UMass Football: UMass sets sights on Wagner with bye week ahead

UMass quarterback Taisun Phommachanh (3) scrambles away from the Missouri defense during the first half of the Minutemen’s 45-3 loss to the Tigers at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

UMass quarterback Taisun Phommachanh (3) scrambles away from the Missouri defense during the first half of the Minutemen’s 45-3 loss to the Tigers at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon. PHOTOS BY CHRIS TUCCI/MASSACHUSETTS ATHLETICS

UMass linebacker Gerrell Johnson (22) makes a tackle on Missouri’s Marquis Johnson (2) during the second half of the Minutemen’s 45-3 loss to the Tigers at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

UMass linebacker Gerrell Johnson (22) makes a tackle on Missouri’s Marquis Johnson (2) during the second half of the Minutemen’s 45-3 loss to the Tigers at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon. PHOTOS BY CHRIS TUCCI/MASSACHUSETTS ATHLETICS

By GARRETT COTE

Staff Writer

Published: 10-14-2024 8:49 PM

AMHERST — It’s been a few days since the UMass football team played in its most prominent FBS home game to date, a contest in which Missouri roughed up the Minutemen en route to a 45-3 drubbing last Saturday.

The Minutemen and head coach Don Brown have a bye week this upcoming weekend before they look to turn around and deliver the same beating to FCS opponent Wagner in search of their second win of the season. But before then, here are some of the takeaways from UMass’ battle with the Tigers.

And believe it or not, they aren’t all bad.

The game-changing sequence before halftime

Was UMass ever going to win Saturday’s game? No. But did the Minutemen have a great opportunity to at least play important snaps in the second half?

Absolutely.

UMass had possession of the ball late in the second quarter trailing 21-3. On a 4th-and-1 from their own 39-yard line and one minute, 44 seconds remaining until halftime, Don Brown dialed up a trick play. John Burton took a direct snap that would normally go about 10 yards further to punter CJ Kolodziey, and handed the ball to Te’Rai Powell.

Powell busted through a gap in the line and gained 39 yards to set UMass up with a 1st-and-10 at Missouri’s 22. Minutemen fans erupted at the shocking playcall from Brown.

CJ Hester than ran it 13 yards for another first down on the ensuing play, and all of a sudden it was 1st-and-goal from the Tigers 9-yard line with 1:07 on the clock. Two plays later, quarterback Taisun Phommachanh saw receiver Sterling Galban, who had a step on his defender, running a slant over the middle. Phommachanh rifled the ball in Galban’s direction, but Missouri linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. stepped right in the wayju, mping the route and taking it 80 yards the other way before being dragged down inside UMass’ 25-yard line.

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Three or seven points for UMass on that drive and the score is 21-6 or 21-10 at the break. Either way, a touchdown on its opening drive of the second half would’ve made it a one-possession game. Instead, Missouri kicked a field goal and went up 24-3.

That sequence put a bow on any chance at a close game.

“We [gave the fake punt] right back to them, so that was disappointing for sure,” Brown said. “We gotta stop, you know, we just give too many plays away.”

Minutemen relatively healthy headed into bye

Following last year’s football game against SEC opponent Auburn, UMass came out of the contest banged up with several of its players suffering injuries, including starting quarterback Taisun Phommachanh.

Phommachanh ended up having to miss three key games in the middle of the year, all three in which the Minutemen lost, and the trajectory of their season completely changed. But after Saturday’s bout with Missouri, Brown said UMass came out of the game relatively healthy.

One of the biggest risks in playing Power 4 teams that have an extreme physical advantage is the likelihood of important pieces sustaining injuries. Such was the case against Auburn and Penn State in 2023, but UMass dodged that bullet through one of its three SEC games this fall.

And with one of their two off weeks (the other coming after the Mississippi State game) ahead this Saturday, the Minutemen should have some time to tend to the smaller injuries and see their overall health improve come their bout with Wagner on Oct. 26.

“I don't really know exactly all the little things because I was still calling the game from a defensive perspective,” Brown said postgame on Saturday. “But I feel good. Like with the [bye] week, I feel like we can get this thing back together pretty quickly.”

Atmosphere gave a sniff of what could be

UMass reported 16,102 of a possible 17,000 fans were at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. The fans were loud and proud regardless of what team they supported. Although there may not have been an abundance of plays to cheer for on the UMass side, every snap still felt important, even when the Minutemen were down three touchdowns or more.

For the first time in a long time, a meaningful football game was played in Amherst. Everyone that attended knew it wasn’t ever going to be close, yet they showed up and brought an energy that won’t likely be replicated for some time.

Perhaps the best takeaway from Saturday’s game for UMass fans was the thought of what could be. Missouri staffers were overheard in the elevators up to the press box mentioning how breathtaking the campus is, especially in the fall with the trees boasting shades of orange, red and yellow.

The potential for a unique and exciting gameday environment is certainly there, but yes, obviously aspects of McGuirk would need to change to actually give it that “football feel,” starting with the visitors’ locker rooms, which got absolutely torched on social media prior to kickoff.

UMass fans are longing for a competitive football team that in turn would host significant games annually, and Saturday provided a sniff of what feels like an out-of-reach possibility.

“You could feel that there were more people there,” Brown said after the game. “Yeah, I mean, I felt that.”