Tag: Minutemen

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) leaves the field after winning a NCAA college football game against Tennessee in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

Carson Beck, No. 10 Georgia dial in on UMass

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Following a season-reviving home win over then-No. 7 Tennessee, No. 10 Georgia is mindful of avoiding a misstep against UMass on Saturday afternoon in Athens, Ga.

Georgia (8-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) climbed two spots in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings after its 31-17 win over the Volunteers last Saturday. On the heels of a 28-10 loss at Ole Miss on Nov. 9, the Bulldogs outscored Tennessee 31-7 over the final three quarters.

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck delivered a much-needed 347-yard, two-touchdown performance in the win.

Beck, who had thrown nine interceptions in his previous four games, was turnover-free Saturday for the first time since Oct. 5.

“This team’s been in some tough situations this year,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “And they’ve never cowered down from those opportunities. They’ve shown resiliency, and they’ve battled back.”

After wrapping up its conference slate, the Bulldogs still need help in qualifying for the SEC Championship Game. Entering Saturday, Georgia sits behind a pair of one-conference loss teams in No. 3 Texas and No. 15 Texas A&M. The Bulldogs are tied with No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Ole Miss in the loss column but would lose the tiebreaker to each of those teams.

Smart dismissed the idea of worrying about hypotheticals ahead of Saturday’s matchup.

“The focus is on UMass,” Smart said. “I mean, it really is. So, why would I put energy or time into trying to figure out what the best pathway is, including the SEC Championship, when I’m worried about UMass? I just don’t think it’s a quality conversation.”

Georgia and Smart hope to see the injury bug go away. Leading rusher Trevor Etienne (477 rushing yards, seven touchdowns) was sidelined against Tennessee with a rib injury, while wide receiver Dillon Bell (405 receiving yards, four touchdowns) left last week’s game with an ankle injury.

“No update on Dillon really,” Smart said. “He’s got an ankle sprain. It’s stable. It’s not going to require any kind of surgery or anything. So, we’re hopeful to get him back, and same with Trevor.”

UMass (2-8) nearly pulled off its first FBS win of the season last Saturday, however a missed an extra point in overtime proved large in its 35-34 home loss to Liberty. Two days later, the school fired head coach Don Brown after compiling a 6-28 record in two-plus years in his second stint with the program.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Shane Montgomery will take over as interim coach for the Minutemen’s last two games of the season.

“We’ve got two games left, two big games,” Montgomery said. “We still have a lot to play for. … There’s two ways you can go from here. You can either feel sorry for yourself and not improve daily, or you can keep improving. If you’ve watched us the last number of weeks, I think you see a team that seems to be improving. We’re excited about going down to Georgia.”

UMass, which has played Georgia once before — a 66-27 loss in the season finale in 2018 — already has faced off against a pair of SEC teams this season. The Minutemen fell to Missouri 45-3 on Oct. 12, and 45-20 to Mississippi State on Nov. 2.

In place of Taisun Phommachanh, who’s out for the season with lower body injuries, the Minutemen will start freshman AJ Hairston. Hairston thrown for 225 yards and a touchdown in two games.

–Field Level Media

Oct 12, 2024; Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; Missouri Tigers linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. (11) intercepts a pass during the first half against the Massachusetts Minutemen at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images

No. 21 Missouri cruises past Massachusetts

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Quarterback Brady Cook completed 14 of 19 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns as No. 21 Missouri routed Massachusetts 45-3 on Saturday in Amherst, Mass.

After suffering a 41-10 loss at Texas A&M in their previous game, the Tigers (5-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) muscled up against the independent Minutemen (1-6) in their final nonconference game.

With Missouri’s leading rusher Nate Noel sitting out with back tightness, Marcus Carroll stepped in to run for 91 yards and three touchdowns.

Receiver Luther Burden III rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on two carries and caught five passes for 59 yards for the Tigers before exiting the game in the third quarter with an apparent shoulder injury.

Missouri outgained Massachusetts 461-237 and built a 231-95 advantage in rushing yards and 22-13 in first downs.

Minutemen quarterback Taisun Phommachanh completed 12 of 22 passes for 132 yards and an interception. Jakobie Keeney-James caught six passes for 80 yards.

On the second play from scrimmage, Burden broke a 61-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep play as Missouri took a 7-0 lead 57 seconds into the game.

Missouri moved 80 yards on 13 plays on their next possession to double their lead to 14-0. Carroll capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run.

The Tigers made it 21-0 less than 4 minutes into the second quarter. They moved 80 yards on nine plays with Carroll scoring from 4 yards out.

Jacob Lurie put the Minutemen on the board with a 28-yard field goal with 6 minutes left in the first half.

Missouri increased its lead to 24-3 at the half after Corey Flagg Jr.’s 80-yard interception return set up Blake Craig’s 42-yard field goal as time expired.

The Tigers made it 31-3 on Carroll’s 35-yard touchdown run with 10:09 left in the third quarter. Joshua Manning’s 63-yard scoring catch-and-run play upped the margin to 38-3.

Missouri made it 45-3 on Cook’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Brett Norfleet with 1:24 left in the third quarter.

–Field Level Media

Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze speaks at the 2023 SEC Football Kickoff Media Days at the Nashville Grand Hyatt on Broadway, Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

Hugh Freeze era begins as Auburn hosts UMass

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Hugh Freeze era will begin Saturday afternoon when Auburn hosts UMass in its season opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Freeze enters his first season on the Plains after successful head coaching stints at Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty. One of the first orders of business for Freeze this offseason was to rebuild the Tigers through the transfer portal.

Michigan State graduate transfer Payton Thorne is one of several newcomers expected to make a major impact on an Auburn roster that was completely overhauled.

Thorne, a two-time team captain for the Spartans, beat out Robby Ashford for the starting quarterback job and is poised to make an immediate impact on a team that finished 5-7 overall (2-6 SEC) a year ago. In 26 starts for MSU, Thorne passed for 6,494 yards and 49 touchdowns. Ashford is still expected to have a role in the offense, but he’s questionable for Saturday’s game due to an oblique strain.

Freeze has been impressed with Thorne’s physical attributes as well as his attention to detail within the offense.

“He wants to have the mental part of the game totally down,” Freeze said.

If Auburn wants to improve on last year’s record it will need to improve in the trenches. Freeze and his staff made the offensive and defensive lines a priority in the offseason, but he has yet to see how those players respond on gameday.

The Tigers have been running the ball effectively in fall camp and Jarquez Hunter (688 yards and seven TDs a year ago) leads a talented, deep and versatile group of runners. But until Freeze sees the running game in action, he’ll wait to assess what he has there.

“I don’t know, I honestly don’t,” said Freeze when asked about the ground attack. “We’ll find out more Saturday. Are we effective running the ball against other opponents? Or has our defense made us look good?”

UMass (1-0) opened its season with a 41-30 win at New Mexico State under second-year head coach Don Brown.

Taisun Phommachanh, an athletic dual threat, passed for 192 yards and ran for a team-high 96 yards and a score in the win over the Aggies. Phommachanh previously played at Georgia Tech and Clemson before transferring to UMass.

Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams and Anthony Simpson were also key players in the Minutemen’s offensive attack. Lynch-Adams had 15 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns, while Simpson added a team-high three reception for 65 yards and a 10-yard scoring run.

UMass allowed 470 total yards against New Mexico State, but it forced three turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble recovery) and recorded three sacks.

Isaiah Rutherford (55-yard pick-six) and Tyler Rudolph (team-high eight tackles and a sack) are veteran defenders who stood out in the win over the Aggies.

Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting between Auburn and UMass.

–Field Level Media

Oct 27, 2018; East Hartford, CT, USA; Massachusetts Minutemen running back Marquis Young (8) runs the ball against the Connecticut Huskies in the second half at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. UMass defeated UConn 22-17. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

UMass opts back in to fall football season

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Massachusetts will play a limited fall football season, six weeks after canceling it amid coronavirus concerns, the school announced Monday.

In a news release, the school said the decision was made after reviewing the program’s COVID-19 safety protocols and “rigorous testing regimen” in place since players returned to campus in June.

The Big Ten announced its plan last week to play a fall season after announcing in August that the season would be delayed until spring. Leaders of the Pac-12 and Mid-American conferences also are mulling such a move.

UMass is seeking to begin its season in mid-October and is working to develop a “competitive multi-contest schedule.” Any home games will be played without fans at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff has always been our first priority,” athletic director Ryan Bamford said. “Since returning to campus in June, the members of our football program have been vigilant in following the policies and safety protocols instituted by the state, our university and athletics department, helping us reach a high level of confidence that we can safely conduct a truncated season this fall. Further, our recent work to generate a schedule in the spring semester, similar to our other fall sports, indicated that fall 2020 provided the best opportunity for our football student-athletes to take the field this academic year.”

The school said that it had conducted more than 1,800 COVID-19 tests within the football program, with two positive results, and will continue to test players, coaches and support staff “multiple” times each week.

“Everyone associated with our program is excited to play football this fall,” Minutemen coach Walt Bell said. “We have successfully created one of the safest environments in college football since June and our young men deserve the opportunity to compete in 2020.”

UMass, an independent, was 1-11 in Bell’s first season in 2019.

–Field Level Media