If opening the season against an Athletic Coast Conference opponent wasn’t enough of a challenge for the Massachusetts football team, then a visit from a Pac-12 opponent will certainly do the trick.
UMass (0-1) hosts Colorado this week as part of its gauntlet non-conference schedule that features four of the five “power” conference in college football. This time around, the Minutemen are prepared for what’s in store.
“(Colorado) is much more of a lateral team as opposed to Boston College,” linebacker Stanley Andre said. “They’re fast and they’re just as good as BC so we will be prepared for that. … We prepare just as hard for any opponent we play though.”
UMass coach Mark Whipple preached all week to his team that they need to play more complementary football on both offense and defense. A week ago, the Minutemen allowed 511 total yards while their offense was only on the field for 17 minutes, 49 seconds.
Similar to UMass, Colorado (0-1) opened its season with a 30-17 loss against an in-state rival in Colorado State. The Buffs had three defensive ends that made their collegiate debuts in week one. The result was 266 rushing yards for the opposing Rams. Although the Minutemen picked up 55 rushing yards against Boston College, the run game will be a crucial factor in UMass’ ability to move the ball, and more importantly keep its defense on the sideline.
Despite having just one game under his belt, true freshman J.T. Blyden might have his name called earlier than he anticipated. Blyden led the Minutemen in rushing last week, piling up 43 yards on nine carries after entering the game midway through the second quarter.
“You might see a little bit more of him,” Whipple said. “We don’t have the same guys as Colorado State but we would like to be a balanced team.”
Another player looking for better results was quarterback Blake Frohnapfel. Frohnapfel finished just 9-for-22 for 147 yards, 77 of which game on a touchdown toss to Tajae Sharpe.
Sharpe mentioned at practice on Wednesday that him and Frohnapfel already feel more confident and comfortable throwing to each other and expect to have another big day on Saturday.
“Last week was just a case of some fundamental things,” Sharpe said. “We just need to get on the same page and continue to work to get better. We’ll just keep working on our timing and hopefully it will all be solved by Saturday.”
Last week UMass faced a dual-threat quarterback in Tyler Murphy that was primarily a run-first player. This week, however, Colorado’s quarterback Sefo Liufau is a dual-threat quarterback that has a pass-first mentality. Liufau threw for 241 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well as ran for 47 yards on seven carries.
Although only a sophomore, Whipple was impressed with Liufau’s poise and wasn’t surprised that he was named a team captain.
The biggest aspect of Colorado’s game that the Minutemen will need to prepare for is its team speed. The Pac-12 is known for its up-tempo style of play and the Buffaloes have built their team with that principle in mind.
“People say that the Pac-12 is fast,” Andre said. “(Colorado) is a lateral team. They’re fast and just as good as Boston College so this time we’ll be ready for anything they throw at us.”
Kickoff from Gillette is at 3 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.com.
Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected], and can be followed @Andrew_Cyr on Twitter.
