LINK
Day/Time: Sept. 26; 3:30 p.m. (ET)
2014 Record: 3-9
Projected Returning Starters – Offense: Nine
Projected Returning Starters – Defense: Nine
Head Coach: Mark Whipple (eighth-year, 52-35; 49-26 from 1998-03; 3-9 in 2014)
2014 Points Scored: 27.3 (No. 75)
2014 Points Allowed: 33 (No. 103)
2014 Review
The Minutemen went through an improved-but-still-frustrating 2014 campaign that included five losses by seven or fewer points. Starting quarterback and Marshall transfer Blake Frohnapfel missed the final two games due to injury, at which point UMass had won three of its last four games before dropping the final two.
But the return of head coach Mark Whipple, who last led UMass in 2003, and an impressive season by Frohnapfel gave the Mid-American conference program a foundation to build on in 2015.
“Mark Whipple showed up, changed the offense, changed the defense, kind of changed the culture around the team,” said Bob McGovern, who covers the Minutemen for the Maroon Musket. “They went down to the wire with Colorado and Vanderbilt, two teams that they shouldn’t even be in the same weight class as.”
Senior wide recevier Tajae Sharpe clicked with Frohnapfel, who found the team’s top target 85 times for 1,281 yards and seven touchdowns. The offense, which had the nation’s 11th-ranked passing offense, didn’t receive much assistance from the 112th-ranked running game.
UMass’s defense was its Achilles Heel, conceding nearly 450 yards of offense per game and allowing 33 points per game. Five of the team’s nine losses came when the offense scored 31 or more points.
Expected Strengths
Nine starters return on offense, but none is as important as Frohnapfel. The fifth-year senior led the MAC with 3,345 passing yards in 2014 and tossed 23 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. He has arm strength and a strong 6-foot-6, 238-pound frame.
“He is the heart and soul of the offense,” McGovern said. “He’s a superior talent. What helps him succeed is Tajae Sharpe, a wide receiver for UMass who is likely the best wide receiver in the history of the program, and that includes the likes of Victor Cruz and folks like that. Statistically, he will probably leave the school as the best wide receiver to ever come to Amherst, and he’s another kid who should be playing on Sundays when it’s all said and done. So you have a one-two punch with two NFL-caliber players in the Mid-American Conference, and that’s a lot of points. That’s where the firepower comes from.”
The offensive line returns all five starters, a group of upperclassmen that create a line with an average size of 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds.
“I think a lot of people are excited for the offensive line because they started so young,” McGovern said. “They were thrust into this as freshmen, and now you have a lot of sophomores and juniors on the team. (Tyrell Smith) is a guy I think scouts will be looking at as a potential guard or tackle at the next level. He was injured his freshman year but he has been a mainstay at left tackle. He’s one of the best offensive linemen in the conference and he’s only a redshirt sophomore.
“What they’ve done basically is, you’re never going to get the offensive linemen that the likes of Boston College or Syracuse are going to get, so they just went for size. If you look at UMass’s roster, you get a bunch of kids who are 6-5, 6-6, 6-7 and 330 pounds. You’re not going to get the quick-footed left tackle who can pull, so they basically tried to set up a giant stone wall and that is effectively what they’ve done.”
An experienced secondary gives the Minutemen hope that its 82nd-ranked pass defense will improve. But perhaps more importantly, rising junior Shane Huber returns at linebacker to give UMass a fourth linebacker with starting experience. Huber made 16 tackles in five starts as a freshman before a season-ending knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of his freshman year and 2014. Now he’s back in the middle of the defense.
“He came back during the spring game and everyone was pretty excited to how he performed there,” McGovern said. “He’s a solid linebacker. Everyone’s excited to see how he ends up. He’s got team captain written all over him in two years when he’s a senior.”
Possible Weaknesses
The Minutemen had a weak pass rush in 2014 that totaled just 15 sacks. Senior outside linebackers Kassan Messiah (3.0 sacks) and Trey Seals (2.5 sacks) return as the team’s sacks leaders from a year ago and need to generate more pressure on the quarterback to improve the No. 99 passing defense. UMass ranked No. 101 in total defense.
Much of the defensive line’s success hinges on the development of sophomore defensive tackle Sha-Ki Holines and junior defensive end Peter Angeh. The two return with a year of experience and are joined by first-year starter and 307-pound nose tackle Robert Kitching.
The running game also needs to improve if the offense expects to be two-dimensional. Leading rushers Shadrach Abrokwah and Lorenzo Woodley return, but they’ll need to shoulder more of a load for a team that averaged 109 rushing yards per game in 2014. True freshman Michael Caggiano will kick for the Minutemen after last year’s trio of kickers went 6-for-11 on field goal tries.
Key Players
Blake Frohnapfel; QB: The fifth-year senior completed 55 percent of his passes and threw for a conference-high 3,345 yards. Seven of Frohnapfel’s 20 touchdown passes found All-MAC first-team receiver Tajae Sharpe. UMass’s passing offense was ranked No. 11 nationally in 2014 and can’t afford a drop-off considering the state of its running game.
Tajae Sharpe; WR: The senior averaged 107 receiving yards per game in 2014 – nearly as many yards as the rushing game totaled per game. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, the Piscataway, N.J., native should lead the Minutemen in receiving for a third consecutive year.
Joe Colton; SS: The hard-hitting safety recorded four pass breakups and 98 tackles in 2014. The senior leads the backend of UMass’s defense and will play a vital role in limiting the number of big plays allowed.
Shane Huber; ILB: At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, opposing offenses can’t miss Huber in the middle of the defense. An impressive showing as a freshman has UMass fans excited to follow his return to the field after missing a year-and-a-half in a similar situation to what Notre Dame linebacker Jarrett Grace went through.
Notre Dame Matchup
UMass will need to be able to contain quarterback Malik Zaire if they manage to flush him out of the pocket, but finding a way through the largest Notre Dame offensive line Brian Kelly’s had in six years could be a challenge for the Minutemen’s undersized defensive line. UMass can’t afford to allow junior receiver Will Fuller to find his way behind the defense. Despite all of its struggles with holding on to the ball, Notre Dame (minus-three) had a better turnover margin than UMass (minus-six) in 2014. Frohnapfel and Sharpe can put up points, but UMass needs to create a rushing attack to if it wants to keep the Irish defense off-balanced.
“I don’t think Notre Dame fans should fear losing this game at home, but I do think UMass fans will be excited heading into that game because they will either be 1-1 or 2-0,” McGovern said. “I don’t think they’ll go into that game 0-2.”
Early Prediction
UMass comes to town a week after Georgia Tech visits and seven days prior to Notre Dame’s trip to Clemson. Don’t expect the Mid-American Conference team to create too much trouble on what should be a relatively comfortable afternoon for the Irish.
Day/Time: Sept. 26; 3:30 p.m. (ET)
2014 Record: 3-9
Projected Returning Starters – Offense: Nine
Projected Returning Starters – Defense: Nine
Head Coach: Mark Whipple (eighth-year, 52-35; 49-26 from 1998-03; 3-9 in 2014)
2014 Points Scored: 27.3 (No. 75)
2014 Points Allowed: 33 (No. 103)
2014 Review
The Minutemen went through an improved-but-still-frustrating 2014 campaign that included five losses by seven or fewer points. Starting quarterback and Marshall transfer Blake Frohnapfel missed the final two games due to injury, at which point UMass had won three of its last four games before dropping the final two.
But the return of head coach Mark Whipple, who last led UMass in 2003, and an impressive season by Frohnapfel gave the Mid-American conference program a foundation to build on in 2015.
“Mark Whipple showed up, changed the offense, changed the defense, kind of changed the culture around the team,” said Bob McGovern, who covers the Minutemen for the Maroon Musket. “They went down to the wire with Colorado and Vanderbilt, two teams that they shouldn’t even be in the same weight class as.”
Senior wide recevier Tajae Sharpe clicked with Frohnapfel, who found the team’s top target 85 times for 1,281 yards and seven touchdowns. The offense, which had the nation’s 11th-ranked passing offense, didn’t receive much assistance from the 112th-ranked running game.
UMass’s defense was its Achilles Heel, conceding nearly 450 yards of offense per game and allowing 33 points per game. Five of the team’s nine losses came when the offense scored 31 or more points.
Expected Strengths
Nine starters return on offense, but none is as important as Frohnapfel. The fifth-year senior led the MAC with 3,345 passing yards in 2014 and tossed 23 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. He has arm strength and a strong 6-foot-6, 238-pound frame.
“He is the heart and soul of the offense,” McGovern said. “He’s a superior talent. What helps him succeed is Tajae Sharpe, a wide receiver for UMass who is likely the best wide receiver in the history of the program, and that includes the likes of Victor Cruz and folks like that. Statistically, he will probably leave the school as the best wide receiver to ever come to Amherst, and he’s another kid who should be playing on Sundays when it’s all said and done. So you have a one-two punch with two NFL-caliber players in the Mid-American Conference, and that’s a lot of points. That’s where the firepower comes from.”
The offensive line returns all five starters, a group of upperclassmen that create a line with an average size of 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds.
“I think a lot of people are excited for the offensive line because they started so young,” McGovern said. “They were thrust into this as freshmen, and now you have a lot of sophomores and juniors on the team. (Tyrell Smith) is a guy I think scouts will be looking at as a potential guard or tackle at the next level. He was injured his freshman year but he has been a mainstay at left tackle. He’s one of the best offensive linemen in the conference and he’s only a redshirt sophomore.
“What they’ve done basically is, you’re never going to get the offensive linemen that the likes of Boston College or Syracuse are going to get, so they just went for size. If you look at UMass’s roster, you get a bunch of kids who are 6-5, 6-6, 6-7 and 330 pounds. You’re not going to get the quick-footed left tackle who can pull, so they basically tried to set up a giant stone wall and that is effectively what they’ve done.”
An experienced secondary gives the Minutemen hope that its 82nd-ranked pass defense will improve. But perhaps more importantly, rising junior Shane Huber returns at linebacker to give UMass a fourth linebacker with starting experience. Huber made 16 tackles in five starts as a freshman before a season-ending knee injury sidelined him for the remainder of his freshman year and 2014. Now he’s back in the middle of the defense.
“He came back during the spring game and everyone was pretty excited to how he performed there,” McGovern said. “He’s a solid linebacker. Everyone’s excited to see how he ends up. He’s got team captain written all over him in two years when he’s a senior.”
Possible Weaknesses
The Minutemen had a weak pass rush in 2014 that totaled just 15 sacks. Senior outside linebackers Kassan Messiah (3.0 sacks) and Trey Seals (2.5 sacks) return as the team’s sacks leaders from a year ago and need to generate more pressure on the quarterback to improve the No. 99 passing defense. UMass ranked No. 101 in total defense.
Much of the defensive line’s success hinges on the development of sophomore defensive tackle Sha-Ki Holines and junior defensive end Peter Angeh. The two return with a year of experience and are joined by first-year starter and 307-pound nose tackle Robert Kitching.
The running game also needs to improve if the offense expects to be two-dimensional. Leading rushers Shadrach Abrokwah and Lorenzo Woodley return, but they’ll need to shoulder more of a load for a team that averaged 109 rushing yards per game in 2014. True freshman Michael Caggiano will kick for the Minutemen after last year’s trio of kickers went 6-for-11 on field goal tries.
Key Players
Blake Frohnapfel; QB: The fifth-year senior completed 55 percent of his passes and threw for a conference-high 3,345 yards. Seven of Frohnapfel’s 20 touchdown passes found All-MAC first-team receiver Tajae Sharpe. UMass’s passing offense was ranked No. 11 nationally in 2014 and can’t afford a drop-off considering the state of its running game.
Tajae Sharpe; WR: The senior averaged 107 receiving yards per game in 2014 – nearly as many yards as the rushing game totaled per game. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, the Piscataway, N.J., native should lead the Minutemen in receiving for a third consecutive year.
Joe Colton; SS: The hard-hitting safety recorded four pass breakups and 98 tackles in 2014. The senior leads the backend of UMass’s defense and will play a vital role in limiting the number of big plays allowed.
Shane Huber; ILB: At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, opposing offenses can’t miss Huber in the middle of the defense. An impressive showing as a freshman has UMass fans excited to follow his return to the field after missing a year-and-a-half in a similar situation to what Notre Dame linebacker Jarrett Grace went through.
Notre Dame Matchup
UMass will need to be able to contain quarterback Malik Zaire if they manage to flush him out of the pocket, but finding a way through the largest Notre Dame offensive line Brian Kelly’s had in six years could be a challenge for the Minutemen’s undersized defensive line. UMass can’t afford to allow junior receiver Will Fuller to find his way behind the defense. Despite all of its struggles with holding on to the ball, Notre Dame (minus-three) had a better turnover margin than UMass (minus-six) in 2014. Frohnapfel and Sharpe can put up points, but UMass needs to create a rushing attack to if it wants to keep the Irish defense off-balanced.
“I don’t think Notre Dame fans should fear losing this game at home, but I do think UMass fans will be excited heading into that game because they will either be 1-1 or 2-0,” McGovern said. “I don’t think they’ll go into that game 0-2.”
Early Prediction
UMass comes to town a week after Georgia Tech visits and seven days prior to Notre Dame’s trip to Clemson. Don’t expect the Mid-American Conference team to create too much trouble on what should be a relatively comfortable afternoon for the Irish.
