The Massachusetts Minutemen are on a two game winning streak. No this is not a typo. Not only has UMass matched their win total from the last two years combined, they looked damn impressive doing it.
Shadrach Abrokwah punched in a 17 yard touchdown run at the 10:48 mark of the first quarter and never let off the pedal. EMU quickly answered with a 32 yard touchdown pass by Reginald Bell to tie the game but that would be the last time it would be tied. UMass would extend their lead to 30-14 by halftime.
The Minutemen would amass a total of 562 yards and ran 94 plays, which is 41 more than the Eagles. Lorenzo Woodley helped carry the load with 15 carries for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Reginald Bell was a busy man today as he not only passed for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he also ran the ball 21 times for 40 yards. Darius Jackson led the team in rushing with 64 yards, but he only touched the ball on 3 plays.
Only two Eagles had more than one catch. The lucky couple would be Tyreese Russell and Kris Strange with three catches for 41 yards and 4-38 respectively. Russell was the recipient of Bell's first TD pass and Bronson Hill was responsible for the second.
Blake Frohnapfel continued to put up big yardage with 337 while completing 28 of his 51 passes. While he threw one interception and no touchdowns he commanded the offense and was able to put them in a position to score.
Tajae Sharpe returned to his standout form with 13 catches for 193 yards. Although he didn't find the endzone he was still the most dangerous player on the field for UMass. Jean Sifrin also showed why he's been receiving national attention grabbing 4 balls for 74 yards.
Great Ibe and the EMU defense had their hands full all game and never had a chance to breath with UMass controlling the time of possession at 36:06. Ibe led the team with 21 total tackles, but the most impressive defender was Willie Creear who had 12 total tackles and forced one fumble to go along with an INT.
The UMass defense on the other hand was all over the field and were pressuring Bell all game as he was sacked seven times. Sha-Ki Holmes led the pressure with 2 sacks of his own. Khary Bailey-Smith had the only turnover for UMass as he picked off Bell and returned it for 16 yards.
Of course this wouldn't be a true UMass game without some special teams drama. Logan Laurent doesn't look to be the answer after he took over for Blake Lucas. Even Lucas didn't miss TWO extra points in one game. EMU's kicker, Dylan Mulder, didn't have a much better day as he was 0-1 on his field goal attempts after getting one blocked.
The Minutemen improve to 2-6 (2-2) while EMU falls to 2-5 (1-2). EMU will look to redeem themselves against Northern Illinois next Saturday at home while UMass tries to go for three straight at Toledo.