Well that was a nice surprise.
It’s no secret I didn’t expect a Minutemen win yesterday, and that sentiment was likely shared across much of UMass Nation. The Minutemen had not had a good season, and they always have had issues competing with Buffalo ever since they joined the MAC back in 2012.
Those issues were put to bed on Black Friday though as the Minutemen, behind an all-world performance from Marquis Young, defeated the Buffalo Bulls 31-26 and left the MAC on a winning note.
Young carried the ball 35 times for 240 yards (23 for 215 in the 1st half) and 3 TDs (all 1st half) and averaged just under 7 yards per carry. Those are outstanding numbers for any back in any program, never mind for UMass. He was the MVP of this win against Buffalo, the first, second, and third star.
The thing is, a performance like this begs the question: Why has Mark Whipple not been utilizing Young as the featured back from the beginning of the season? Anyone could see that Young was the best back on the team a long time ago, yet Whipple continued to feature Jamal Wilson and the best Young could traditionally do was a split of the carries.
From the moment Young broke that TD run against Notre Dame he should have been the go-to guy. I was lucky enough to watch that play live and Marquis left players from the currently #6 Fighting Irish in the dust; they never had a prayer of catching him. It really makes you wonder what could have been this season with a commitment to the run in more games and using Young as the feature back.
Blake Frohnapfel struggled in his final game as a Minuteman, but did rush for a TD that ended up being the deciding score. Froh was 9/22 for 163 yards and 2 badly underthrown interceptions. The weather conditions were difficult in Buffalo on Friday but that is not the culprit here, as Froh has had a very tough final season, especially since the MAC schedule began.
I want to say that I am thrilled that Froh decided to transfer to UMass and finish out his eligibility with the Minutemen. He helped put some eyes on the program last season and was a big reason for their improved profile and raised expectations. He’s a smart guy who’s got a career ahead of him in sports management without a doubt.
However, I’m also glad that Ross Comis is finally going to get his shot at the quarterback position next year. Those two feelings aren’t mutually exclusive, and it’s OK to believe both. This wasn’t Froh’s year, and while I believe he should have come out a while ago, I’m thrilled he ended his college career with a win, just as I am for all the seniors who dressed for UMass for the last time on Friday.
Tajae Sharpe grabbed six of Froh’s nine completions yesterday, and accounted for 138 of the 163 passing yards. He’s been a joy to watch; he is without question the best WR in UMass history and is arguably the best overall player in program history, and he is going to be sorely missed. The good thing though is that he is going to be playing on Sundays, hopefully for a long time, and every time he makes a great catch or a big play in the NFL, people are going to take notice that the kid from Piscataway went to the University of Massachusetts.
The UMass defense also played pretty well yesterday in the elements, all things considered. They had some lapses and some issues, as they have all season, but they got some big plays when they needed them and iced the game on a final drive INT from Da’Sean Downey. Trey Dudley-Giles also picked Buffalo QB Joe Licata in the endzone earlier in the game, a huge play in a contest decided by less than a touchdown. They deserve a lot of credit for helping the Minutemen go out of 2015 with a win.
While this season was not what anyone really expected it to be (and I’ll likely have a longer, season recap post sometime next week) it is the end of an era, as UMass’ first FBS class played their final game. I’m happy that those kids got to go out on a winning note, but I’m even more happy that we’re going to get some new blood into the rotations here starting in 2016. I’m very excited to see what these younger guys can do, and even though the 2016 season will be a bear, it’s going to be good for the program.
This team has the chance to put at least one player (Sharpe) on to an NFL roster for next season, and a few players (Jovan Santos-Knox, Randall Jette, Frohnapfel, maybe more) might get a look on practice squads or in training camps. That’s another positive step for the program and its visibility, getting players looked at by and into the League.
Hopefully we have more guys to talk about in that regard every year going forward, but for now we should be looking for those guys to come in and battle for spots. Would be nice to see even more Minutemen playing on Sundays.
Now we start the look forward to 2016. I’ll do a longer one on this too, but just remember, 2016 is not about the record, it’s about the exposure and building the brand. While 2015 had expectations regarding team performance (that were not met but I digress…), 2016 is the toughest schedule in program history, and could likely be one of the tougher schedules in all of college football next year for a G5 team. UMass isn’t likely going to surpass the 3-9 they’ve been at the last two seasons, and could in fact finish worse than that, but what their record is next season is not as important as how they establish themselves as a brand and program, as a destination and option for recruits. They are going to be on TV quite a bit which is nice, and they are going to play some big teams. They may not come out on top often but I am really looking forward to 2016.
Go U.
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Two Editor’s notes here:
First, I preemptively said that this class of UMass seniors would be 7-41 after losing to Buffalo on Friday when I wrote my preview for the game the other day. Clearly I was mistaken, and the Minutemen’s record for the last four years sits at 8-40. Now that’s obviously only slightly better, but it is better. Have to eat some crow on that one.
Second, I mentioned the “Powder Horn” as something UMass and Buffalo play for. That isn’t a real trophy just so everyone knows, it’s the brainchild of the writers at SBNation’s Bull Run, which is a UB community. They came up with it, and while it is not currently real, one never knows where it could go, although it seems unlikely UMass and Buffalo will be playing again anytime soon.