43 seconds. That’s how much time separated the Massachusetts football team from its second consecutive win, and first against a future Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent, but Saturday, Miami of Ohio pulled out all the stops and struck when it needed it most and won 23-20.
With 6:13 to play in the fourth quarter in a tie ballgame at 17-17, the Minutemen (1-4) held the ball at their own 36-yard line. In a battle between both teams, UMass had started the quarter with an eight-play, 61-yard drive to tie the game. It climbed back from adversity, on the road against the defending MAC champion in its Homecoming weekend, with an opportunity to spoil the party.
Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh started the drive with a quick crosser over the middle to receiver Jakobie Keeney-James who ran for a 28-yard completion. With the ball into the Redhawks’ (1-3) territory and just under six minutes left, the Minutemen flipped their gameplan from aggressive to strategic. Burning almost five minutes of clock, UMass ran the ball on nine straight plays, setting up Jacob Lurie with a 23-yard chip shot, taking a 20-17 lead with 43 seconds to play.
With 40 seconds to play, Miami of Ohio starting quarterback Brett Gabbert trotted out to the field. In a quarter with time possession dominated by UMass, the pressure was on for Gabbert to perform. In a clock management clinic put on by Gabbert, the offense found its way at the UMass 28 yard line with four seconds to play. With a clutch 47-yard attempt on his laces, Dom Dzioban walked out and knocked it through to force overtime.
In overtime, the Minutemen lost to themselves. With two crucial penalties, one of them bringing back a 30-yard highlight touchdown grab by Keeney-James. The Minutemen were forced into a 43-yard field goal try, which Lurie missed wide left of the goalpost. The Redhawks on the other side, were forced into a 40 yard try of their own, and Dzioban’s golden foot knocked it through to put the game on ice.
Keeney-James led the way for the UMass offense with four catches for 150 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came in the first quarter off an over the shoulder catch and run. Keeney-James has turned into the primary receiver for this team over the last two weeks, especially Saturday, with his best performance of the season. He could’ve even cracked the 200-yard threshold if it wasn’t for the penalty in overtime that brought back his apparent touchdown.
“No question,” head coach Don Brown said when asked about the chemistry between Phommachanh and Keeney-James. “We made some big plays, but I was a little disappointed that we had that [overtime] penalty late in the game.”
On the other side of the ball, the defense kept UMass in this football game. Key tackles behind the line of scrimmage, an interception at the goal line to close the first half and continuous pressure on the quarterback, the defense was swarming. Gabbert finished the game completing 16 of 25 passes for 181 yards. However, outside of Keyon Mozee, who went off for two big plays in the first and third quarter, the UMass defense had its best performance of the season up until this point.
Mozee was a big trailer hitch for the Miami of Ohio offense, two key rushes in particular. One came in the first quarter and started the scoring off on a 28-yard rush to the endzone. The other came at the start of the third quarter, on a 66-yard rush. Two key plays by Mozee set up touchdowns for Miami-Ohio in a game that was ultimately decided by a field goal.
UMass’ next opponent comes in the form of Northern Illinois. With this game also being on the road, it can be streamed on ESPN+ with kickoff shortly after 12:00 p.m.
“I feel like we’re making significant progress, as you can see. But the same thing is, you got to get over the hump, and you know, that’s what we’re shooting for,” Brown said.
Mehrob Fatemi can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MehrobFatemi
