FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – If one were to search for any indicators of the problems the Massachusetts football team would have against New Hampshire on Saturday, one could point to the botched punt recovery by strong safety Shane Viveiros.
The junior tried to block a UNH player from getting to the ball, but his efforts backfired, as the ball bounced off his foot and got picked up by Nico Steriti at the 14-yard line with seven minutes left in the first quarter.
Scoring first ultimately gave the No. 10 Wildcats the confidence they needed the rest of the game in carrying out their 39-13 rout of the Minutemen.
Saturday was the second time Viveiros turned the ball over on a punt return. The last time he muffed a punt was in a 27-14 win against Towson on Oct. 2.
In that game, Doug Shaw returned the ball to the 23-yard line. The Tigers took advantage of their field position and advanced to a 1st-and-goal at the 9, but the Minutemen eventually got the ball back with a turnover on downs.
This time around, UMass (4-3, 2-2 Colonial Athletic Association) was not as fortunate. The Wildcats (5-3, 3-2 CAA) took advantage of the mistake and eventually scored after quarterback R.J. Toman ran in the first touchdown of the game.
Viveiros’s fumble was the only return the Minutemen had the entire game on six punts. UNH’s punts totaled 203 yards on the day compared to UMass, which had three punts untouched by the Wildcats for 112 yards.
UNH controls ground game
An area for that has been strong all season for the Maroon and White was outdone by the Wildcats on Saturday.
UNH ran for 171 yards with four rushing touchdowns. On the other hand, the Minutemen finished the game with 43 rushing yards – the lowest rushing total of the season. To make matters worse, a fumble by senior John Griffin eventually led to one of the Wildcats’ touchdowns.
“We’re not finishing our blocks, and our backs aren’t seeing the holes they had been,” UMass coach Kevin Morris said of his team’s lack of production in the running game.
It’s not only that the Wildcats rushed for more yards than UMass, it’s also how they utilized the running game inside the red zone. Toman totaled two yards rushing throughout the game, but scored twice on quarterback sneaks.
The player who really made the difference on the ground for UNH was Dontra Peters, who finished with 98 yards on 23 carries. Although he didn’t make any big plays (his longest run was 13 yards), he still managed to break through the defensive line of the Minutemen in the red zone and picked up two touchdowns.
Miscommunication creates penalties
For the second game in a row, Morris can point to penalties as one of the problems his team encountered in the loss to the Wildcats.
The Minutemen lost 56 yards on eight penalties during Saturday’s game. In last week’s loss to Richmond, they gave up 54 yards with the same number of penalties.
While the numbers are very similar, the cause of those penalties is not. Two of the flags came for having 12 men on the field, and another two penalties game on delay-of-games.
One of the delay flags ended up costing UMass a field goal opportunity with two minutes, 15 seconds left in the first half. Instead of a chance to put three points on the board, it turned the ball over on downs. After the game, Morris took the blame for both flags.
With four games left in the season and a competitive CAA conference challenging the Minutemen the rest of the way, Morris knows things have to change for his team.
Next week, the Maroon and White head to James Madison, where it will play a team that is also on a two-game losing streak, but is still very capable of defeating UMass.
At this point in the season, the Minutemen have very little wiggle room. Last week’s stunning upset by the Spiders certainly didn’t do them any favors, and with a two-game losing streak, are going to face long odds if they don’t win out.
“In our league, your back is against the wall,” Morris said. “You’ve got to win these games.”
Adam Miller can be reached at [email protected].
