brother Braeden is a pitcher in the Pirates’ farm system.
The talent and easy schedule give UMass the opportunity to mirror the Central Florida team that went 13-0 last season and beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
Here’s a look at how it will play out:
Today vs. Duquesne: The Dukes play in the FCS (I-AA) and finished 7-4 after losing their last three games to Liberty, Central Connecticut and Bryant. UMass defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham and D-line coach Dave Wissman will have to contain sophomore running back A.J. Hines, who was named the Jerry Rice Award winner as the best freshman in I-AA after he averaged 5.3 yards and scored 13 touchdowns last season. UMass won’t be showing any new looks with BC next week, but Whipple’s vanilla offense will give Duquesne the taste of defeat. UMass 50, Duquesne 13.
Sept. 1 at Boston College (Chestnut Hill): The Eagles are 9-0 versus UMass since 1978. This year’s roster returns seven All-ACC players including Heisman hopeful AJ Dillon who rushed for 1,256 yards and 12 touchdowns in the last seven games. BC’s previous two season openers were both decided by three points, a win against Northern Illinois and loss to Georgia Tech. Boston College 41, UMass 20.
Sept. 8 at Ga. Southern (Statesboro, Ga.): The Eagles went deep into last season without winning a game— only UTEP went longer before lighting the victory cigar. Their 2-10 record included a 55-10 setback in Amherst, and the same can be expected again this year. UMass 67, Ga. Southern 19.
Sept. 15 at Florida International (Miami, Fla.): Quarterback Alex McGough helped the Panthers rack up 63 points against UMass last year. He’s gone — drafted in the seventh round by Seattle — and coach Butch Davis will likely use James Morgan under center. Morgan’s a graduate transfer from Bowling Green who’s bigger and stronger than redshirt freshman Christian Alexander. UMass wins if it doesn’t wilt in the Florida humidity. UMass 38, FIU 26.
Sept. 22 vs. Charlotte (Amherst): The 49ers joined the FBS in 2015 and were 1-11 in 2017. UMass has been there, done that, twice. Send in the subs and rest the starters. UMass 56, Charlotte 0.
Sept. 29 at Ohio University (Athens, Ohio): Maybe it’s from having to live in Ohio State’s shadow, but the Bobcats were big, mean and ornery in Amherst last season. Sophomore quarterback Nathan Rourke passed for 181 yards and two TDs, ran for 113 yards and two more scores, and the game wasn’t as close as the 58-50 score indicated. Ohio 43, UMass 31.
Oct. 6 vs. University of South Florida (Amherst): Coach Charlie Strong was 10-2 his first year in Tampa after his disastrous stint at Texas (16-21), but that was with quarterback Quinton Flowers, who’s with the Bengals. The Bulls’ three best defensive linemen are gone, but it remains a junior- and senior-laden team on both sides of the ball. USF wouldn’t be the first team to look past UMass in Amherst. App State did it and lost in overtime, and so might the Bulls. UMass 47, USF 46.
Oct. 13 BYE
Oct. 20 vs. Coastal Carolina (Amherst): UMass will be looking to make amends after its atrocious 38-28 loss last season to the Chanticleers, an FBS newbie that finished 2-10. UMass 72, Coastal Carolina 15.
Oct. 27 at UConn (East Hartford, Conn.): On Nov. 20, 1999, in Amherst, UConn lost to UMass 62-20. The following season they moved to the FBS and eventually played in the Fiesta Bowl. It’s been downhill ever since for the Huskies, who’s last winning season was 2010. The two coaches from 1999 — Whipple and Randy Edsall — will meet again. The Minutemen will take no prisoners. UMass 58, UConn 31.
Nov. 3 vs. Liberty (Amherst): Every school that moves to the FBS wants to win, and some have a better chance than others. Liberty has a $1.29-billion endowment and founder Jerry Falwell’s goal is to make his school the next Notre Dame. The Flames’ six wins last year included a 27-24 squeaker against Duquesne. Liberty will be rent asunder. UMass 47, Liberty 6.
Nov. 10 vs. BYU (at Foxboro): If the athletic department does only one thing right this season, it will be moving Band Day to Gillette Stadium. Now every high school kid in the state has a place to put his or her tuba and trombone. On the field, UMass reprises last season’s 10-6 win in Provo. UMass 31, BYU 20.
Nov. 17 at Georgia (Athens, Ga.): The season finale is against last year’s national semi-finalist. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Georgia 51, UMass 15.
(Regular Season Record: 9-3)
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached by email at sports@recorder.com.