The Massachusetts football team will travel to the Glass Bowl in Toledo, OH for a matchup with the Toledo Rockets on Saturday, Sept. 7. Coming off a week one loss at the hands of Eastern Michigan, the Minutemen (0-1) look to avoid losing a second consecutive game against their future conference-mates.
Last season, the Rockets (1-0) came into McGuirk Alumni Stadium and recorded a 21-point third quarter that served as the nail in the coffin for UMass. After taking a one score lead into halftime, the Minutemen’s defense completely fell apart as the offense went stone-cold, with the team mustering just three points in the final 30 minutes of play.
After a week one game that saw quarterback Taisun Phommachanh sacked six times in addition to 10 penalties being called on UMass, the team looks to improve the aspects of its game that were lacking in week one.
While the Minuteman offense showed flashes in week one, they could often not string together consecutive plays that put them in position to succeed. Down by two scores for over half of the game, UMass never really gave itself a chance in the second half due to its earlier shortcomings.
“Can’t have it,” head coach Don Brown said on the 10 penalties called on the Minutemen. “That, plus the six sacks allowed … it’s not the actual play itself, it’s what it does to you. It creates long yardage situations that you have to overcome … we’re [going to] work hard to correct that this week.”
Toledo is coming off a dominant performance against Duquesne, winning 49-10 against its FCS foe. Rockets starting quarterback Tucker Gleason threw for just over 200 yards, racking up three touchdowns with no interceptions. The run game was another strength for Toledo, as the team finished with 167 yards on the ground.
Despite losing many players after their run to the Mid-American Conference championship game last season, the Rockets remain a formidable opponent. Albeit against FCS competition, running back Willie Shaw III racked up 51 yards on 7 carries for an average of 7.1 yards per carry. Coming off a game where UMass’ defensive line struggled to create any pressure, the ability of its defense to limit the effectiveness of Eastern Michigan on the ground is something it hopes will continue against Toledo.
“I’ve probably watched [the tape] like four times …” defensive back Te’Rai Powell said. “I feel like we did a good job in the run game. I feel like we held our own … we have to limit the explosives, the penalties, but that’s obviously technique things we could fix up.”
Jerjuan Newton is another returner for the Rockets who put up big numbers in Amherst last season. The All-MAC First Team wideout scored two touchdowns on four receptions against the Minutemen as part of his 696-yard, nine-touchdown 2023.
“[Newton] is just a guy that’s got movement skills,” Brown said. “He’s got some shake … and obviously, he can catch it. That’s the biggest piece … [we’ve got to] be at our best in terms of coverage. I was disappointed, I expected a better turnout from our back end last week … I’m hoping after getting challenged, this week our guys will adjust.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 3:30 p.m. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
“You win as a team, you lose as a team,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of guys that I’m happy with, we’ve got a lot of guys that’ve been working at it and we just got to go ahead and worry about playing the game … the focus has got to be on the unit, on the team.”
Johnny Depin can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter/X @Jdepin101.
