October, 2012:

Game Week: Depth Chart News

Injuries, inexperience and youth once again plague the UMass depth chart. While there hasn’t been too much shuffling this week, a number of new faces are starting to show up on the two-deep. – Colarusso Backing up Blanchflower: The backup tight end merry-go-round is taking another spin. Julian Colarusso, a 6’4, 225-pound redshirt senior, is listed as Rob Blanchflower‘s backup this weekend. In the past, freshman Derek Beck was first off the bench, but he banged up his knee against Bowling Green, and we haven’t seen him since. I haven’t heard any updates on Beck’s condition, but after sustaining the [...]

An Honest Assessment of the Situation

Oct 30th, 2012

by Bob McGovern.

28 comments

“[T]he University of Massachusetts is a very fine football team. They have some very, very fine players.“ – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder (9/5/09) College football has a way of making once-great programs humble and once-proud fan bases sparse. The cyclical nature of the thing adds rust to the glory days, much like aluminium benches left uncovered during a particularly harsh New England winter. The football team at the University of Massachusetts has hit bottom, and its descent has alienated fans and brought out the “I told you so” crowd. Its rise to FBS football has been more of a head-first [...]

Molnar Speaks at Weekly MAC Teleconference

Oct 29th, 2012

by Bob McGovern.

1 comment

UMass coach Charley Molnar spoke at this week’s MAC Coaches Teleconference and addressed some issues facing the team. Fielding questions posed by the Republican’s Harry Plumer, Molnar indicated that quarterback Mike Wegzyn is still his guy, suspended offensive lineman Nick Speller didn’t practice on Monday, and Hafis Williams is OK after getting a little dinged up against Vanderbilt. Molnar indicated that he had the team practicing at 8 am today in order to get some work in before Hurricane Sandy. The university cancelled all classes today. Listen to the entire teleconference here: (via MAC Football)

Game Week: What Vegas Says

Oct 29th, 2012

by Bob McGovern.

4 comments

After being completely outclassed by Vanderbilt, the UMass football team is the biggest underdog in FBS football this weekend against Northern Illinois. The Minutemen are 36- to 35-point dogs and deservedly so. The Huskies are 8-1 and one of the best teams in the MAC. Last weekend Northern Illinois dropped 48 points on a Western Michigan defense that completely baffled the Minutemen. While the Huskies’ defense has its issues, the Minutemen have been unable to get anything going against anyone over the course of the last month. Also, just to put things in perspective: Jordan Lynch, Northern Illinois’ starting quarterback, [...]