Smoked: Vandy Game Notes

(Vanderbilt completely outclassed UMass in Nashville/vucommodores.com)

Well, that was ugly.

A week after a pitiful offensive performance against Bowling Green, the Minutemen showed minimal signs of life against a speedy and aggressive Vanderbilt team. Despite playing undisciplined football for much of the first half, the Commodores were able to stall UMass in the red zone, capitalize on rookie mistakes and generally outclass a dazed group of Minutemen.

At the end of the day, Vandy beat the Maroon and White 49-7.

Below are the game note from what could be UMass’ worst performance of the year:

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Offensive Frustration: For the third-straight game, UMass couldn’t get anything going on offense. The biggest problem is that it’s hard to point a finger at any one player, which means that the offense, in general, just looks lost. Mike Wegzyn looked better than he did against Bowling Green, but he still threw two interceptions and missed a number of open receivers. A.J. Doyle wasn’t that much better, but he did throw his first career touchdown – albiet in garbage time. The offensive line looked relatively consistent and gave the quarterbacks time, but it still had a difficult time opening holes for Mike Cox on delays. Generally, the offense moved the ball a little, but froze in the red zone and struggled to find consistency. It scares me that this team hasn’t figured out a decent portion of Molnar’s playbook yet. In Harry Plumer’s article, Molnar said, “If I could just tell you how scaled back the offense was, and has been, nothing has advanced much beyond spring practice. It’s just bread and butter, nuts and bolts type stuff right now.”

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Let Him Run: Once again, Mike Cox had less than 20 attempts, and once again the UMass running game looked terrible. I fully understand that the spread offense lends itself to draw plays, delayed tosses and off-tackle runs, but at some point this coaching staff needs to show a little faith in the power game. On the few plays that Cox was allowed to run up the middle, he was able to muscle out yards behind adequate blocks from UMass’ young guards. The Minutemen don’t use a fullback and have completely strayed from any Power I formation that used to exist in the pro style. That’s not a problem – it’s part of the transition to the no-huddle, spread attack. What troubles me is that UMass used a one-back, up-the-middle attack at times during its two best performances this year, but have completely gone away from it ever since the Ohio game. The Minutemen need to give Cox at least 20-25 carries a game to try and set the tone of offense. Until it does, opposing defenses will key in on the pass and limit the one dimension that UMass tries to exhibit. (NOTE: Doyle fumbled a run-to-fake-pass. You know how I feel about that).

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No Room for Error on Returns: During UMass’ crushing defeat to Michigan, Brian Dowling fumbled a punt and was immediately replaced with Trey Dudley-Giles. Dowling hasn’t returned another punt since. Against Vanderbilt, Jordan Broadnax fumbled a kick return, and next thing you know Marken Michel  and Dudley-Giles returned kicks for the rest of the game. While I agree with most of  coach Charley Molnar‘s personnel decisions, I feel as though he and special teams coordinator Roderick Plummer are quick on the draw. Broadnax has been incredibly steady as a returner and looks comfortable in that role. Further, Dowling was one of the most electric returners in the state of New Jersey when he signed with UMass, and I think he has more to offer. I understand taking upperclassmen out to give the young guys experience, but Dowling and Broadnax are both sophomores, and can and should be major contributors for another two years.

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Make Your Marken: Michel looked like he was back to 100 percent against the Commodores. The sophomore Florida native had 124 total yards of offense – 56 receiving and 68 on kick returns. While I think Broadnax should continue as this team’s main returner, Michel looked solid and exhibited speed that I didn’t know he possessed. If Dowling is done as punt returner, I wouldn’t mind seeing Michel return a few in lieu of Dudley-Giles. At this point something has to change – the Minutemen consistently get zero or negative yards on their returns.

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The White Flag: After Vanderbilt started to pull away, it seemed as though some of the Minutemen gave up. Nowhere was this more clear than on  Brian Kimbrow‘s 74-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Obviously the defensive line didn’t get a good push, but I saw several players in the second and third level give up on the play by not shedding blocks or attempting to catch Kimbrow in the open field.  It was the longest run given up by the Minutemen since 2006. Another example was Jonathan Krause‘s punt return for a touchdown. Colter Johnson‘s punt was way too low, but the gunners overran the ball and no one effectively contained the middle of the field. It looked like the punt unit was either out of gas or done with the game. The punt return was the first special teams score allowed by UMass this season. It was the first punt return touchdown for a Vanderbilt player since Jimmy Williams versus Northern Illinois in 1999.

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Bright Future for Defense: The week-to-week performance of true freshman linebacker Kassan Messiah is well documented, but now other freshmen are starting to step up. Khary Bailey-Smith, a true freshman from Weymouth, recovered two fumbles (one of which he forced), had three tackles and broke up a pass. One of the fumbles was caused by true freshman safety Joey Colton who has been incredibly impressive at safety this season. Jovan Santos-Knox, a true freshman linebacker, had three tackles and a quarterback hurry and may see a lot more time next year when Perry McIntyre graduates. In total, six freshmen had tackles for the Minutemen.

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Like a Boss: I’ve been hard on McIntyre this year. I felt that he deserved some criticism for playing soft during the first few games of the season. However, during the past four games, he has done everything in his power to be the defensive leader UMass has been looking for. Against Vanderbilt, McIntyre had yet another solid performance with seven tackles – six of which were solo. While the entire team had a tough time in coverage, McIntyre did a nice job in the flats and generally did well against the run. In a game without much silver lining, McIntyre looked pretty good. It’s too bad he’s graduating.

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Here’s to you Mr. Robinson: John Robinson, a true freshman out of Worcester Academy, saw some decent playing time and did a nice job. Robinson had four tackles for the Minutemen, upping his season total to nine. Back when Robinson signed with UMass he said it was a “dream come true.” He is yet another freshman seeing early action for the Maroon and White.

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Tipping Pitches: It sounds like Wegzyn isn’t doing a good job disguising his passes. Trey Wilson, who intercepted a Wegzyn pass for a touchdown, said he knew a pass was coming his way. From Vanderbilt’s writeup: ”He looked right at me when he threw it and I was like, ‘Oh, let’s go,’ ” Wilson said. “Our defensive line did a great job of getting pressure and I’m blessed to play with some of the best teammates in the world and they do a great job of putting me in position to make plays.”