(Trophy image from @MidnightRideNIL)

By Ryan Barry
NEFJ Staff

Kickoff: The regular season in New England comes to an end with longtime rivals UMass and UConn squaring off at for the 78th time at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon, although the rivalry is technically 127 years old. This will be the first time the Southwick Jug will be up for grabs too, in a trophy created by The Midnight Ride NIL collective. The design is an ode to the old Yankee Conference days. With the Huskies bowl-bound and looking for their first eight win season since 2010, the Minutemen hope to play spoiler and end at least end up with the jug to finish an otherwise disastorous season on a high note.

1st Down: One thing that both teams have in common lies in their quarterback room. The Minutemen lost redshirt senior Taisun Phommachanh for the season a few weeks ago, and since then they’ve used true freshman AJ Hairston and redshirt freshman Ahmad Haston in a dual-threat role. Through Hairston’s strong arm, the Minutemen have moved the ball decently well through the air, utilizing Haston’s speed and keen running skills to complement the rushing attack. Interim head coach Shane Montgomery has indicated this will continue once again this week, so it’ll be interesting to see how Huskies’ head coach Jim Mora Jr. will game plan for them on defense. For UConn, transfer quarterback Nick Evers hasn’t caught on like fans had hoped. While he’s certainly battled injuries at times this season, the high price paid for the former Oklahoma Sooner and Wisconsin Badger hasn’t translated as well. Redshirt senior Joe Fagnano has often given the Huskies their best chance to win, and while Mora hasn’t named a starter for Saturday, considering he played well against Syracuse last week he should remain under center.

2nd Down: The Huskies have one of the most talented wide receivers in New England in redshirt junior Skyler Bell. The former Wisconsin Badger went for ten catches for 113-yards last week against Syracuse, and has three other 100+ yard games to boost this season. Graduate student TJ Sheffield has also been a solid presence for the Huskies, as has redshirt junior Jasaiah Gathings. With junior tight end Louis Hansen to boot as well, UConn will give this talented secondary a difficult match-up. For the Minutemen, unless you’re an avid fan who tunes into every game, you may not know about graduate receiver Jakobie Kenney-James who is quietly having one of the best seasons in the region. His three catches for 101-yards and a touchdown against Georgia largely came on an impressive contested catch in traffic he hauled in for a long score. Sophomore receiver TY Harding has had a decent second half of the year, but outside of these two it’s been a largely frustrating campaign for UMass pass catchers. The 77th ranked UConn secondary for passing yards allowed gave up an eye popping 470-yards to Syracuse’s Kyle McCord last week. While this shouldn’t be matched this week by Hairston, it should give UMass some confidence in the passing game.

3rd Down: The Huskies as a whole also have the nod for the better running back room between the two teams. Sitting at 27th in the nation in rushing offense, a deep backfield of redshirt freshman Durell Robinson, redshirt sophomore Cam Edwards, and true freshman Mel Brown, present a three headed monster for the 111th ranked UMass run defense. Far too many times this season the Minutemen have surrendered big games to lesser known backs, and with multiple options coming their way on Saturday it could be a long afternoon. Despite early season struggles in their own run game, the Minutemen have turned things around in recent weeks. Redshirt junior Jalen John and sophomore CJ Hester have leveled up against formidable opponents. With the Huskies sitting at 44th in the nation in rushing defense, it’ll be a bit of a challenge this week to see if they can keep the good times rolling.

4th Down: Special teams may not always get the attention it deserves, but for both of these teams they’ve been on full display this season. Each team has struggled in their kickoff return defense with the Huskies ranked 112th nationally and the Minutemen 132nd, which is second last. For punt return defense, both teams find themselves right after one another in the back half nationally, with the Minutemen 85th and Huskies at 86th. While they each fall to the median in punt returns, UConn excels in kickoff returns with a 7th ranking nationally, while UMass is all the way back at 96th. It’s been a problem all season for UMass with kick return coverage, and they can absolutely not afford to surrender good field position to this talented UConn offense. As far as kicking itself, the Huskies have the nod with graduate kicker Chris Freeman who has yet to miss an extra point, along with going 16-for-21 from the field. Graduate kicker Jacob Lurie has only missed one notorious extra point in their overtime loss to Liberty, but has otherwise been underwhelming with a 13-for-21 mark.

Extra Point: This will be the 77th all-time meeting between UMass and UConn. The Minutemen hold a slight 38-37-2 edge over the Huskies, but the nutmeg staters have won four of their last six games. Should UConn come away with a win on Saturday it’ll be their third straight win over UMass, which they last did between the 1997 and 1999 seasons. As of right now, the series is set to continue through at least 2027. With the Minutemen set to join the MAC next season it remains to be seen whether or not these games will have to be moved to accommodate a conference schedule, as well as if they’ll be able to add more fixtures beyond their already agreed upon dates. With the fever for this game having grown into a regular staple since 2019, it’d be a real shame to see these two unable to figure out a future against one another.

Final Drive: Last season the Huskies entered this game downtrodden after a rough season. With UMass predicted to win and cement a fourth victory to close out the season on a high note, the Huskies came into Amherst and shot that down, finishing level on wins with three a piece. This year’s edition features a UConn program at heights they haven’t seen in over a decade, while UMass is about as low as they’ve ever been. Two schools separated by just over 75 miles in the heart of New England should be a bigger draw for the more casual football fan, but unfortunately, another disappointing season for the Minutemen has severely lowered the stakes. Sure a win for UMass would be good for morale and for fan base camaraderie, but it’d barely register a consolation prize after such a bad season. For UConn, a historic win propels them to one of their better seasons in program memory against a regional rival that is without a doubt a “little brother.” Considering UMass showed fight against Georgia this could go better than expected, but it’s so hard to see UConn not coming out with full force to put a statement on their bowl resume.

Prediction: UConn 33, UMass 20