UMass’ Ethan Mottinger (72) readies for a snap against Eastern Michigan during the Minutemen’s 28-14 loss on Saturday at McGuirk Alumni Stadium in Amherst.
PHOTO BY MASSACHUSETTS ATHLETICS-CHRIS TUCCI
AMHERST — Not much went the UMass football team’s way on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium, and Minutemen’s 28-14 loss to Eastern Michigan in their season opener was certainly a performance to forget.
It didn’t look as if the Eagles were a clear-cut better football team, but they were the more disciplined and prepared one.
UMass’ first drive of the day ultimately defined its entire 60 minutes: move the ball into Eastern Michigan territory, then go backward thanks to self-inflicting wounds.
Following some effective runs from redshirt junior Jalen John and a defensive pass interference call to open the game, UMass was set up on the Eastern Michigan 32-yard line with a fresh set of downs.
Three points looked like the worst case scenario.
But a holding call on Josh Atwood would make it 1st-and-20 from the Eagles 42, and Phommachanh took a sack on the ensuing snap to back UMass up four more yards. Two more yards were surrendered on second down, and in the blink of an eye a possession on the verge of the red zone turned into a 3rd-and-forever situation back on its own side of the field.
The drive resulted in a CJ Kolodziey punt.
In the second quarter, a Dominick Mazotti holding call wiped out a Phommachanh first-down scamper. And later in that same drive, an unsportsmanlike penalty on Brandon Campbell – who didn’t see the field after that – took UMass from a 2nd-and-9 at the Eastern Michigan 15 to a 2nd-and-24 at the 30.
Minutemen kicker Jacob Lurie missed a 43-yard field goal to put an end to the drive.
Penalties and sacks plagued UMass all throughout its scoreless first two quarters, which was topped by a fitting fifth sack of the half on a 4th-and-7 from the Eagles 36-yard line with 1:02 remaining. Eastern Michigan proceeded to score a momentum-swinging touchdown 31 seconds later.
“We had some [turnovers on downs], and penalties on the offensive side that derailed us,” Brown said. “When you’re playing a team that you’re fairly comparable with, those things become big, and we were at the low end of the stick with the penalties.”
Six total sacks on Phommachanh resulted in a loss of 33 yards on the night. Right tackle Luke Painton did leave the game with an injury in the first half, so right guard Ethan Mottinger slid over to fill Painter’s position. UMass had to shuffle a few guys around up front in an effort to find a combination that worked.
On the other side of the ball, the Minutemen defense tallied zero sacks of their own. Nine Eastern Michigan tackles in the backfield went for 37 yards lost, while UMass’ two TFLs accumulated only six.
“That’s a big deal,” Brown said of the half dozen sacks his team surrendered. “Obviously we got a couple guys knicked too. You gotta go back to the drawing board, and we also gotta go back to the training room and make sure we get these guys back healthy. Those aren’t good days. Six sacks is not a fun day. Usually we respond in that area with our own havoc, and today we just didn’t have that.”
The penalties that happened on offense weren’t the only flags to hurt UMass on Saturday. Two crucial defensive pass interference calls soon led to a pair of Eagles touchdowns.
Book it as 10 total flags on the Minutemen – 99 yards in favor of Eastern Michigan the result.
“We had two [pass interference calls] that resulted in touchdowns – not necessarily the play but it occurred during two drives that really hurt us,” Brown said. “That’s 14 points.”
Three of the most important aspects of a football game are turnovers, penalties and special teams – and UMass got beat in all three categories. Although the Minutemen didn’t technically have a turnover on Saturday, they were 1-for-3 on fourth down. And their penalties unquestionably came at inopportune times.
Throw in Lurie, who Brown says has been terrific all summer, and his two missed field goals – which would’ve put UMass down 17-13 had both gone in – and it’s clear the Minutemen gave themselves too steep a hill to climb come the fourth quarter.
“Our kicker, coming into today, has been a dude,” Brown said. “That’s all I know. I’ve evaluated (him), I’ve watched him kick 50 yard field goals, I’ve watched him kick them from the right hash, the left hash, the middle, and he comes out today in his first time kicking under pressure… That’s the area that we’ve struggled in. We missed six points today, and at that time, they were six significant points.”
The good news? These issues aren’t the hardest ones to fix.
UMass (0-1) heads to Toledo next Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. battle with the Rockets (1-0).
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Publish date : 2024-08-31 14:40:00
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