UMass Post Game Chat

[Scrutineer]

They shouldn’t. Not counting the CBSSports games called in ‘22 by that female basketball announcer, that may have been the most poorly called college football game I’ve ever seen. It’s one thing to be promoting the agenda of the athletic department that hires you, but I’ve never seen a crew unable to get the name of the teams right, or figure out who a penalty was called on, that consistently.

Before criticizing failure to get names right we'd have to know if production companies at this level can afford "spotters".

My guess is these two were on their own. At least they seemed neutral, gave credit to UConn's backs and line and even made a nice comment about Bell after his two drops.

 

[Scrutineer]

UMass is a problem for us. Everyone keeps saying they are our rival but having any association with them just brings us down. I would prefer we stop playing them until at least we land in a football conference.

They're a problem because they're so envious of UConn's stature and they come out fired up for every game against us, no matter the sport. Frankly we could use some motivation techniques to get our guys bouncing around, and showing excitement and fire before and during our games.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Yeah I don’t think that was the design but it sounds nice.

He’s still far better than Sammis.

I'll stand on the 2024 hill both Sammis and Brock are more talented than the players they are coaching.

Mora has two very good coordinators.

 

[Jetskies]

sincerely hope UMass is able to figure this FBS thing out.
I know lots of folks here don't care for their fate, but I do. idk why.

just saw today's game and I think the refs did a bad job.
We PI'd for a TD and it should have been called against us, not them.
We scored a TD on a delay-of-game and it wasn't called.

I for one, was not happy with this performance. You call those right and we lose a stinker of a finale.
Hope the kids get it right for our bowl game.
P4 or not, this next opponent won't be a 2-10 cupcake like the rest of our schedule.

 

[uconnbill]

The defense was asleep in the first half, especially on those slants which two went for TD's and the other went for 30 yards.
The second half was a different story on the defensive side as they stopped them having four 3 and outs to start the second half. I will add UMass is a better team than their record and could have won a couple more games this season.

UConn did what it needed to do, to win. That is all that matters. Now a wait for a bowl game next weekend

 

[Bubba1957]

sincerely hope UMass is able to figure this FBS thing out.
I know lots of folks here don't care for their fate, but I do. idk why.

just saw today's game and I think the refs did a bad job.
We PI'd for a TD and it should have been called against us, not them.
We scored a TD on a delay-of-game and it wasn't called.

I for one, was not happy with this performance. You call those right and we lose a stinker of a finale.
Hope the kids get it right for our bowl game.
P4 or not, this next opponent won't be a 2-10 cupcake like the rest of our schedule.

The PI call should have been a no call. There was so little contact.
Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I think the refs did the right thing not calling the delay. Uconn was held up at the line of scrimmage be the refs as Mass subbed in. I believe the play clock kept running during that time leaving only a few seconds to get the play off. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong about the play clock still running as the refs held play.

 

[freescooter]

The pass interference was on UMass. The defender had his arm. The receiver pushed but it was to get a release from the hold. The flag was out before that move. Look at the replay.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Was Matt Brock on the sidelines for this game? Didn’t see any of the usual screaming and jumping up and down especially during the penalties.

 

[businesslawyer]

sincerely hope UMass is able to figure this FBS thing out.
I know lots of folks here don't care for their fate, but I do. idk why.

just saw today's game and I think the refs did a bad job.
We PI'd for a TD and it should have been called against us, not them.
We scored a TD on a delay-of-game and it wasn't called.

I for one, was not happy with this performance. You call those right and we lose a stinker of a finale.
Hope the kids get it right for our bowl game.
P4 or not, this next opponent won't be a 2-10 cupcake like the rest of our schedule.

We did not play well, no doubt, but don’t be so dumb as to think the refs helped us because announcers PAID BY UMass said it that way. On Gaithings TD, the two were hand wrestling down the field. I didn’t think either man deserved a penalty but it was far from clear one should have been called on Gaithings. As to the “delay of game,” refs are clear that they don’t blow the whistle immediately as the clock switches from 1 to 0. There is one referee charged with looking at the play clock and other things, and it is far from unusual that the offense get another split second to get a play off.

 

[Scoe]

We never seem to play well offensively and defensively at the same time it’s usually one or the other but did enough to win. You knew Umass was gonna play well they did put up 25 on UGA.

After the first series of the game Umass offense adjusted and spread it out and torched us. It wasn’t till halftime when Brock made that adjustment and put more guys back, slowing down Umass offense some.

The turnover by Fagano was 100 percent on him as I saw his int coming from a mile away and you had the 2 McDonald face masks but he was everywhere on the field, 3 huge momentum shifts were the Mel Brown kickoff return and the 52 yard fg before the half. Of course the td pass to Gaithings.

Didnt like the play calls of the lateral passes instead of throwing more downfield or more runs, Sammis does make adjustments and that’s what I like about this staff. A great mix of forward throws and runs when that adjustment was made.

Felt very comforting seeing Cam run it at the end felt like I was watching Donald Brown, then he needed a breather by the time we got around the 20 and in comes Robinson to finish it off. That’s just wears an opponent down running the ball like that then comes in a fresh back.

The last td we gave up at least took time off the clock after the 2 minute warning, just would’ve liked to get that 4th and 15 stop.

 

[Scoe]

Was Matt Brock on the sidelines for this game? Didn’t see any of the usual screaming and jumping up and down especially during the penalties.

I saw some crazed dude in red so I assume that was him lol.

 

[RioDog]

Anybody notice the play clock expired before time ran out at the end of the game? UConn didn't run another play, there was no dela of game penalty. Everyone was sauntering on the field without a care with something like 9 seconds left. When the play clock ran out the game clock stopped counting-down for a brief moment, then inexplicably started again and went to zero. Weird.

While in had no effect on the outcome of the game, it punctuated what was, for me, an all-around strange feeling game. Between UConn's sketchy play, strange play-calling, endless mistakes by the announcers, haphazard officiating, and the weird venue that is McGuirk stadium, it just felt like a pick-up game or exhibition or something.

Glad to be 8-4.

 

[RSTuthill]

How about we start beating them easily on a consistent basis before we start claiming they are "bringing us down". Kind of an odd comment to make after we just played them and were down at the half and an onside kick recovery away from them having a chance to win the game.....

Hear hear!!!!!

 

[jdb50]

Brock was on the sideline. Special teams really played a big part in winning today. Freeman with 2 field goals including a 52 yarder and his kickoffs. Stutz with his 2 punts being downed inside the 15 made a huge difference in the 3rd quarter and our coverages were good. Sheffield let one punt hit the ground but I think he thought it might go into the end zone. He caught and returned the others. Solid day from all phases.

 

[microfich]

Rivalry games are born in proximity and flourish in hate.
From the old days when this rivalry began in earnest in the Yankee Conference I can tell you that those folks in Amherst hated us and our program.
They had a very good hoops program (Dr. J, anyone? Marcus Camby?), were always fighting us for the crown and were incorrigible during those years. I'm sure they would say the same about us.
When we landed the Big East bid, we grew in all sports and they foundered. Jealousy kept seeding the hate.
Bitterness and deep hate actually help the rivalry. In football we've been pretty even lately and I hope both programs can continuously improve and make the rivalry real because selfishly I want to hate them again.

 

[psilotic]

The game mechanics as executed by the refs, chain crew, and game production team as led by PA announcer were absolutely horrendous and bush league. Ref not having a working field mike was the worst and led to a cascade of other things that should not happen at the FBS level.

 

[Waquoit]

Time for the yearly reminder that UMass football's best season came the year they lost to UConn twice.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I think the close win with UMass may hurt our ranking and limit options for bowls. They could have at least prevented last TD by UMass.

It doesnt matter

 

[huskysupporter]

You can have more than one rival too. It seems silly to me that all the New England FBS schools don't play each other every year.

I think UMASS and BC should be on schedule every year. Short drives for fans and team.

 

[BugsyCT]

Rivalry games are born in proximity and flourish in hate.
From the old days when this rivalry began in earnest in the Yankee Conference I can tell you that those folks in Amherst hated us and our program.
They had a very good hoops program (Dr. J, anyone? Marcus Camby?), were always fighting us for the crown and were incorrigible during those years. I'm sure they would say the same about us.
When we landed the Big East bid, we grew in all sports and they foundered. Jealousy kept seeding the hate.
Bitterness and deep hate actually help the rivalry. In football we've been pretty even lately and I hope both programs can continuously improve and make the rivalry real because selfishly I want to hate them again.

Better for Northeast football if its schools are better and are all competing against each other. Better for rivalries and fan interest too. Rising tide lifts all boats.

 

[PAGS]

Gourdine broke his foot mid-week and has surgery scheduled for Monday.

Huge loss!

 

[Tdaley]

Back home from a long and exhausting day which started in the wee hours when my band finished playing a late gig that started the night before. I was home for about a 3 hour “nap” before getting up at 6am to pack up my tailgate stuff and meet our tailgate crew for the drive up Amherst. After football, I drove back to Hartford to attend the men’s hoop game at XL. Great day to be a UConn fan!!

As for the football game, I was impressed by the crowd considering the weather - especially the number of UConn fans there. To say that the stadium and atmosphere is quirky is a huge understatement. I don’t want to hear another complaint about the Rent’s PA system after listening to whatever they were announcing through. But it was pretty cool to be so close to the field. We were practically right on the UConn sideline.

I could clearly hear Tui Faumiuna-Brown shout an obscenity when he slammed his helmet down after being helped off the field during the first series. He went in the tent and emerged several minutes later getting a hug and encouraging words from Mora. He spent the remainder of the game on the sideline without his helmet.

The defense just did not look the same as it did in the first series or frankly as it did during the whole season once Brown was out. I think it took Brock getting to halftime to make the necessary adjustments. Scary to think what would happen if McDonald went out with a game ending injury.

Throughout the game our linebackers seem to be out of position on many plays. We certainly missed Tui Faumiuna-Brown as well as Gourdine and Wright.

 

[Scrutineer]

Time for the yearly reminder that UMass football's best season came the year they lost to UConn twice.

Help. I like the sentiment but can't recall the specifics of the season you mentioned.

 

[Waquoit]

Help. I like the sentiment but can't recall the specifics of the season you mentioned.

Both squads had an open date so they decided to play a one-time home and home series that year. UConn won both. But UMass ended up winning the national 1AA title that year.

 

[UConnJim]

Help. I like the sentiment but can't recall the specifics of the season you mentioned.

1998. UMass won the FCS Championship and finished the season 11-3 with 2 losses to UConn. They played home and home that year because BU dropped football and I think it was the easy solution for finding a new opponent.

 

[maple]

I hope both programs can continuously improve and make the rivalry real because selfishly I want to hate them again.

I don’t ever wish success for the programs I hate. If we trounced every rival of ours (in whatever sport) by 50 every time I would be happy that we won and they lost.

 

[Scoe]

For future games I'm considering putting hand warmers in my shoes, was absolutely feeling it in my toes, I don't blame people who left early especially after the Durrell Robinson clincher but I always stay till the end I'm just too stubborn.

 

[Patman]

The game mechanics as executed by the refs, chain crew, and game production team as led by PA announcer were absolutely horrendous and bush league. Ref not having a working field mike was the worst and led to a cascade of other things that should not happen at the FBS level.

I have to imagine that's on UMass, but again, D2 effort.

I hope UDel doesn't half ass it like UMass does

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Rivalry games are born in proximity and flourish in hate.
From the old days when this rivalry began in earnest in the Yankee Conference I can tell you that those folks in Amherst hated us and our program.
They had a very good hoops program (Dr. J, anyone? Marcus Camby?), were always fighting us for the crown and were incorrigible during those years. I'm sure they would say the same about us.
When we landed the Big East bid, we grew in all sports and they foundered. Jealousy kept seeding the hate.
Bitterness and deep hate actually help the rivalry. In football we've been pretty even lately and I hope both programs can continuously improve and make the rivalry real because selfishly I want to hate them again.

Cal got his start there.

 

[businesslawyer]

I have to imagine that's on UMass, but again, D2 effort.

I hope UDel doesn't half ass it like UMass does

I wouldn’t expect that. Delaware has always taken their football very seriously, albeit on a lower level.