On Saturday, the Massachusetts football team will welcome in No. 21 Missouri, one of the best teams to ever step foot in McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
Week 7 brings the Minutemen (1-5) their toughest challenge yet with the Tigers (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern) reaching as high as No. 6 in this season’s AP poll.
“We just got to prepare,” head coach Don Brown said. “Put the best plan we can out there, both offensively and defensively and [with] our special teams. We’ve got to eliminate the big mistake and compete at a high level. That’s what it’s all about [and] we’re going to get that opportunity this weekend.”
The Tigers enter Saturday with wins over Murray State, Boston College, Buffalo and Vanderbilt. Missouri was ranked ninth in the nation before suffering its first loss last Saturday to Texas A&M. After a 41-10 setback against a fellow ranked SEC opponent, the Tigers will be looking to bounce back against UMass, bestowing the same damage as was done to them.
If the Minutemen are to compete in this game, their first order of business is to stop the run. Despite Antario Brown’s mid-game injury, Northern Illinois still ran for 368 yards against UMass last week. A Minutemen defense that has slowly improved in creating pressure needs to take a big step forward against Missouri. Part of Brown’s defensive gameplan may be modeled off of the Aggies’ performance, as the team looks to bring heat and force long third downs against Tigers quarterback Brady Cook.
Cook is coming off a less-than-stellar performance against Texas A&M, going 13-of-31 for 186 yards and a touchdown in Missouri’s resounding loss. Up to that point, the senior has done what’s been asked of him to win the Tigers games. Cook has completed 63.6 percent of his passes in 2024 for 1,132 yards and five touchdowns.
Elsewhere on Missouri’s offense, running back Nate Noel is the team’s bell cow, running for 471 yards through five games. Noel’s production unlocks the Tigers’ passing game, which is led by the wide receiver duo of Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. In their last four games, the duo has combined for over 100 yards receiving, and both have an individual 100-yard performance. Widely renowned as a future draft pick and as one of the fastest players in college football, Burden is crucial in this Missouri offense and poses as a deep threat for the UMass secondary all game long.
For the Minutemen’s offense, a similar gameplan to the Aggies may be followed by offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery. Against the Tigers, Texas A&M controlled the pace of play and used the run to open up the passing game for big chunk plays. This gameplan plays well into UMass’ approach of runs and short passes that eat up the clock, making the Minutemen fourth nationally in time of possession.
Any chance of UMass keeping this game competitive relies on the play of quarterback Taisun Phommachanh. Against the Huskies, Phommachanh completed some tough throws en route to a 263-yard performance. Minutemen wideouts Jakobie Keeney-James and T.Y. Harding have made a name for themselves over the last three weeks, getting open on deep post routes for chunk plays and keeping the team in games time and time again. Against a stingy Missouri secondary, it’ll be on the two wideouts to get open though and for Phommachanh to complete the necessary throws.
For the most part, the Tigers defense has been tough for opposing offenses to figure out. Led by linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. and safety Marvin Burks Jr., Missouri has already shut out two opponents in 2024. Flagg and Burks have combined for 51 tackles respectively, with Flagg recording a sack and Burks an interception. The Tigers allow just under 278 yards per game to opponents, and they’ll look to lower that number on Saturday.
Even Brown admitted that Saturday’s contest is one of the biggest in UMass football history, and his message was clear to students and fans of the Minutemen.
“Let’s get there and dominate the seats,” Brown said. “Get there early and stay late. That’s what we need this Saturday.”
Saturday’s game is expected to be a sellout. Kickoff is at noon and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
Mehrob Fatemi can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @MehrobFatemi.
