The Massachusetts football team escaped McGuirk Alumni Stadium with a victory on homecoming weekend, outlasting Central Connecticut State University 35-31. In what was a back-and-forth battle for almost the entirety of the game, the Minutemen’s (1-3) defense stayed stalwart and shut down the opposing offense, securing the win.
After UMass failed a fourth down conversion that would’ve sealed the game, the Blue Devils (2-2) had a chance to march down the field and take the lead. Former Massachusetts quarterback Brady Olson had the ball in his hands with a chance for a sweet homecoming of his own, something he was already well on his way to accomplishing. However, time after time the pocket collapsed around Olson. On fourth and five, Olson threw a ball into tight coverage that was swatted away by safety Leonard St. Gourdin, all but securing the Minutemen’s victory. Olson finished with 157 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
“Nobody said it would be easy,” head coach Don Brown said. “We had come too far and worked too hard to not finish the game. Everything was about the finish. We ran an eight-man drop showing pressure … we lose [Isaiah Rutherford] in the second quarter which was a pretty significant loss … [Ryan Barnes] stepped in, had an interception, batted two balls down, I don’t think he could’ve played any better.”
UMass starting quarterback Taisun Phommachanh had one of his better days in the air this season, with the highlight of his afternoon being a 57-yard bomb to T.Y. Harding for the wideout’s first career touchdown. With defenders swarming the pocket, Phommachanh stayed stoic and found a streaking Harding. The sophomore then created space between himself and his defender before beating another man on his way to a game-tying touchdown for the Minutemen. Phommachanh finished with 287 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 43 yards on eight rushes.
“I thought [Phommachanh] really sucked it up … in the third quarter on the field, I said ‘Come on man, lead us!’ There’s not enough superlatives to talk about this guy,” Brown said. “He is a first-class individual … [Saturday] was kind of a springboard for what he’s really capable of.”
Late in the third quarter, directly following the Phommachanh-Harding hookup, UMass kicked the ball off to the Blue Devils. The kickoff ended with a holding penalty while the ball was still in the air, which would have pushed CCSU from the 25 yard line to their own 15. Brown and co. instead elected to enforce the penalty on a redone kick taking place 10 yards downfield from its original spot.
UMass, statistically the worst special teams unit in the country, committed two penalties on the redone kickoff, both of which were enforced. The Minutemen had given CCSU worse field position at the Blue Devils’ own 11 yard line, but an offsides and personal foul brought them all the way up to their own 31. Penalties have remained a problem for not just UMass’ special teams, but in all three phases of the game. Saturday saw the Minutemen commit 15 penalties for 139 yards, though CCSU also committed 11 penalties for 112 yards.
“Can I tell you though? … It feels like it’s arbitrary when [pass interference] flags got thrown on either side,” Brown said. “[Every other penalty] I had no problem with … but hey, life is still good.”
The run game was another steady part of UMass’ offense, with four rushers accounting for 163 yards on the ground. Jalen John led the team with 65 rushing yards, but it was the other two backs, Brandon Campbell and Jackson Paradis who broke through for scores. Paradis scored the first touchdown of his collegiate career in the first quarter which gave the Minutemen an early lead. Campbell pushed his way through the tackles in the midst of the fourth quarter, giving UMass a lead it didn’t relinquish.
“[Paradis] is a banger now … when we took him, I said ‘I think we got ourselves something’ just watching this kid, and then the injury bug found him,” Brown said. “For [Paradis], [Saturday] is going to be a huge night for his confidence.”
The Minutemen are next in action on Saturday, Sept. 28, taking on Miami (OH) from Oxford, OH. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.
Johnny Depin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Jdepin101.
