The Minutemen will once again look to get in the win column for the first time this season when they host the Akron Zips of the Mid-American Conference at McGuirk Stadium. UMass played tough in the first half last week at home against Coastal Carolina but the defense fell apart in the second half as the Chanticleers rolled 62-28. The Minutemen will hope for a better performance today from their…
The Minutemen return home to host Coastal Carolina. It was ugly last week for UMass in a 52-17 loss to Charlotte. Defense continues to be an issue as the Minutemen try to find the right pieces to put on the field. It is not easy. The roster is limited from a talent standpoint, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, the Minutemen need to find a way to…
The Minutemen beat Charlotte in Amherst last season 49-31. UMass will look to bounce back from a bad loss to Southern Illinois last week. It has been a tough start to the season for the Minutemen, particularly the defense. UMass needs to turn things around and quickly otherwise a bad start could snowball into a bad season. Here are three keys to the game. 1. Quarterback carousel: Both redshirt senior…
The Minutemen return home for the first game of the season at McGuirk Stadium against the Southern Illinois Salukis. After taking a 21-7 lead at Rutgers last week, UMass’ defense collapsed and the Minutemen ended up losing 48-21. The Minutemen should bounce back this week however. Here are three keys to today’s game. 1. Improvement on defense: The Minutemen are young on defense so games like this are a good…
Randall West gets the first crack to lead the UMass offense. Kick-off: The Walt Bell era kicks off in Piscataway, New Jersey tonight when the Minutemen face off against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It will be our first look at many of the new faces starting for the Minutemen. Here are three keys to tonight’s game. 1. Stop the Run: The Minutemen were awful against the run last season. Rutgers…
Kick-off: UMass hired 35 year old Walt Bell to reinvigorate a program that was struggling. Bell hired a young, motivated staff that can teach his philosophy but also relate to the players. Bell and his staff have a lot of work to do. The Minutemen are young. It will be a challenge but Bell and his staff will try to lay the foundation for future success this season. Offense: Bell…
New UMass coach Walt Bell was hired to reinvigorate a program that was stuck in neutral under former coach Mark Whipple. One of the ways Bell plans to turn the program around is by installing a fast paced, up tempo, spread offense. Bell was the offensive coordinator under Willie Taggert at Florida State last season where the Seminoles ran the “Gulf Coast” spread offense. Like most spread offenses, the Seminoles…
UMass will kick off its first spring practice under new coach Walt Bell this afternoon at 4 pm at McGurik Stadium. There is great anticipation for the upcoming season. Bell has hired a new staff and is installing an uptempo offense and an aggressive defensive scheme. Bell is also inheriting a young team that lost a lot of talented seniors most notably. wide receiver Andy Isabella, running back Marquis Young…
UMass receiver Andy Isabella is turning heads this week at Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama. He has displayed many of the same skills that allowed him to rack up 3,519 yards and 30 touchdowns in three seasons as a starting receiver in Amherst. Isabella also gained national attention earlier in the week by claiming that he ran a 4.26 hand timed 40-yard dash. Isabella said he hopes to run between a…
When UMass announced the hiring of new head football coach Walt Bell on December 3rd, the move was met with some hesitation. At 34, Bell is the youngest head coach at the FBS level. Despite his age, the Middle Tennessee State grad has an impressive resume. Mostly recently he served as offensive coordinator at Florida State under Willie Taggert. Prior to that, Bell was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State…