Heading out of its first of two bye weeks, the Massachusetts football program is not in a particularly enviable spot.
A seven-week stretch of games featuring five Mid-American Conference opponents and an FCS school led to a 1-6 record for the Minutemen. Of UMass’ five remaining games, two are on the road against Southeastern Conference schools and two are against a top non-power program in Liberty, along with a regional rival having a successful season in UConn.
The other game will be on Saturday against Wagner. The Minutemen defeated Central Connecticut State in their first meeting against an FCS school in 2024, and with multiple weeks to prepare for a similarly ranked Seahawks (4-4, 2-1 Northeast) squad, odds will favor UMass on Saturday more than any of its other remaining matchups.
“Never anything wrong with rest,” head coach Don Brown said. “We tried to do that [during our bye week] but we also tried to make sure that we took care of our techniques and fundamentals…[we] feel real good about our preparation and now we’re back into game week.”
“I think the bye week was good for us,” center Josh Atwood said. “It was a good reset. Some guys went home, some guys stayed here and just relaxed and I just think it’s good for everyone to kind of take a little mental break real quick before we go lock in for the back half of the season.”
Wagner’s success in 2024 has mostly come thanks to its defense. The Seahawks enter Saturday boasting the 10th-ranked defense in all of FCS, giving up just under 300 yards per game. Stopping the pass has been the unit’s biggest strength, as only two teams have thrown for over 200 yards against Wagner this season.
With that in mind, the wide receiver room will again be critical in determining the Minutemen’s success. While Jakobie Keeney-James has been a reliable weapon for Taisun Phommachanh to throw to, Wagner’s secondary will likely keyin on the veteran pass catcher. That means one or two secondary targets will need to step up for Phommachanh and UMass; receivers who could benefit include T.Y. Harding, Jacquon Gibson and Sterling Galban.
On offense, the Seahawks balance stout pass defense with high-volume aerial attack. Brown expressed surprise during Monday’s press conference with how much Wagner has used quarterback Jake Cady recently. From a combined 77 attempts, the senior has thrown for over 200 yards in his past two starts and most recently recorded a season-high 290-yard performance against Saint Francis.
Like the Minutemen with Keeney-James, Wagner also has a go-to receiver in sophomore Jaylen Bonelli. The reigning NEC Rookie of the Year has amassed 588 receiving yards through eight games, which is good for 17th in the FCS. No other Seahawks player has surpassed 200 receiving yards on the season.
“I actually think [Wagner’s offense is] going to follow their M.O. of a week ago,” Brown said. “Probably one of our strengths has been playing the pass and to be honest, I’ve been really happy with our back seven.”
The Seahawks come in having already played one game against a FBS school in 2024, as the program headed south to take on Florida Atlantic in September. Wagner lost 41-10 to a struggling Owls team, allowing 572 yards and 24 second-half points.
Unfortunately for Brown and company, the second half of UMass’ schedule does not contain many winnable games that can build optimism for the program heading into 2025. In its second and final contest against an FCS opponent this season, a positive performance on Saturday could be a major confidence-booster for the Minutemen before the competition ramps back up.
“I want to see [more from] virtually every position group,” Brown said. “I mean, guys, we’ve won one game. We’ve got to be better than that and being close is not good enough. So everybody’s got their jobs to accelerate, everybody’s got their techniques and fundamentals to work on and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Saturday’s game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+
Dean Wendel can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @DeanWende1.
