UMass Scouting Report
We are 37-38-2 against UMass. They are one of our oldest rivals with the first matchup in 1897. They started the series 8-0 against us. Note their two wins this year came against FCS schools. Only one of those wins counts toward bowl eligibility.
Ratings:
| Team | Massey | Sagarin | ESPN |
|---|
| UConn | 97 | 96 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 51 | 53 | 60 |
| UAB | 118 | 119 | 117 |
| UMass | 133 (2nd to last place) | 171 | 126 |
| Georgia | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Liberty | 87 | 90 | 96 |
Rankings:
| Stat | UConn | Syracuse | UMass | Liberty |
|---|
| Total Offense | 71 | 13 | 106 | 17 |
| Rushing | 29 | 126 | 67 | 2 |
| Passing | 103 | 2 | 116 | 126 |
| Total Defense | 53 | 62 | 90 | 49 |
| Rushing | 41 | 84 | 117 | 70 |
| Passing | 77 | 44 | 24 | 30 |
Team Notes:
UMess fired their previous head coach, Don Brown, the week before their Georgia game, continuing their free fall into obscurity. OC Shane Montgomery was shoved into the unenviable task of steering the ship into oblivion.
The receiver that killed us last year, #8 ANTHONY SIMPSON, senior from Bloomfield, CT by way of Arizona, is no longer with the program. He was injured after game two and a couple weeks later entered the transfer portal. Has one more year of eligibility. Someone we should look at for next year.
This is senior day for UMass. 54 seniors will graduate from the team,
though not without a bit of controversy.
Key Players Offense:
- QB #8 AJ HAIRSTON, true freshmen, 3-star. 2 GP: 20/36 for 225 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.
- QB #5 ADMAD HASTON, RS FR, 3-star. 2 GP: 7/8 for 35 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.
- RB #21 JALEN JOHN, RS JR, 3-star, Ariz transfer. 8 GP: 84 att, 398 yards, 3 TD
- RB #33 CJ HESTER, SO, 3-star, transfer from Western Michigan. 9 GP: 92 att, 407 yards, 2 TD
- RB #23 BRANDON CAMPBELL, RS JR, 4-star, transfer from Houston/USC. 8 GP: 59 att, 225 yards, 3 TD
- WR #11 JACOBY KEENIE-JAMES, grad transfer from FCS Eastern Washington. 11 GP: 78 Targ. 46 Rec. 802 Yards, 5 TD
Key Players Defense:
- DE #94 KOFI ASARE, RS SO. 10 GP: 16 Tack; 10 Hurr; 3 Sack; 15 Stop; 0 PBU; 0 INT
- LB #23 JALEN STEWARD, SR, JUCO transfer. 10 GP: 40 Tack; 5 Hurr; 4 Sack; 25 Stop; 1 PBU; 0 INT
- LB #22 GERREL JOHNSON, SR, 3-star. 10 GP: 39 Tack; 8 Hurr; 0 Sack; 17 Stop; 0 PBU; 0 INT
- LB #15 DERRION CRAIG, JR, 3-star. 8 GP: 25 Tack; 2 Hurr; 0 Sack; 17 Stop; 1 PBU; 0 INT
- DB #21 TE'RAI POWELL, SR, 3-star. 10 GP: 8 Tack; 0 Hurr; 0 Sack; 8 Stop; 0 PBU; 2 INT
Offense:
- The oline has one of the worst sack rates in the game (9.85%). It's no wonder that 1st string QB, #3 TAISUN PHOMMACHANH, was injured. The poor Connecticut native was sacked 24 times year in 7.5 games. Is the oline good/bad? Well they have size. The smallest member of the unit is RT #79 RYAN MOSESSO at 6'5", 290 lbs. They're pretty bad at pass blocking, average in run blocking.
- Ever since the injury to Taisun, UMass has used a two-QB system with Hairston and Haston. It's kinda confusing if you don't follow the team regularly. When Haston is in, they will run 80% of the time. With Hairston, it's like 60%. Either way, cheat, cheat run. Both QBs can and will run, especially Haston who seems allergic to throwing.
- This is a run heavy team, rushing 57% of the time, 40 rushes per game. UMass employs a RB by committee system and when QB Haston is behind center, it's almost a certainty that it's a run play.
- You'll see a lot of run reads, RPOs, and QB scrambles. Most of their runs will be between the tackles though.
- You'll also see a lot of inaccurate passes if they do throw and receivers dropping catchable balls.
- Their kicker, #29 JACOB LURIE, grad-transfer from Vandy, is only accurate to about 35 yards. So you'll see UMass going for 4th down a lot in that area of the field.
Defense:
- The passing yards per/game (23.2) and total passing yards stats (191.7) may suggest that UMass has an average to very good passing defense. This is a case where stats don't tell the whole story. Teams rush so much against UMass (60.36%) because the rush defense is not very good and because they want to drain the clock and end the game quicker.
- UMass employs a 4-3 base. It's a pretty vanilla defense. What you see if what you get with little disguise. You'll often see them stack the box against run heavy teams. Opposing teams still run against them in this setup. Georgia had 208 rush yards. Liberty had 309.
- Another passing defense anomaly: even though the DBs are weakest unit on defense, teams will still run on UMass.
Predictions:
It's clear that UMess is not very good this year. But it is a rivalry game and a senior day game for them. It looked like both Georgia and Liberty came out unprepared against what UMass is trying to do with the dual-QB attack. There should be enough film for the coaches to build a defensive game plan. I would stack the box and dare them to throw. On offense, it almost doesn't matter how we play. Just don't turn the ball over.
At the same time, part of me wonders if the Liberty/Georgia games are part of a 4D chess setup where they show one thing only to play completely different in the UConn game -- the only game they really care about. This is pretty much their superbowl. (Lots of paranoia among high school fb coaches which is obviously rubbing off on me.)
Well, as long as we play to our abilities and don't shoot ourselves in the foot, it should be an easy victory.
35-21 good guys.
